Marta

by Frank Carey

  I looked over to Sana and watched the normally stern Marine Major melting under the coos from the infant. I looked down at my charge and saw a happy little gray elfling complete with rat-tail like both his parents. "Hey, little one," I said. "I'm your grandmother. Nice to meet you." The little one looked at me and smiled as if he could understand me. Losira, meanwhile, scanned both children.

  "Health like two little lorses," she said, referring to the elf version of a unicorn. "Dr. Thorsen, Dr. Mresk, could you take our two charges to exam room three and give them a once-over?"

  The two kids stuck out their hands toward one another. Curious, I walked over to where Sana was standing so the two could reach each other. They took each other's hands and closed their eyes.

  "My gods," Losira said as she scanned the two. "They're linking. That's impossible."

  After a moment, they released each other’s hands and returned to cooing and burbling like any normal newborn elf child would. Meanwhile, the adults in the room just stared in amazement.

  As the two doctors took the kids for their exams, Losira turned to Sana and me and asked, "What the plark happened here?"

  We shook out heads. "We came in and found the dead mercs while the family was standing in the corner," I explain. "We never fired a shot."

  "No blaster did this," Harm said as he got up from examining the bodies. "All three bodies are unmarked. It's like they just died where they were standing." He walked over and took his sister's hand, then released it. "That's blatantly impossible," he said having seen what had happened through the twin link they had momentarily shared. "They’re not nearly old enough to do that."

  "That's what I was taught," Losira said.

  "What about Shenda and Chasm?"

  "They seem to be in shock, but from what, I can't even guess. I'll get autopsies started on these three while I get Shenda, Chasm, and the twins examined. You guys did good today," she said as she headed out the door.

  "What happened on the roof?" I asked Harm.

  "Five thugs dead, five thugs in custody, and one ship turned to scrap." He stopped and looked around the room while reviewing the link data. "I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Marta."

  "Yeah, so do I," I replied. Something was definitely wrong here.

  Chapter 3 - What Now?

  We sat around the conference room table and waited for Losira to show up. With us were Sana and Queen Mother Lenora while EMEF Teams One and Two patrolled outside the room. Harm took my hand when I started to fidget in an attempt at calming my nerves.

  I hate waiting.

  The door opened followed by a big elf. It was Royce, my brother-in-law, ex-commander, and Losira's husband. After acknowledging Lenora, He sat down next to me. "What happened?" he asked.

  I explained with Harm's help. When we finished, Royce leaned back in his seat and sighed. "What now?"

  "I recommend you take Teams One through Five on a search and destroy mission to eliminate all remaining members of SpecPro," Lenora suggested.

  "You're sanctioning a hit on a secret organization?" I asked.

  "Of course. They are a proven threat to my family. I don't like threats."

  "My Queen, Losira will never authorize that type of op," Royce pointed out. The way he phrased the answer bothered me.

  "Then Lucien can do it," she said as she looked at Harmon. Harmon was born Prince Lucien Irithyl, but was kidnapped by SpecPro agents in an attempt at creating the perfect assassin. He grew up with the name of Harmon Aymar, a name given to him by his adopted parents.

  Harm looked at his birth mother and shook his head. "I've already taken care of it."

  "How?" I asked.

  "I placed an anti-contract out on myself and my family."

  "An anti-contract?" Royce asked. "What the hell is an anti-contract?"

  "I put out the word that I would buy any contract put out on us for double the price. I also hinted at a bonus in return for the identities of those who contracted the hit."

  "And you think this will work?" Lenora asked as she rubbed her chin.

  "Mercs work for money and getting twice as much for doing nothing will be very appealing. I think it will work. Especially coming from the Smuggler Elf."

  "You think I enjoy killing?" Lenora asked.

  "No, but I don't think you dislike it either. You are the embodiment of the warrior elf and you perform your duties with gusto."

  She leaned back in her seat and stared at her son past steepled fingers. "Are you sure you're not interested in wearing the crown?"

  "I couldn't lead a troop of scouts out of a one-hole outhouse. What chance would I have leading a planet?"

