Kharmic Rebound

by Yeager, Aaron

  “Our side?”

  “Yes, of course. Gerald Dyson commands the power of Ragnarok, and you are close to him. So long as you have his ear and remain in his favor, we can be sure that he will never use it against the Bertulf.”

  Ilrica’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why you are here?”

  Ullok raised up his hand. “Your initiation into the clan is not conditional.”

  “You sure? Because this sure sounds like another mission to me.”

  “I assure you it is not. I told Faelan herself that I would not come here unless your place in the circle was assured either way. Whether you accept or decline her request, you will forevermore be one of us. I made her swear it before the Alphas.”

  Ilrica looked to Accalia for conformation and she nodded gravely. “Faelan was most displeased, but she did swear it.”

  This calmed Ilrica down a bit. “So, what is the request then?”

  Ullok cleared his throat. “That you make your union with Gerald Dyson official. Marry him.”

  “But if I am part of your clan...”

  “You will be part of my clan, but I will not be your Alpha. Gerald will be.”

  “I don’t recall it ever being done that way.”

  Ullok looked away. “I know. It is most unusual, but Faelan was insistent. She fears that machine. She fears it will be used against her and her people, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”

  Ilrica regarded him carefully. “And what about you? Are you willing to do anything?”

  Ullok looked at her and grinned. “No. Not for anything. There are many things I would give up for my pack. My life, for example. My position, surely. If it would benefit them for me to step down, I would. But there are other things that I would never give up, like my honor.”

  “So, should I accept her offer?”

  Ullok looked at Accalia for validation. She nodded approvingly.

  He turned back to Ilrica. “No, you should not.”

  “You’re not a very good negotiator.”

  Ullok smiled, revealing a mouth full of ivory fangs. “I am a hunter, not a politician. Faelan asks too much in this case, even for a god. If you choose to make Gerald Dyson your mate, it must be your choice and yours alone. She has no right to ask it of you.”

  Ilrica looked at him softly. “You are an honorable Alpha, Ullok. The Bertulf need more people like you. If my heart wasn’t already...” she shook her head and cleared her throat. “You can tell Faelan that it was already my intention to marry Gerald Dyson.”

  Ullok nodded. “That should please her.”

  A windtunnel appeared and the Bertulf began filing through it.

  Accalia paused and turned back, placing a hand on Ilrica’s shoulder. “Be swift in securing him. Faelan will not be the only one who will compete for Ragnarok.”

  She looked Ilrica right in the eyes. “Many are coming.”

  * * *

  “But you said I could never marry a solid,” Zurra said as she sat on her pink bed sheets.

  Her father rolled up closer to her, brushing the pink fluffy chandelier out of the way. “Yes, I did say that. But he is not a solid.”

  Zurra raised an eyebrow. “He’s not?”

  “No, sweetheart. He is a key, the key to Ragnarok, and whoever controls that key, guarantees their own safety for the next hundred cycles.”

  Zurra leaned back against her pink headboard. “I want to marry him, but for me, not for you.”

  “So, don’t do it for me, sweetheart. Marry him because you like him.”

  “Love him.”

  “...Whatever. Go ahead and do it. You have my blessing. The Core-World Sub-Federation must have Raganrok on our side to protect us from the Bertulf Protectorate. Think about it, we’ll never have to run again. Our home will never be threatened again. We’ll be strong and at the same time, you’ll get what you’ve always wanted anyway. It’s a win-win situation.”

  Zurra’s eyes twinkled with delight.

  * * *

  Cha’Rolette was surprised to see her father and a dozen Ssykes men enter her dorm room. What do you want?

  E’Duwag laughed. What do I want? You hear this girl?

  “I hear her, Sir.”

  What do I want? I want to hug you.

  He put out his arms, but she backed away. Hug me? You should be furious with me. I left the family. I stole and destroyed trillions of dollars worth of Ssykes property. I...

