by C. M. Kane
‘So, all we need to organize is who is going to Tartarise, and how their getting in and out, as well as the containers for the stuff. It‘s just a pity we have to get their shielding down before we use it, that’s going to take the major sting out of any weapons we may be able to make, because it means we‘ll be losing our own forces to do it; still, it can’t be helped,’ said Ares.
‘Buzz bombs,’ said Tae looking at them excitedly. Once again the Gods turned to her in confusion.
‘Buzz bombs?’ asked Vulcan, ‘I’ve never heard of any weapons called that before.’
Tae looked at them, her excitement palpable, ‘They’re an invention of Brightmoons, and she has a heap of them. I was going to use them on Hera’s fleet to try to take out some of their pulse cannons if they broke their word and attacked you. They have very little power in themselves to do any real damage; the good news is they can get through your shielding quite easily. That’s why I initially thought to attack the pulse cannons with them.’
Ares pulled his head back and stared at Tae with shock and mounting anger. ‘Why have you not mentioned these weapons to us before? And how do they breach our shields?’
Tae shook her head. ‘Well obviously I didn’t even think of them before now did I?’ she said sarcastically, ‘and we’ve been talking about other stuff, but I’ve told you now haven’t I! Honestly, Ares, you really do have some major trust and anger issues going on you know!’
‘I do not have issues– trust or otherwise,’ he said looking to the others in outrage.
‘Well, actually’ began Loki before Zeus interrupted.
‘You said they can get through our shielding, how?’ Vulcan said cutting across Loki before he could finish. Tae noticed he was leaning forward listening intently, she knew this was right up his alley and he would be fascinated by all this talk.
‘From what I can tell, and I‘m sorry but I‘m not a weapons expert,’ she began, ‘they are small enough and weak enough to get through by altering a miniscule amount of the sub atomic frequency emitted by the Force field itself. I think they change their own frequency when they’re near, then they simply fly through. I’m not sure why, but I think it also must have something to do with their size and power, because the Brightmoon has made them very weak. And in case you haven’t noticed yet, everything else she does she seems to make as lethal as possible,’ she finished shrugging.
‘These buzz bombs could solve a lot of problems,’ said Vulcan smiling for the first time. ‘I could retrofit them with the Ithacian White and sea salt, so that both compounds mix when they hit their intended victim, they could be handed out almost immediately. The downside being we’ll be lucky if we need sixty of them, considering the rarity of the Compound. Hopefully I can design a system to carry the Felice from the planet to be fitted directly onto the bomb itself, so there is no risk of contamination to any of our ships. I think it should be designed so that it releases on either impact or a timer, that’s if Brightmoon will allow me to have some?’ he questioned.
Tae nodded; ‘I’ll ask her as soon as I get back, and I’ll also ask her if she’ll begin working with you immediately,’ she promised smiling.
Vulcan nodded in satisfaction, a small smile creasing his lips as he glanced smugly over at Loki.
‘Ok we have that sorted, so all that’s left is how to get the Felice. I think we should take Brightmoon to Tartarise as the Olympus will be needed elsewhere.’ Tae said.
At Zeus’s puzzled look she added. ‘Well, you’re Zeus aren’t you? You’re everyone’s leader; you need to be seen by the gathering army, to keep everyone’s morale up. You need to appear confident, like you have everything in hand and things are exactly as you want them to be. More importantly, you will also need to explain to the others at the front line what we’re doing, as well as distributing the buzz bombs as they’re retrofitted.’
Much to Tae’s surprise Loki burst out laughing at her words. ‘She’s right, the lemmings love to follow a leader who looks as though he knows exactly what he’s doing, as if he has everything under control.’
Tae smiled, ‘Exactly! Now, who is going to Tartarise?’
‘Vesh would be my first choice,’ said Loki casually.