  God, I loved my husband. His only ambition was to see his family safe. All other concerns were secondary.

  Lenora reached over and took his hand. "You know so little about yourself, Lucien. You’ll be surprised when you see what you can really do."

  What the hell is she talking about? He's died saving a group of school kids, he's saved a planet from an invasion, and he personally stopped a creature from taking over the League. What more could he possibly do?

  The door opened and Losira walked in. She acknowledged Lenora before stepping to the front of the table. Behind her, an image formed of the inside of Shenda's room. Inside were Shenda, Chasm, and the two children. She stopped the video. "This is shortly after I called Harm and Marta about the condition of Shenda and the babies. Minutes after the call, Shenda went into labor and delivered Ashley and Grayson in the fastest birth I had ever seen. Marta, how long did Aerith's birth take?"

  "Ten hours," I said.

  "And she looked like she had fought a Goranthi prize fighter when she finished," Harm said.

  Losira nodded. "Mother?"

  "You and Lucien took eighteen hours," she replied.

  "Shenda took less than twenty minutes from water break to children in her arms. I have never seen anything like it."

  "And the children are healthy?" Royce asked.

  "I wish I was as healthy as those two."

  "And the parents?" Harm asked.

  “That's where it gets strange. Shenda is healthy, too healthy. It's like she gave birth months ago. Chasm, on the other hand, is showing every sign that he's coming down from a fight. His blood is acting like it's at the end of a healing cycle similar to the one he experienced when he saved Harmon. Neither remembers anything after Shenda went into labor. I have no explanation."

  "How did the mercs die?" I asked. Harm had mentioned that none of the three in the room had a mark on them.

  "They just died. No trauma, no wounds. It is as if they just dropped dead."

  "Could there be a problem with the tests?" Lenora speculated.

  Losira shook her head. "We had three doctors run three autopsies running three sets of tissue tests at three different labs. All came back negative. By all rights, they should still be alive."

  I looked over at Harm and saw his brow furrowed in thought. "What's wrong?"

  "Shenda's room has security cameras, right?"

  "Yes,"

  "What happened after the kids were returned to Shenda and Chasm?"

  I left, as did the rest of the staff. Alarms started going off a few minutes later. I tried to return to the floor but all the entrances were locked."

  Harm nodded. "That was about the time you were supposed to check-in with Sana, right?" I asked.

  "Correct. 1030 hours."

  "Sana, slide me that keyboard, please," Harm said. Sana complied. Harm typed a series of commands that caused the room’s view to light-up with a view of Shenda's room. They watched as Losira walked out. Shenda and Chasm fussed over the kids for a while before the door opened and the three mercs walked in. Shenda screamed while Chasm put himself between the mercs and his family. One of the mercs raised a weapon. Before he could fire, all three men crumpled to the ground followed by Chasm and Shenda grabbing the kids and heading to the corner. At that point, the video ended.

  "Dammit," Harm cursed. "I will find th
e remains of SpecPro and end their miserable lives," he hissed.

  "Why, what did you see?" I asked, having never seen him this angry.

  He rewound the tape to the point right before the merc raised his weapon. He zoomed in on the twins' eyes. "No glow. Now, watch," he said as he brought up a second window showing the mercs. He advanced the video one frame at a time.

  As we watched, the twins' eyes lit up bright blue just as the mercs dropped to the ground. Harm panned the camera to the left so they could see Chasm reaching for his wife's hand. Instead, he found his daughter's hand. Panning right, they could see the twins holding hands.

  "Oh my gods," Losira whispered. “They were linked with each other and Chasm.”

  Harm nodded. "That's why he's exhausted. They used his life force to stop the mercs in their tracks." Harm then checked Shenda's hands. Both were clasping the kids, but not touching their skin. He then panned over to the boy's left hand. It was nowhere near Shenda. He looked at Losira.

  "What?" I asked, barely able to process what I was seeing.

  "He was avoiding contact with Shenda," Losira said as she sat down. "I can't be certain, but it's as if they knew Chasm could take the energy output and Shenda couldn't.