  Are you kidding? The family couldn’t be happier with you. That stunt you pulled, saving all those people with our ships, that big Ssykes logo gleaming proudly on the side? You can’t buy advertising like that. Stocks have been up ten krints a day since it happened, with no signs of stopping. The ships were insured for twice what it cost to produce them. You actually made us money. And the boy...

  E’Duwag sat down. Daughter, your instincts about that boy were right on the money. He controls the biggest gold mine of this century, and you’ve positioned yourself perfectly to claim the rights to it.

  I have?

  Think about it. That ship is way beyond anything that can be produced in the Alliance. If a bunch of slobbering plebian pirates can reverse engineer shadow tech from that thing, think of what our A-list R&D guys could pull out of it...

  E’Duwag clapped his hands. I tell ya, I can smell the money on this one. This is the big one. A whale of a whale!

  Cha’Rolette was unimpressed. So, you want me to marry him and bring him into the family, right?

  Of course. Cha’Rolette, this thing is a weapon, the most powerful weapon ever. Whoever controls it will be unstoppable. So Ssykes must control it.

  Cha’Rolette looked at him coldly. Except I’m not part of the family anymore. I left, remember?

  E’Duwag laughed delightedly. He slapped one of his bodyguards, encouraging them to join in. The men all laughed together. Oh, I love this girl. She’s got tralls like a rhinox.

  E’Duwag knelt before her. It was so unexpected and out of character, it shocked her to her feet. So, come back, he offered. Be the head of the family. You earned it. The mantle is yours.

  Cha’Rolette looked unsure.

  Look, Cha’Rolette. This is no time for hesitation. This is a race, the most important race of the century, and whoever gets to the prize first will be on top for the next millennium. You have already positioned yourself perfectly. You have worked too hard to settle for anything but the best.

  Cha’Rolette looked out her window. If I come back, and take up the mantle, I’m going to be doing things my way.

  Of course, who would stop you?

  No, I mean like really doing things my way. No more of this life without love path. I will not live that way, and I will not raise my children that way, no matter how important it may be to you. I won’t do it. If my children grow up and aren’t fit to lead the family, so be it, but at least they’ll have a life. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.

  E’Duwag stood up, straightening his tie uncomfortably. I ah... What you ask is too steep, and you know it. There are some things even I can’t change.

  Cha’Rolette turned around, and gave a superior sniff. Then leave. Like you said, I am already perfectly positioned. Send in some other girls to woo him. Ka’Oppel would love the chance, and frankly I’d love to see her try. But we both know, it’ll take them months to really get close to him, and by then he’ll be my husband, and mine alone.

  She looked out the window. Perhaps I’ll start my own company. Like you said, monetizing shadow tech is going to be insanely lucrative. Easily the cornerstone market of the next millennium. You may not like my terms as an ally, but I promise you, you will like me far less as an adversary. Who knows? In a hundred cycles, I just might buy you out.

  E’Duwag swallowed hard. Glancing furtively at his bodyguards, he narrowed his voice so that only she could hear. In public, you would have to pay lip service to the path, of course. In private, you could run your household however you wanted. Is that an
acceptable compromise?

  Cha’Rolette looked at him sadly. He used to be this terrifying man. Now he seemed small, petty, pathetic even. He was the wealthiest man in the galaxy, yet his greed made him as easy to bend as any one else.

  In that moment, Cha’Rolette felt grateful in her heart to have ever known a real man. One like Gerald Dyson.

  So, even your sacred path has a price, she said, disappointed.

  I will not be the generation that squanders our wealth. I’ll do anything.

  She closed her eyes. I know. That’s why it’s so sad.

  Cha’Rolette turned around. I will take up the mantle, although I warn you, you will hate me for the changes I implement. I will make Ssykes Industries completely legit.

  E’Duwag smoothed back his oily ta’atu. I don’t care. Just get us Ragnarok.

  I will ask Gerald to marry me, but I won’t force him. He will marry me because he wants to, or not at all. That is my path.

  E’Duwag became enraged. That is not what I offered you!