Zeus gave Loki a flat stare before he continued his reasoning. ‘Not for the reasons you may think, my friend. I simply recognize the fact he is a superb fighter and a great hunter, otherwise he would never have reached the position he holds with you,’ he smiled. ‘I think we all recognize that if someone is going into Tartarise with no Nanites to aid their healing, then they are going to need to know how to take care of themselves, hence my choice of Commander Vesh. I would also only be sending in either Wolven or Vampire, they are the only two races apart from us that would have any chance against a Harpy, let alone a bloody Minotaur if they should come across any. And that’s not to mention some of the other things that could still be lurking around down there,’ he sighed. ‘On second thoughts, I‘d also take a couple of Thaliens, solely for their hearing, between the three races they should be able to hear, see, or smell something, before we get hit by them. Obviously they should also be led by one of us, we can’t send them into that place if at least one of us isn’t there to lead by example, and as Vulcan is needed for retrofitting the bombs, and chatting to his new love, and Ares is on the front line, and you my dear leader are needed to actually lead us,’ he winked and grinned at a now frowning Zeus. ‘Then it follows, that as I’m the only one with nothing interesting to do in the foreseeable future, then I should be the one to lead this merry little excursion to find, and obtain, the Felice.’
Tae was stunned, she now realized that for some unfathomable reason she didn’t want Loki to be going anywhere near that nasty sounding planet. From the sounds of it he didn’t sound that hopeful about making it back out alive, and that disturbed her far more than she was willing to admit.
‘I want to go,’ she said before anyone said anything further.
‘Not possible,’ replied Loki looking over at her.
‘Why not?’ she asked in surprise.
‘Because as you have so succinctly pointed out to us, Lieutenant Rames, Brightmoon will only liaise with you, and if what you have told us is true, than we couldn’t possibly risk your life in this venture, because if we should fail in our mission, then the realms themselves may need both yours and Brightmoons help to defeat the Titans.’ He leant back, studying her with a strange considering look. Tae felt her gut clench at the thought of him not making it back out.
‘What happens to Brightmoon when you die of natural causes?’ he asked suddenly.
Tae looked startled, she had hoped not to have to answer this question, and she wasn’t sure exactly how they would react; trust Loki to think of it. ‘Well, we don’t know for sure, but Adam thinks that Brightmoon would have taken that into account when she bonded with me… he thinks she’s made me like you lot, you know, immortal,’ she said pursing her lips frowning.
Loki looked at her curiously as the other Gods fell quiet, ‘And this distresses you for some reason?’
‘Of course it does,’ Tae said looking over to him. ‘I don’t want to have to see my friends and family grow old and die in front of me! Personally I don’t know how you do it, and what happens if I fall in love? Do I have to watch the man I love wither away and die slowly in front of me too?’
For some reason Loki looked annoyed at her response so she switched her gaze to Zeus. ‘And what happens if I want to have kids or something? I mean I’ve never wanted them, but what if I decide I do? Do I have to watch them grow old and die before me as well? No, this immortal crap has a lot more to it than I first thought.’
‘Well, as you said, you may be stuck with it, and trust me when I say, it has its benefits,’ Zeus smiled.
Tae grunted and made a non-committal mmming sound as Zeus turned back to Loki.
‘I’m not sure I like the thought of you putting your life at risk so soon after we have got you back though, Loki. Odin an
d Thor will be upset with me all over again, and I’ve just put up with nine centuries of Poseidon sulking over your death. Well, more the fact that he couldn’t try to kill you himself when I come to think about it,’ he sighed. ‘Still I don’t like the idea of you risking yourself this way when you have only just returned to us, and what do you propose I tell your family this time? Loki’ he continued softly, ‘I don’t think Odin could face losing you a second time, and I don’t want to be the one responsible for doing this to my friend.’
Loki grew thoughtful, ‘I will speak to Odin shortly and explain my reasoning, I agree that he may not like it, but he is a warrior, and both he and Thor will understand.’
Zeus still didn’t look happy but nodded in reluctant agreement. ‘Now that all of that is settled we need to pick some warriors to go with you. I won’t allow Vesh to go, just in case things don’t go as planned in the coming fight. Despite what some of you may have planned,’ he said glancing at Ares, ‘I fully intend to be on the front line, and if the Olympus is boarded in battle I will need Vesh to lead his men. I do have several other candidates for you to choose from however.’
