Steven flew out of the water surrounding himself with the best barrier he could manage from another attack, but touched own as Renee’s eyes went back to iris green. It didn’t disappear though.
“I’m sorry.” She looked to the burly Hunter.
“Uh… do I have water in my ears… Ms. Void never apologizes to me.” None answered him. “Uh, thanks, but none needed. It was worth it to see you bust your ass…”
“Enough, Steven. Don’t make it worse. Laugh later.” Oliver said with a flat tone and walked toward Renee without looking back. “So, Red, did you have a real surprise or is a wet white dress a consolation surprise for scaring me?”
Renee, when having it pointed out looked down and was embarrassed as water turned the thin material transparent and the cool air made her nipples pucker. With a thought she changed into jeans and a flannel long sleeve while expressing out the moisture. “Actually I had something… where did I drop it…?” she bent over, thankful for the abrupt change of conversation. There! She thought and reached behind Sparky’s paw to hold up a silver container.
“What’s this?” he asked opening it and inside was a locket. One large enough for his large thumbs to open. On one side was a beautiful picture of Renee smiling with such love and adoration it was like she was really looking at him. The other side was blank.
When he looked up he saw her lifting a similar silver locket up from between her bountiful breasts. “Papa and Andrea had them made for us when we got back. The sneaky bastards included Jessica in and they searched through all footage on the Dogenox’s memory banks to pick ones where we made goo goo eyes at each other, but the other side that’s blank will hold visuals of any pictures we download of any little hellions I may squeeze out one day. Papa said its to make sure we see each other all the time even if we get separated.” She smiled and her cheeks blushed, feeling a flutter about future children.
Oliver looped the locket and let it rest with the leather necklace holding the Salamander spike from his first kill. He tapped his ear. “Captain Dorgen.” A soft beep sounded in his ear before connecting to the recipient. “Captain, thank you for the gift and extend my thanks to Andrea.”
“Eh, by me recollection ye don’t have her com link. I’ll give it and ye can thank her yerself… and yer most welcome and I expect to see the empty side filling up soon with me grandchildren. Ye know her name, Lad, but her password is Tumbling and Back Handspring.”
“Thank you.” Oliver tapped his ear. Waited a second to tap it twice for a double beep “Andrea Loke. Code: Tumbling and Back Handspring.” Followed by a single conformation beep. “Andrea?” it sent since there was no other Andrea in his com’s files.
“Why who could have given my future step son-in-law my password I wonder?” Andrea teased. “What do you need, Handsome?”
“To say thank you for the gift. I’ll treasure it. By the way, my code is Forgotten.”
“Now that is just depressing for a code. Why not Bad Ass Solarian? Or Hellcat’s Leash?”
“For one thing, Renee would kill me for the latter and the other, I don’t think my code is depressing. It reminds me I’ve gotten a second chance and don’t want to have it happen again.”
“Fine. Fine. You just do what you want and you’re welcome. Later.” She ended it first.
“And what would I kill you over?” Renee crossed her arms across her chest.
“She wanted me to change my code and one of them was Hellcat’s Leash.”
One thin strawberry eyebrow quirked. “Oh, you’d be right. I’d definitely be pissed.”
“So do you want to play a game of Zalie, Ms. Void?” Stone invited.
Her gaze narrowed on bandaged hands. “And what the hell happened to you?” She noticed the new sparkly weapons and raised a hand “Never mind. Got it.” Turning to the water flowing back into the pool by Steven’s power she added “No thank you. Maybe tomorrow. I came to get my idiot and go fish for supper. It’s twenty one hundred.”
“Sure is!” Stone admitted in surprise. “We’ve played for six whole hours. Mind if I come? I’m in the mood for a little Piranha if possible.”
“Ditto! Wouldn’t mind doing a little spear fishing myself.” Steven said, lengthening the weapon by which would be utilized.
“More the merrier.” Renee said and they all ate.