  No, it is what I am offering to you. If you don’t like it, then leave.

  E’Duwag stared her down, his eyes cold as stone. She looked back at him, with eyes just as hard.

  For several moments they stood there, eyes locked in place.

  E’Duwag’s eyes flickered, and then he backed down.

  Very well, he said, turning away.

  As he stomped his way to the door, he paused and looked back. I’m not going to apologize. The way I raised you made you strong.

  No, it didn’t, she answered remorsefully. It only broke my heart.

  * * *

  As she sat in her dorm room, Trahzi double-checked the position of her knitting needles, and compared it to the example in the window floating before her. The scarf she was working on for Gerald wasn’t turning out well at all. “How does Gerald make this look so easy?” she grumbled.

  There was a flash of fire, and a male Trahzi appeared. As he turned to regard her, she stood up, emphasizing the height difference between them.

  “We have come to thank you,” he said, looking down at her. “If it weren’t for you, we would no longer exist. We were wrong about you. We see now that there are some others that can be trusted.”

  “You are welcome,” she said, not sure of what to say.

  “It was a strange experience for us,” he admitted. “For the first time, we experienced the fear of death. It paralyzed us. It has weighed heavily on our mind ever since.”

  “I know what you are experiencing,” she said. “I used to be you.”

  “And somehow you overcame it. You overcame the fear of death. Can you give us this power?”

  “No, I can only show you the way to obtain it.” She held out her hand and created a small glowing sphere. “This is a copy of my memories and experiences since leaving you. Please take it with you.”

  He took it and regarded it cautiously. “If we use this, what may happen?”

  “I do not know. Becoming an individual was a difficult experience for me. I can only assume it will be the same for you. But it has also been rewarding. There is an entire new world of experience and emotion awaiting you amongst the others. If there is ever to be a lasting peace between you and them, you will have to bridge that gap. One day, when you are ready, you can make that journey, and I will be here, waiting to greet you.”

  “You know that you can never rejoin us.”

  Trahzi looked away, saddened. “I know. But I have found a new link, a new purpose. And... I hope to turn it into a family, if Gerald will have me.”

  “You mean to mate with him?”

  “Marriage is much more than procreation. It is a combination of purpose and spirit, a union of loyalty and love. It is a beautiful thing.”

  “We do not understand.”

  “Someday, I hope you will.” She looked up at him. “Now that I have tasted love, I could never survive without it. It is as vital to me as food. Maybe even more so.”

  “That sounds like weakness.”

  “I know it seems that way... but it isn’t.”

  He nodded. “We do not understand, but we do not disbelieve you, either. Now, what of Ragnarok? We cannot feel secure knowing that there exists a weapon that can so easily destroy us. We would banish him to the shadow realm this instant, but we fear that any attempt to do so would lead him to use the weapon on us again.”

  Trahzi grew concerned. “Please do not hurt him. He is dear to me. He would never use it to hurt you.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  An idea occurred to him. “If you engaged in this union of spirit with Gerald, it would give you control over him, would it not?”

  “In a sense, yes.”

  “Then you could use that control to ensure our safety?”

  “I suppose.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “If you will marry him, we will allow him to live.”

  She was worried. “And if I don’t?”

  “Then we will have no other choice but to end his life. It is the only other way we can ensure our survival.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but he disappeared.

  * * *

  Gerald created a three-dimensional diagram of the building to make sure he had the right place. He reached out to knock on the door, but it slid open for him before he could.

  Stepping inside, he saw Kalia laying there on the bed, covered with nothing but a bed sheet.

  “Hello, Gerald,” she said sultrily.

  “Not this again,” Gerald groaned as he spun on his heel and walked away.

  Kalia sat up. “Hey! Where are you going?”

  She wrapped herself up in the bed sheets and followed him out into the hallway.

  “Come back here!” she yelled out. “Don’t you know a true man should never turn down the advances of a lady?”

  “Ladies are modest and prudent,” Gerald shot back.

