“I trust you, Mark. I can see my daughter, knowing what she does, she does too. I wish I could say I doubt her judgment but at times it’s been sounder than my own and I trust her decision. I know you have hard times ahead of you and even know there is a chance you both may die. It saddens me a great deal to think of that, but I know many others will and have to ensure our safety as a race. At least she will have the deadliest bastard in her court and she’ll become one,” he said with a grim stare.
Mark nodded. “I can agree with that.”
“I understand how you think you may become a monster. It’s only truly bad when you forget you don’t want to become one. Then you’ll be one,” he said firmly, looking back to the city. His tone softened. “I hope you come to think of Crisidium as your home. You’ve done so much for us. You saved my daughter and made her laugh and smile more than I thought possible when they were bashing at our door. My wife thinks it’s great you have such a healthy appetite. My boys think of you as a knight of old or a superhero as I’ve seen in the comics.”
“I do…”
“Actually, screw that—I’m a king. Mark Victor, you’re a citizen of Crisidium, family to the royal family and confidant. You may come to the palace as you please and treat it as if it were your own home.”
“The joys of having a king for a husband—always ordering people about.” The queen smiled to her husband and then Mark. “But I agree with him. The dinner is winding down and we’ve sorted out your quarters.”
Mark could sense Ava around the corner and sent her a prompt.
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea!” she said from behind the corner, coming out and putting her hand on her hip, giving her parents a scolding glare before letting up and smiling. “But I agree with them, Mark.” She smiled. “Well, Mother, shall we? He may seem bright with all those degrees but I think he has them to hide a certain lacking in all of his mental abilities.”
“Ava,” Mark said in a warning tone. His face betrayed him as his scold turned into a grin.
“Come on, you lot. You, too, Hael—and put that damned pipe out!”
“Yes, dear,” he said rapidly, tapping out the embers and putting it in his jacket. He gave Mark a shit-I-got-caught look behind her back as she and Ava turned, the two men in tow.
Guards opened the doors to the private quarters. It was four stories tall, with a fountain in the middle opening up to the side of the mountain. There were open, airy quarters, a massive kitchen, extensive library, an office, and dining area.
Mark was guided to the third floor, which was the top of the library with three bedrooms. Mark and Ava’s suits floated up to the quarters. Ava’s room was across the open space that went through all four floors. Ava and her mother flung open the doors to Mark’s quarters. Inside was a sitting room of sorts to one side and a bathroom with an attached bedroom with a window view of the city.
“This’ll be your room for whenever you visit,” the queen said firmly. “Now, we’ll leave you to get some sleep,” she said softly with a smile, guiding her husband away and muttering about dirty habits.
“Those’re some of the best parents I’ve ever seen,” Mark said. His suit floated through the door and landed in his room. His suit changed to fatigues and his suit opened.
“Yes, they are,” Ava said with a forlorn smile.
“Take what time you can with them.”
Ava nodded sadly. The unsaid truth this might be the last week she saw her family or her city and planet forever hung in the air.
“Thank you for tonight, Mark.”
“I should be the one thanking you. I’d have been lost without you.”
“Not to mention not there,” she said with a small grin.
“That too.” He grinned and stood up from the bed, the changes complete.
“Well, goodnight. See you tomorrow then.”
“That you will, though tomorrow we’ll get some real relaxation done!”
“Getting drunk and passing out in a gully is not considered the best kind of relaxation around here.”
“Well, we better have a talk with those people! It’s the best relaxation in the world!”
“All right, goodnight, Mark.” She walked away, her bronzed skin catching the light against her blue and white dress. She closed the doors behind her as Mark walked into his suit.
“Don’t even think about it, Mark.” His thoughts drifted to the evening. For the first time in a very long time, smiles and laughter filled his dreams.
***
Mark woke early. He shrugged, the armor opening as he strolled out into the hall, stretching; his nanite-made clothes looked freshly ironed and starched.
“Report?”
“And good morning to you, too, Mark. The Phantoms enjoyed the lowlights of the city. Those with families have gone to visit. All of them have their armor. Those in Gtrul have theirs too. Those who aren’t doing anything are taking up those courses you gave to Ava and she put on the net. They’re also working on the systems around the city and helping out. We have requests from the architect society and workshop committee for help on different activities. The satellites are ready, awaiting your final checks. Pullo put the launch date as the same day as when the transport comes.”
“Send the requests from the committee and the society to the Phantoms if they want to do it all. See if we can get some more satellites to launch from the ship as we’re leaving the system. Large type Echos, I’m thinking. With those missile casings so we can get them into position faster.”
“Understood. Sending the fabrication order to the forges. Also, it seems that with the forges, the senate wants a system which only the appropriate people can access.”
Mark understood as she uploaded the information to his memory banks.
“All right. Isolate the NIAI and Pluto-powered armor linking code and send it to Charles. That’ll hopefully give him some sort of a baseline.”
“Done. Breakfast will be served in two hours. There is a kitchen which will provide food upon request.”
“Thanks, Sarah.”