  "This is impossible," Lenora said.

  "Shenda and Chasm are both genetically engineered life forms," I explained. "No one in this verse knows what is or isn't possible with those two."

  "What do we do now?" Royce asked.

  I looked at Harm and shrugged. "We protect the four of them."

  "How?" he asked.

  "I have an idea, but I want to talk to the kids first. Can we do that?"

  "Yes, the four of them are resting in a secure room at the center of this floor. All five teams are patrolling this floor and the ones above and below."

  "The Mariposa is scanning the airspace above us while every spare ratbot and catbot is out patrolling the grounds," Harm added. "I also have the Minotaur standing by in the parking structure."

  "I hope you warned valet parking," Royce quipped, which got a chuckle out of Lenora.

  I looked at this group and came to a decision. "Let me go in and talk to them alone."

  Harm looked at me with his WTF look. Lenora was more vocal. "Why you?" she asked.

  "I'm not in a position of power. I'm not a prince, queen, queen mother, or consort to the queen. I'm just a mom checking on her kids." I explained.

  "She's right," Harm said. "Having the ruling family of Ventos Prime in one room can be a little intimidating. I think we should let Marta go it alone."

  Damn, I think I loved the old elf even more. I looked at Sana and saw her nodding. "You guys do tend to the intimidating."

  Lenora looked from her daughter, who was nodding as well, then to the ceiling. "Fine! We'll stay here and gossip."

  I headed to the door before anyone had second thoughts.

  Chapter 4 - Getting Away from it All

  Members of Team Four saluted as I walked passed. Damn, they were young, young but good. Royce and I trained them well. I returned the salute before stopping in front of the kids' door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked.

  "Come in," Shenda said from the other side.

  "It's Mom," I said as I stepped inside. Shenda was on me immediately, hugging me and quietly crying. I could tell she was exhausted. I looked over at the bed where Chasm was sleeping with a twin nestled in each arm. For a being designed to take a blaster hit, he looked even more tired than his wife did.

  I looked down at the kids and saw them staring at me as I hugged their mother. Even knowing what I knew about them, I detected no threat, only calm. Neither cried nor fussed, they just lay there, watching me. After a moment, they turned to their father and fell asleep, as if they, too, had detected no threat in me.

  "Hey, kiddo, seems like you've had an exciting day," I said. "Feel like a little walk?"

  She pulled back and nodded. I handed her a tissue and watched her dab her eyes. "Yeah, that would be good." She looked at her family. "They're exhausted, especially Chasm."

  I led her into the hallway, stopping to get a radio from one of the guards. "Call me if they wake," I ordered her. She and her partner were Katalans, a race fiercely protective of children. "Aye, General," she said while coming to attention. Seven feet of tense feline is a remarkable sight.

  Shenda and I walked down the hallway to a lounge where we got hot tea to take with us as we walked. "How are you feeling?"

  "Tired, but good. I thought childbirth was tough on a girl's body, yet I feel fine."

  "Yeah, it is, but you lucked out," I said without going into details. "Do you remember anything after your water broke?"

  She shook her head. "The water broke, then I woke up in an exam room with Aunt Losi giving me a physical. Mom, what's got everyone so spooked?"

  I hesitated, but the look she gave me broke my heart, so I gave it to her straight.

  "Wow," was all she said, her eyes wide. "What the hell am I supposed to do with all this?"

  "I have an idea, but it requires you trust in your kids." I never in my wildest dreams thought I would say that about two newborn children.

  "After you found out about Cleth, did you trust me?"

  "Yes. I was positive Cleth had misled you. Honey, I would die or kill to protect you and your brothers and sisters. Ask your father." I still hated to think about what led up to my leaving Harm, taking Aerith as far away from him as possible.

  "Which is what I feel about Grayson and Ashley," she replied. Great names considering they were both ash gray. "What do you have in mind?"

  "Can you schedule a circuit of the outer stations for your ship; say one that could take a year?"