By the time sleep called they headed back and Renee was overjoyed to find her medic mentor aboard and they spent a few hours catching up. Renee also told her no, but did the sample tests and told her his antibodies killed all pathogens she’d later isolate for new cures before they all turned in. And also underwent the PTSD tests to hate every minute of it. Turns out the negative side effects were minimal oddly enough compared to her baseline.
At last they reached Verard where awaited families of those taken as well as analysts of the military for the contents of the merc vault to go after anyone who used their means to illegally circumvent the empire’s laws. Oliver and Renee stayed out of the spotlight as Jake Dorgen and Amanda Loke spoke to the press how they found a weakness in the enemy mainframe to cause everything to self-destruct. Jessica’s unparalleled hacking skills falsified the evidence that no one could crack. And the victims were true to their word about not letting slip only a single man had actually saved them. But before their families arrived aboard the victims all privately thanked him one last time, his secret being kept safe. No one other than Jake and Sparky knew, but Sparky carefully manipulated the minds to make the person be unable to tell of Oliver. They could think how thankful, but would get a sick feeling if ever they let try to slip about actual events. Sparky didn’t like it, but knew it was necessary and no one else knew about it.
Only the original crew would remain when medics and victims disembarked.
All four hundred sixty four crewmen.
In the following days Jake Dorgen was hailed the destroyer of another great enemy and also dumped a few hundred trillion credits into the Verard economy.
Surprisingly though Oliver got a call from Vanishing Claw telling the ligament splicing was unanimously approved by the Elders and word had spread to all Hunter colonies about reporting to the nearest Splicing center for the enhancement. Every living Hunter from now on would get a scaled down version the human body could sustain, but would be faster than ever. It would not be publically available for a few years, yet lives had already been saved on multiple accounts as other Hunter Elders could react and save others in speeds they couldn’t use before, gaining enthusiastic approval when they tested it on the front lines. They could reach places faster and dodge enemies that would have taken them down without the splicing.
Stone and Steven were eagerly among hundreds that day reporting for the ligament enhancement and as soon as they got aboard they were taught by Oliver how to best use their new physical attributes. The Dorgenox stayed in port for a full week readying for future endeavors which gave the Hunters plenty of time to adapt.
But despite their new skills they still could not match Oliver’s speed even doubling up and not holding back. He was still beyond them in terms of reaction time and unorthodox moves beyond human reflex. Vanishing Claw’s style and Creelin fights surpassed human abilities.
But the only downside was Renee sometimes had nightmares and both Sparky and Rose started sleeping with her and Oliver. Sometimes she would wake up gasping in a cold sweat clinging to Sparky for dear life. Having him and Rose sleep temporarily close was a help when the first really bad night happened when she wouldn’t wake from a nightmare and Oliver could do nothing. It was Sparky who mentally brought her back, sending soothing images over being raped and beaten. He had used such masterful care to do no damage, telepathy far more intricate than Oliver could manage without causing damage to her psyche.
And as promised, the Drake privately tutored on telepathic abilities, building upon Callier’s lessons. Strangely, Drakes were by far the better teacher despite being much younger. Besides, Drake telepathy far exceeded Creelin and just above
the Keptl by a wide margin.
And when supplies were restored they hopped into FTL after a week at port, resuming the hunt for the elusive breadcrumbs left behind by the vanished Solarian people. During the flight in subspace Oliver and Jacob Wrench got started in their spare time on the second version of the Gravity Forge. Oliver had figured out at last how to get the materials so close together and it resulted from higher mathematics to reconfigure the recyclers which produce items that had been disposed of. It was coming along slow as this Forge would be three times larger than the original. Meaning they had to move it to another shop as Steven’s private one proved too small.
It wouldn’t be completed for a few months as it was a side project and Oliver and Jacob were both busy men.
The next adventure awaited and was making the crew increasingly excited to look for more hidden secrets buried in the past.