“No problem.”
Mark walked through the private quarters, making his way down to the first floor and the general area, finding the kitchen by smell.
He walked in with a smile on his face at the fresh baked goods appearing as if by magic from ovens around the room.
“Diaz, I see you over there. We’re not eating till this is all done, mister!” The head chef, a portly woman whose kind features turned into a scowl, waved her stirring spoon at the accused, who hurriedly got back to work, keeping his hands out of any further tasty treats.
“Master chef, I was wondering if I could help?” Mark asked from the doorway.
She sized him up, taking up an aisle between the counters. His mass made him look like a human bulldozer.
“Grab that, that, that, and that,” she pointed to big containers of ingredients, “and put them in those, under their advisement. Try not to knock over everything and break it.”
Mark hefted the large containers; the people at the mixing bowls told him to pour and stop and then get more ingredients.
“May I?” he asked one of the mixers, obviously tired, gesturing to the strange whisk.
“Go for it.” He offered the whisk.
Mark let his nanites work, making the whisk larger and adding a motor. It started up as he put it in the massive pot, being done in a few minutes.
“What’s that you have there?” The head chef looked at the new whisk.
“It’s a motorized whisker.” He showed her as he did the same to the other whisks, then made the ovens easier to warm up and keep heat. Two chefs ran out as they saw his nanites leak from his skin.
“Princess!” the head chef said after an hour of Mark messing around with various kitchen equipment.
He was underneath a sink, turning it into a sonic cleaner and disinfection station as everyone bowed in the room.
“Hey, Ava.” Mark’s hand rose in a wave before he continued with h
is work.
“Don’t mind me,” Ava said to the kitchen staff as she walked over to Mark, kicking his foot. “Why do I always find you fixing something or passed out?”
“Always catching me at the wrong times. Now, do you think it’s better to make a recycler for a food processor or to turn waste into fertilizer?”
“Food processor, somewhere where everyone can access it so they can get food as they need it.”
“All right, I’m going to interconnect the garbage disposal systems then, and put processors at multiple public places. Sound good, Princess?”
“Sounds good to me.” She sighed as the master chef came over.
“Look at you, getting all skinny. We have to fatten you up! No man would like a twig!” She pulled Ava away.
“I see that grin, Mark!”
“Just make sure you save me some food, Ava. I know what you’re actually like.” Mark looked at her walking away, shaking her head.
Once Mark was done messing with the kitchen, breakfast was served with the royal family. Mark and Ava ate huge amounts of food until everyone departed for their daily activities.
“I thought this might interest you.” Ava brought Mark into the library, towering three floors and filled with books. “It’s the biggest library in all of Tricticus.”
Mark walked around, looking at the masses of books. He picked up one written in Latin. “This is a copy of a book from actual Rome.”
“Yes, there are many like that, but before I didn’t have the time to read them all. I was going to go through all of them and upload them to the net.”
Mark opened a book, reading its contents. “Want a hand?”
“Sure—two’s better than one.”
“All right then, let’s get started.” Mark sat down and flipped through the pages.
Chapter 37
Crisidium
Tricticus, Emarl system
10/3352
“The drop-ship’s here for loading. The shuttle will arrive in a few hours,” Sarah informed Mark as he sat on one of the many balconies of the royal family’s wing.
“Thanks, Sarah.” He didn’t know where the time had gone. He and Ava had finished reading the books the day before. Drinking and partying by night, chaperoning the Phantoms to make sure nothing was destroyed too badly.
He pushed that from his mind as he stood, calling his suit and checking the others had received the message. He walked into the main lobby, his suit floating off the ground. The entire royal family hugged Ava, who had tears in her eyes.
They broke apart after a few seconds. Ava’s mother turned to face Mark. “I know you can’t make me any promises, but please look after her.”
“I’ll do my best, ma’am.”
She smiled sadly and nodded.
“Give the Maraukians hell,” Hael said. “We’ll always have a room for you here.”
“Thank you.”
Ava gave them one last hug; then, both she and Mark stepped into their suits and walked out to the balcony. Again, anti-grav took over as they went over the railing, leveling out as Ava and her family waved good-bye before they were lost from sight. Chyna met up with them and then the other Phantoms from across Crisidium as they made their way to the drop-ship.
“Now, let’s go see how Roma is,” Ava said with a hint of sadness and excitement.
Mark grinned in his helmet as one by one, Phantoms formed the arrowhead with Ava and Chyna on his left and right as they flew out of an opened hatch and toward the drop-ship.
***
Mark put the last of his satellites on the maglev as the rail was cleared, firing it after its sisters. It flew out of the base, light being emitted as it encountered air resistance and then was out of the atmosphere, using its rockets to guide it behind the other satellites.
A few minutes later, another white dot appeared in the sky, announcing the arrival of the battleship’s single shuttle, which was making entry into Tricticus’s atmosphere. And just like the sliders coming sedately down, it rested in the main hangar as robots pulled off materials and loaded up new ones into the shuttle’s bays.