Loki nodded. ‘Then let’s get down to it.’
Loki, Zeus and Ares spent the next hour going over several different warriors resumes while Vulcan returned to his base to organize things on his end. In the end they chose thirty from both Zeus’s and Ares personal security staff. Radnor was extremely upset that he was not going to be going, but as Loki said, he would be of more use in the coming battles for his strategic insights rather than slogging through the forests of Tartarise. In the mean time he could be helping Tannan by organizing ships to ferry the Tuvarnans that Tae had said might wish to leave Brightmoon, now that they had their planet back to re- colonize. Radnor had glared at Tae at those instructions; she had smiled benignly at him. That’s for telling me no more music she thought smugly. Karma rules!
It was also agreed that as soon as Vulcan gathered his own supplies, along with both Zeus’s and Ares men, they would travel directly to Brightmoon where they would immediately head out to Tartarise, but only once any Tuvarnans who wanted to go had left.
Then the meeting was over, Tae promised everyone a full tour of Brightmoon when they wished, but before they left she had something for both Ares and Zeus. Both Gods looked at her quizzically.
‘As you will be on the front line and the first to greet the Titans, Ares, and as you, Zeus, will be leading your people in battle, I thought you might need these.’ She walked over to the large wooden box she had brought with her. It had remained forgotten in the corner of the room while they had been talking. Tae now bent down and opened it, revealing two purple crystals of just over a meter and a half a piece.
‘Our bots retrieved them from the wreckage of Hera’s ship, it was originally one crystal but it had a bad fracture rendering it unstable for use as a whole, but both crystals will still work with greater power than your current reds I’m told.’ Tae smiled at the respective Gods.
They stood there looking at them, glancing from the crystals and then back to Tae, as if to see if she were joking. ‘Why?’ asked both men at the same time.
‘Because your need is greater than mine; you will be protecting not only your people, but mine as well. You have every race in your realms relying on you. I’m hoping that maybe they just might make enough of a difference at a crucial time to save us all.’
Zeus looked from the crystals to Tae again, surprisingly touched by her gesture and words. ‘You really are a most remarkable woman, Tae; I can honestly say that I now see why Brightmoon chose you.’
‘And I shall endeavor to trust you a little more… and I‘m sorry for locking you in the brig,’ said Ares, adding the last bit somewhat reluctantly as he gazed at the crystals.
Tae lifted her chin with pride; she knew that apology would have cost the God of War.
‘Thank you, My Lords, your words are very much appreciated,’ she replied, a light blush stealing up her cheeks at the praise. ‘I guess it’s time to get moving,’ she turned to Loki. ‘Do you wish me to wait for you, or do you want me to return to Brightmoon immediately, My Lord?’
Loki looked startled at being addressed as such but recovered quickly. ‘You can return while I arrange who and what I will need shipped over. Could you make sure you give Radnor some numbers of how many are leaving, along with their positions onboard, so we can replace them with a skeleton crew if we need to?’
Tae nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’ She turned and faced the other Gods. ‘My Lords, it has been a pleasure dealing with you,’ she said before she bowed lightly and left.
Zeus laughed. ‘Well that’s a first then, we’re now a pleasure to deal with.’
Loki nodded ‘I’ll be speaking to Brohan shortly and thanking him for arranging all this. It seems I was right in putting my faith in the man, he’s more than paid for his youth nanites with this one action.’
The others nodded in agreement before Zeus rose to his feet abruptly. ‘Okay, let’s get going then, we have a lot to do, and the less time we take to do it in the better!’
Chapter 13
Tae had been back onboard the Brightmoon for two days now, and in that time the ship had become a veritable hive of activity. From the transport home of the departing tuvarnans, leaving only seventy three totally dedicated people behind, to the billeting of the new personnel that the Gods had sent over, there always seemed to be something going on somewhere.