Chapter 8
So this is Drakken Prime. Thought Oliver as he looked out over the opened deck holding orbit over the breathtaking planet, just behind the thin barrier of photons separating him from space’s vacuum. Even from orbit he could see the surface clearly, well eighty five percent to be accurate, is covered in near endless snowcapped mountains. Drakken Prime had a thick atmosphere similar to prehistoric Earth, but with much more tectonic shifts resulting in near endless mountains. Hills and valleys were shrouded in the shadows of the majestic mountains and active volcanoes. The only green forests seemed to grow around the middle of the mountains that got its fair share of solar light yet some plants evolved where little to no light could ever reach, aptly named ravine forests. Many dimly glowed and were crawling with giant Tarantula Beasts and other predatory insects… some plants too were carnivores in areas lacking adequate nitrogen in their soil.
Winds on the Drake home world were deadly to even experienced pilots, but Drakes thrived, their double wings able to be undaunted no matter how deadly the mountains kicked up storms.
Only three human cities called it home, but only because the Drake council of Elders allow it as humans can do thing they cannot and vice versa. A symbiotic relationship, but Drakes had their pride and wanted their planet to remain untouched as best possible. Since it was their home, the Empire respected the wish.
“Finished marveling at my home?”
Oliver turned to find Rose gliding over casually to join him, landed and folded her wings along her body. “Not really. It is a beautiful and rugged place.”
“So it is. I too can stare for hours.” She mentally sighed, wrapping her dark pink tail around her body. “It calls to me. It is where I hatched, lived and made my own nest of many young. It has been near nine years since I last looked upon my home. All of my brood know I have returned and are eager to see their mother and matriarch. At times like this it makes me remember what is truly important.”
“Your people are more social than humans anyway. It hits harder and I can tell how much by reading your emotions.”
“My mate has taught you well these long weeks. You will never be Drake, but you excel above nearly every master human telepath not bonded to my people… by the way, has Steven’s wounds healed?”
That made him chuckle. Rose’s eyes crinkled though Drakes can’t smile, you can tell by emotion in their eyes. “I told him not to, but he doesn’t listen to anyone. He just had to sing opera in front of Sparky in the mess hall. He can’t carry a tune to save himself, but Sparky knew it was intentional. Steven deserved those bite marks Sparky’s teeth inflicted through his armor.” He chuckled again. “I’ll not forget Renee sewing the bite holes with his ass sticking out over a bench and followed it up by spanking the man right on the stitches. I’ve yet to see him sit in the past six days.”
“I like music, but opera hurts my ears unless the volume is low. My mate loathes it and wishes that form of music had died out in the humans’ history like rap no one could understand.” Rose told and turned her neck around to the sound of the normal door rising instead of the elevator as Stone and Satellite came in. Stone carrying his weapons and wore gauntlets again since his hands had both healed up and were stronger because of it. “Greetings, Stone. Satellite.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Rose.” Satellite chirped. “I see you are eager to go home. Any news when we may be seen by the Drake Council?”
“Yes, about twenty minutes prior word returned to me. We will be seen at sunrise tomorrow since they already retired for the afternoon. The remainder of this day will be spent introducing you to my brood. I was also told my old nest had been given to a more needy young pair so we will be allowed to nest under the guest area reserved for dignitaries since our arrival is most ideal. It is the perfect windy season. Wind will be too strong for most flying ships to land in the area. With Oliver, we will have no fear of Wind Quakes that can damage flying ships. We will be free to do as we please without anyone of great human importance for several weeks… if we gain approval.”
“What are our chances since you so kindly brought it up? I take it the Dorgenox’s deep scans can’t find this castle we’re looking for like most Solarian tech that disguises things until you’re standing right in front of it?” Stone wondered.
“Correct. Nothing has been found. Just as it has been since your people found us a few centuries ago. On the other subject… I’m uncertain how my Elders will react to our request, but we too are curious as a species in search of knowledge. Since Sparky was a lesser Elder of our race once, it helps. If they know not about a castle, they will likely allow us permission to see what we have yet to discover of our own past since we too evolved by Solarian seeding. Seeing our world’s secrets and exploring it is as looked towards as much as meeting new and nice individuals. If they do know, we will need to wait for a response. Either way, I believe we have a decent chance.” She believed.