“All right, Phantoms, get loaded up. You know the drill.”
“Cargo master, where do you want us?” The cargo master’s look at all of the Phantoms reminded him that not everyone had seen them before and they were quite the oddity still. “Here’s our loading orders.”
“All right, you’re in the upper personnel deck.”
“Thanks, CM.”
The shuttle was made for loading and unloading at speed and was done so within ten minutes, moving untold tons in the short period of time.
Loaded and secured, the shuttle made its way to the accelerator rail Mark had just used for his satellites.
“Launch in three, two, one.”
The maglev accelerated them past Mach nine; the inertial compensators worked against gravities that would kill a normal human in seconds. By the time the nausea had passed, they were through the atmosphere and on course for the battleship Moby.
“Moby, this is Shuttle One. Request permission to dock.”
“Shuttle One, this is Moby. Permission granted.”
The ship’s AI took over the grav controls; the pilot released command as the shuttle was brought to rest in the primary hangar and the bay doors closed behind them.
Sarah showed Mark the layout of the ship as she gained access, showing him the Phantoms assigned rooms, too. Around the shuttle, everyone was unlocking the harnesses now activated for a suit drop and getting to their feet to grab their single bag of personal effects.
“All right, you guys know what to do. Don’t get into shit.” His HUD lit green from everyone as he made his way to the cargo bay. It was one of his old habits that he had brought from the EMF.
“Brings back memories of our first meeting.”
“Little bit.” Mark chuckled as he got to what looked like two five-meter-long missiles.
“All right, let’s get these loaded.”
Mark watched over the missiles as if they were his children, moving them to the rear missile tubes, removing the live missiles and replacing them with his satellite missiles.
“All right, Chen. We’re good here.”
“Seems every time I see you, I’m launching satellites. Looks good on our side here.” Mark had already gotten permission from Chen when he’d entered the system so he left his satellites in the gunner’s hands. “I’ll be with the other Phantoms.”
The battleship was massive compared to an EMF equivalent, stretching six hundred meters long and two hundred meters around its hexagonal faces. It looked deadly, purposely built for battle, and weapons systems on every square foot it could be fit.
The Phantoms gathered stares from the crew on the battleship but they were used to it; a mixture of interest and curiosity of what their modifications had changed and why the senate had ordered the newest and highly upgraded battleship to one of three farthest secured planets and pick up forty-nine people who’d smashed the records on the simulation tanks to shreds.
Once Mark was done studying the ship, he began reading. Others played games. Now everything was done by NIAI, from video games to cards.
The missile/satellites were a normal affair, doing as projected as they were kicked into space along their expected trajectory.
“The satellites have dropped their shells and are deploying their high-density solar panels. We’re also about to enter jump, if you want to see.”
“You know me, Sarah.” Mark’s book disappeared as he and nearly all of the other Phantoms swarmed toward the best view screen on the ship. They watched through the forward-facing space view screen as the bridge counted down to jump.
“Engaging A-drive in five.” A countdown continued on the screen. As it hit zero, the ship thrummed and its bulkheads vibrated. The screen went from white to every color imaginable again to the gray of subspace.
“Three and a half weeks before we reach Roma. Get comfortable, people. Also, Centurion Victor, pl
ease report to the bridge at your earliest convenience.”
“Better go and see what he wants.” Mark walked through the ship, enjoying the ringing sound of the catwalks and the recycled air. It had been so long since he’d been in a military transport; he realized how much he missed them. His wave of nostalgia passed as he was ushered on to the bridge.
“Mark, I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
“Well, if I know what it is, maybe I can help.”
“When I got this ship, it was half out of the dock. She was all sealed up and had basically everything in. Charles got his hands on it and has remodeled most of it to get it into fighting trim. Even with his help and all of the upgrades, I have a three-quarters completed ship and there’s another ship being built in the berth I was in.”
“Seems Roma is ramping up the legion faster than I expected.”
“Yes, it’s a madhouse.”
“Okay, I’ll pass it onto my people. Do you have a forge?”
“No, but we have more materials than we can shake a stick at and four workshops.”
“I’ll get working on a forge right away then and we’ll see what we can do.”
“You can make one?”
“Well, our suits are made from nanites. We can make nearly anything with enough power and materials.”
“Thanks, Mark.”
“No problem. I’ll feel safer if the ship I’m on is fully completed instead of nearly.”
“Anything you need is at your disposal.”
“Thanks, Captain. I’ve had too much rest already,” Mark said dryly.
“Haven’t we all,” Chen replied in the same tone.
Chapter 38
SLS Moby
Roma, Hellenic system
2/3353
“Welcome to Roma system,” Chen said over the general NIAI and internal speaker system. “Another two days till we reach Roma central.”
Content, Mark continued reading and going to the mess every so often, joining in a few card games with the Phantoms here and there.
“Shuttle ready for loading Phantoms,” Chen announced through the Phantoms’ NIAI network.
Phantoms came from all over the ship until they were all together, entering the hangar.
The Tenth Awakens (Maraukian War Book 1) Page 24