For the most part everyone seemed to be rubbing along nicely. The tuvarnans that were remaining were treated the same as the new crew by the newly appointed Captain, an Elven female by the name of Settria. So far Tae had found nothing to worry about, Captain Settria was fair and unbiased; although Tae could see tell was suspicious of her when she was in the star chair. She had the feeling the Captain didn’t really recognize Brightmoon as a being in her own right. As soon as she had arrived on the bridge though, she had told her that as so many of the original crew had left, and because of the time constraints, Brightmoon was only to be fitted with a skeleton crew to take over the running of the ship for their mission. That meant there would be very few warriors left onboard, another thing the Captain obviously found highly disturbing.
As for Brightmoon, after Tae had explained what was happening, and that she wasn’t going anywhere, the ship seemed to become somewhat more settled. With surprisingly little fuss she had even agreed to work with Vulcan, although Tae could see her sensors were locked onto all the new people arriving, with seemingly equal measures of distrust and fascination. The Dreadnaught watched them like a hawk everywhere they went; unfortunately Tae had even caught her watching them in the showers a couple of times when she had joined with her. She had of course disengaged quickly… well, reasonably fast anyway. She told herself she hadn’t quite realized what she was looking at straight away, before she allowed them their privacy back.
The first time the Gods themselves had arrived for a tour Tae had escorted them directly to the bridge. She had already explained as much about each of them as she knew to Brightmoon, before their arrival, so she wouldn’t become alarmed. Her new motto was, better safe than sorry, so she made sure she explained just who she would be showing around to avoid any accidents. She knew Brightmoons sensors would be trained on them as soon as they arrived anyway. She had started by showing them the star chair and explaining what she could do and see in it. Vulcan had run his fingers reverently over the chair, caressing it gently.
‘I so envy you, Tae, to be one with this ship, to see through her eyes, to actually feel what she feels,’ he sighed softly and continued wandering about lost in thought, gently skimming his scarred hands over things, as if he needed to touch them.
Tae, who had been touching the star chair as Vulcan addressed her, had started as she felt a thrill of genuine pleasure come from Brightmoon at Vulcan’s words. Tae had then introduced all of them to the bridge crew while they were there, and after another brief look around they had left.
Loki and Vulcan had returned later that day and secured quarters for themselves and Radnor. Vulcan’s second, a Thalien Warrior named Vron, had already left for Salernis in Vulcan’s battleship the Aetna, and Vulcan had organized for the continued repairs to both the Kydomois and the Fenris before he left.
By far the most disturbing thing for Tae was that Loki had chosen quarters just down from her own modest room for some reason. She wasn’t sure why, but it left her feeling decidedly unsettled knowing he was so close. Happily, as she and Xirra were walking through the mess hall she had managed a quick smile and a hug with Brohan, just knowing he was now onboard filled her with happiness. He had been bringing the last of his new men, and those that would be accompanying Loki on his mission to Tartarise onboard, and was showing them where they would eat when they had run into each other.
As they had been talking she had heard his assistant, the Vampire Tark, murmur something about him definitely needing to find out if the tuvarnans tasted like chicken, just as he’d sent an exceedingly hot gaze Xirra’s way. Tae was even more surprised to catch and equally hot look directed straight back at him from Xirra, before she casually commented about wanting to carve herself some fang earrings, just like her ancestors once made. Tark had flushed a deep red and went off to the server, to the accompanying laughter of a thalien sergeant that was with him, Tae noticed that Xirra continued to watch the vampires every move covertly. Seeing her friend so obviously intrigued nearly had her laughing out loud, everything was going wonderfully well, considering. Tae finally felt much happier and at peace with herself now that things were back on track, and better still, she now had her some of those she loved back with her. Brohan had told her Valaria would still be another few days, but she had already commandeered Trevor, who was now travelling with her. He would now be completing his training onboard, under Brohans direction. Soola unfortunately, would have no-one onboard to train her, but she would be transferred directly to them after another four years of training back on earth; she had apparently promised Valaria that she’d study extra hard and try to make it in three if she could.