  I watched my daughter smile as she ran with an idea I had only formed a glimmer of. It helps that she and her quad sibs have IQs in the upper 160's. "You mean take them where no one will notice us?"

  I nodded. "Your crew is family, hell your brother is bonded to your engineer. It’s the perfect environment to raise kids."

  "What about the hoopla surrounding their royal birth?"

  "No hoopla. Losira and Lenora put a news blackout in place. It seems your grandmother is rather intimidating."

  "Noooo. Grammy Lenora intimidating? Really?"

  "Hard to imagine, isn't it? No one knows that Princess Shenda has given birth, nor does anyone know about the kidnapping attempt."

  "What about the surviving mercs?"

  "They are now staying at a facility located in the middle of one of the wildernesses where they will be debriefed. We let it slip that Lenora will be doing the debriefing and that it will be like the one she last used on the late, ex-Director Muntz."

  Shenda instinctively put her hand on her throat to ward off an imagined elven blade. Queen Mother Lenora was an extremely thorough woman, something the late Muntz found out the hard way.

  The radio interrupted us. "General, this is Lt. Kerr. Mr. Chasm is awake and asking about his wife."

  "Copy that. Tell him we're heading back his way. McMurphy out. Let's go talk to your husband," I said while we turned around.

  When we got back to the room, we found chasm waiting for us with a twin in each arm. I took them and sat down in the room's rocking chair while their parents talked. "Hey you two, I'm your grandmother. What do you think about that?" I asked.

  They looked at me and cooed like any normal children their age. Damn, they were just so damn cute. We sat and rocked while I talked and they cooed and gurgled...

  I was sitting at a table in a really seedy bar. Around me, members of several species were quietly drinking as a waitress made her rounds. That's when I heard the voice, a familiar voice. I looked up and saw Harmon sitting at a table, talking to another version of himself who was standing across from him. That's when I saw the pistol on the table. Shit, this is Ventos prime over three decades ago, when Harm and I divorced. This is the bar where Harm gave up control of his body to his evil alternate-personality, Atmar. Why am I here? Looking at the two Harms, I felt pai
n and remorse for putting Harm through all this.

  As I watched, the seated Harm picked up the pistol and thumbed it to full power. I knew that at this point, Atmar would take over...

  Atmar disappeared.

  Harm shrugged and pulled the trigger.

  I screamed.

  I was back in the room. Looking down, I saw the two infants watching me intently, the blue light from their eyes slowly fading as Ashley released my hand before the two of them returned to cooing.

  "Hey, sleepy head," Harm said as he knelt down next to me. "You three have a good nap?"

  He was alive, kneeling next to me while letting the kids play with his fingers. "Yeah, busy day. What did I miss?"

  "Shenda and Chasm like your idea, but they want to run it past the rest of the Marta's crew. I contacted Breanne and they’re shuttling over from the spaceport," he said as he took the twins while I got out of the chair.

  "Harm, are you OK?" I asked.

  He stopped, his look turning to concern. "I'm fine. You never call me Harm. What's up?"

  He's right, I hardly ever use his name. Honey, moron, idiot, those I use a lot, but hardly ever Harm or Lucien, his birth name. "Nothing's wrong. Just wondering."

  He smiled as he took my place in the chair. "Yes, grandma worries about the old crazy elf. What do you think of that, my two little ones?"

  They both smiled and cooed while playing with his fingers. I smiled back while filing the dream away for later study.

  ###

  Harm and I stood near the Marta's hatch--I still can't get used to a ship bearing my name--and waited as Shenda and the little ones made their final farewells. I walked over to Torren, Shenda's identical twin brother, and took him aside. "Torren, I want you to call me the moment anything happens, understand?"

  "Yes, ma'am," he replied with his Torren grin. Of my two sons, Torren is the trickster, the one who was always looking for an angle. I knew, though, that he was highly protective of his siblings, so he would do what I asked.

  "How's Adaira doing?"

  "Great," he said. "She's on track for delivery six months from now. Doc says both she and the babies are doing fine."