“Here’s hoping.” Stone said, crossing his fingers.
After that Steven and Visor arrived before Renee and Sparky showed up. Due to the dangerous wind conditions and unpredictable shifts, only three ships would be headed to the surface. Known as Wind Quakes, the mountain planet’s storms could create winds that go from a gentle breeze to a gust on average of seven hundred kilometers an hour in bursts that come out of nowhere. The windy season was like a short summer as updrafts on the thick atmosphere made the winds worse. Only Drakes didn’t fear the Wind Quakes. Shuttles, ships and fighters often perished and only ace pilots would dare risk it in only an emergency situation. Rest of the time it was strongly recommended to wait for the season to pass in another month.
No time like the present. Oliver jumped into the Flare, Renee piloted the River Skipper with Rose and Sparky while the Hunters got in their Seekers. The Flare’s systems were far more advanced than ever before since Oliver did more tinkering and was first out of the dock. The River Skipper slid out next as it too had been upgraded, much to Renee’s delight. It’s silvery sails reflected light from Drakken Prime’s young single white star as it came out. When Stone and Steven caught up Renee’s face came up on the surface of the cockpit window of the Flare. “Lead the way, Idiot.”
Oliver skillfully flipped completely around, making the ship’s namesake appear as the plasma from the thrusters created a flare of energy fly out as it flipped in nearly an instant. He pressed his right foot down on the accelerator and shot ahead. Turning his neck around he witnessed Renee flying behind with the others lining up single file.
Before reaching the atmosphere, warning lights came up on screen showing turbulence exceeding safe flying conditions, but Oliver took care of it by creating a barrier a half kilometer wide that held back fierce Wind Quakes like a cylinder of unbreakable steel that would never succumb to weathering. It was effortless to him, the tunnel hadn’t made a vacuum, just blocked winds. The burn of reentry hit the Flare brightly and safely, deflecting off her own automatic barrier systems. Then it cleared.
Majestic snowcapped peaks far as the eye could see whipped up storms. The blown snow visually showing how fierce and beautiful the
storms were. One scene made him laugh when he zoomed a camera over on a slope where a royal blue Drake was on a sled and was skiing down the face and seemed to be having the time of his life. When he reached the bottom he lifted off the ground and flew back up to do it all over again. It did look like fun.
A smooth flight lasted the entire journey and Rose gave Oliver a mental image on what to look for and flying over a few more mountains in the gradually setting eastern horizon showed one of the much larger mountains dotted in thousands of unnaturally uniform caves. He angled towards the space between the middle pine forest and the base. Soon he visually located the landing cave where ships could park because of landing lights and both humans and Drakes were moving across the open space. It was a bit of a spectacle as the four ships came in and dropped for a landing. Oliver hopped out and placed a palm on the reader to lock his fighter completely down for anyone who might want to have a peek. A few new tricks were installed to keep curious noses from sniffing where they ought not.
River Skipper opened up and out came Sparky, Rose and Renee levitating her partner’s tactical black Drake armor. Oliver watched as the pair seemed to be glad to be home as they kept taking deep breaths of the clean, cool air and humming with their eyes completely closed. It made him wonder if ever he found his home if it would make him feel nostalgic upon returning. As he watched he heard Renee say “Papa, We made it safe and sound… I will… Love you too, Papa. I’ll let you know when we learn anything.”
“Our young await in the gathering hall. This way.” Sparky informed and led them across the landing area closing up for the night. Some watched them cross, especially Oliver who wore his full armor, mainly for the helmet to disguise his eyes. Not for the imposing aspect it created. Chatting with large Hunters did help a little and holding Renee’s hand had made the daunting look seem more approachable.
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