  From around the corner, Kalia heard snickering. Poking out around the wall, she saw Zurra and Lyssandra standing there, trying to contain their laughter.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “That’s a rookie mistake,” Zurra laughed. “Rookie mistake. You can’t get to him that way.”

  “Stop laughing!” Kalia shouted, embarrassed. She extended out her arm back into the room and grabbed a pillow. “I didn’t know that. It wasn’t even my stupid idea. They told me that Gerald has to marry me so Ragnarok would be attached to the royal family.”

  She hit them both with the pillow, but they only laughed louder.

  Gerald stepped out into the lobby, but Cha’Rolette was standing there waiting for him, surrounded by a dozen bodyguards.

  “Hello, Cha’Rolette,” he greeted warmly. “Did you just get back from the ceremony?”

  Yes, I am the head of the family now. But before I assume my duties, I need to talk to you in private.

  “And you are welcome to,” Ilrica said, appearing next to him, wearing her new Ulric clan armband. “After I am finished talking to him.”

  “No, I must speak with him at once,” Trahzi said, appearing in a flash of fire. “This is a matter of grave import.”

  “Hey look, everyone is here,” Zurra said as she rolled into the lobby, a hastily dressed Kalia right behind her.

  Lyssandra walked in, then paused. She picked up instantly on the tension in the room. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she reached down and flicked off the safety on her pistol.

  Gerald stood at the center of the lobby, Cha’Rolette and her guards before him. Trahzi on his right, Ilrica on his left. Kalia and Zurra behind. The girls said nothing, but all knew what was about to happen. They stood ready, waiting for the one who would make the first move. Their air was thick with aggression.

  The more observant of the hotel guests began quietly working their way toward the exits.

  “Oh boy,” Gerald said, taking half a step back.

  Lyssandra grabbed a passing bellhop robot. “You may want to alert the managers,” she whispered. �
��You need to evacuate the guests.”

  “Is there a problem, ma’am?” the robot asked.

  “Yes. “In about thirty seconds, your hotel is going to be destroyed.”

  Trahzi’s fist began steaming.

  Ilrica’s claws began to glow.

  The Ssykes bodyguards reached within their jackets. Two more of them appeared up on the balconies above.

  Zurra held her hands together, gathering together her energies.

  Even Kalia flipped out her blade and powered up her barriers.

  Cha’Rolette turned her gaze to Trahzi. Markerlights from unseen snipers landed on Trahzi’s red skin. In truth, I’ve become rather fond of you, Trahzi, she said coldly. I’d really prefer not to hurt you.

  “I am surprised you think you can,” Trahzi retorted.

  Ilrica turned her glowing eyes to Kalia. “I won’t lie. I’ve been itching for a rematch with you for some time now.”

  Kalia’s laser cannons whirred to life. “I hope you invested in some improved barriers. I’d hate for this to be too easy.”

  Lyssandra walked up and stood before Gerald, shielding him from the others, her pistol and cutlass drawn.

  “Stand down Bal.”

  “No, I am his sword, I am his shield. My place is at my master’s side.”

  Zurra looked around, her lightning ready to release. “So it’s come to this, then, has it?”

  I suppose this was inevitable.

  “In the end, only one of us can have him.”

  Please, don’t flatter yourselves. The rest of you never had a chance.

  Trahzi clenched her fist. “I don’t want to fight the rest of you, but this is the only way I can save Gerald’s life.”

  Ilrica licked her lips. “Let’s do it then!”

  Cha’Rolette raised her hand, giving the command to attack.

  Ilrica leapt forward.

  Kalia charged.

  Zurra thrust her hands out.

  Trahzi punched her fist.

  Lyssandra squeezed her trigger.

  “STOP!” came a deep baritone voice.

  The girls all froze in place. A man dressed in royal rainments entered the lobby, his three wives entering behind him. His shoulders were broad, his eyes strong. He had one of the most impressive beards Gerald had ever seen. Even better than Mr. Schild’s back on earth.