THE VROL TRILOGY

by SK Benton

  A couple of neko prostitutes approached the group, but were shooed away by the lycan soldiers who found their scent to be offensive. Bierle, a new lycan, was repulsed by their approach, but at the same time was fascinated by them. It was his first encounter of a truly different, active subspecies. Of course he had seen lycan phase 2 battle form, and had seen Max shift to his assassin form, but nekos were on a completely different level. He had yet to see a full-fledged vampire, but Max intended on changing that once they returned to the Rhönen Dominion.

  Max wanted everyone to have a good time, so in his desire to keep everyone comfortable he created a scent cantus around the nekos. Even though they had been growled off moments before they again approached, this time with the lycan soldiers basically ignoring them. Everyone else in the club was used to their antics so it was business as usual in Seven Sins.

  "Captain, these cat-like females, you say they are called… nekos?" asked Bierle.

  "Correct, Mr. President. According to my grandfather they had a habit of killing their males, so the Prīmulī left them to die off as a subspecies, but they survived, even though there are no males."

  "But… but, how is that possible? How do they reproduce?"

  "Parthenogenesis. It's a type of asexual reproduction well known in certain species of plants, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians," answered Max.

  "So they're all clones?" asked the leader of Azul.

  "Um, no… not really. It's sort of complicated, but they aren't clones. That much is certain."

  "Oh, each one is unique, for sure. Just ask the normals around here," added Dons.

  "Normals - normal humans, am I not correct?"

  "Yes, sir. That is our common name for humans without inactive or active extra-normal genealogy," said Max. "They comprise of 98% of the total population no matter where you go. It tends to be pretty consistent."

  Bierle looked around the club, enjoying the scenery. To him it looked like a lot of humans and a few cat girls, but to his nose it was a different thing altogether. He could smell the difference between his accompanying lycan guards, local lycans, local vampires, nekos and the normals. It was like a smorgasbord for his nose, and he was beginning to enjoy it. However, one thing struck him that he hadn't considered before.

  "Mr. Dons, may I ask why there are no Vrol attacking us here?"

  "Dons' face lit up as he answered the President, "Well, there are certain sonic frequencies they don't like, and I have a transmitter on the roof of this building. It keeps them out at about a two click radius."

  "Two clicks?"

  "Just a tad over three kilometers, Mr. President," Max offered. "Hey! Speaking of that, Adam helped you to set up that sonic thingy, right?"

  "Yeah, mate. In fact, here he comes now."

  Adam approached the group, actually happy to see Max, and wearing a broad grin. He had learned quite a bit since Max had basically bitch-slapped him into submission some time before. Also, as Jessica and Pandy had decided to stay in the 29th century, Max kindly increased Adams capabilities via his magic-enabled wand.

  "Hey, it's Max Gunnarsson! How are you… sir?" Adam slowed down at the end of his sentence due to Dons precautionary glare, the clan leader finding the fake mage to be addressing the son of the Taxiarch with too much familiarity. Even though Max saw what was happening, he didn't care, and jumped up to greet Adam. He felt the wannabee provided a great example of how an absolute jerk can change for the better.

  "Hey there, Adam. I see you've been taking great care of the hotel."

  "Yup. Dons made me the general manager, so I give it all my attention. Well, except for when we have events. Then I'm trying - poorly - to replicate your guiso recipe."

  "Actually, it's not bad, mate. Adam does a right good job of cooking these days. We thought Jessica was gonna stick around and cook, but it seems she's all tied up with Gabe, eh?"

  Max nodded his head.

  "And… Pandy? How is she? I mean, maybe I have no right to ask. I mean, I didn't ask her to stay. In fact, I kinda pushed her out the door. Is she well?"

  "Oh yeah, Dons. She's doing just fine. In fact, she helps to care for my daughter."

  "Young Miss Gunnarsson. The record holder for field Vrol kills!" exclaimed Lange.

  "Eh? What do you mean by record holder?" asked Bierle.

  Max grew an awkward grin, and after looking down momentarily, admitted, "Well, she got her first kill when she and the rest of my family first came here. Then she got three more a few days ago, after she snuck over during a training mission. So technically, out of all the troops that came for training, she has the highest number of kills."

  "She sounds like a handful, Captain."

  "Oh yeah - you bet. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

  ###

  "I do hope Papi returns soon. Is he not scheduled to return tonight, Mami?"

  Liliana missed her father, but not as much as his wife did. Jennie was starting to suffer from anxiety, as Max had been gone for a full day, and she had been waiting at the castle for his return. Ever since she found him six months after his disappearance she liked to keep him close. She knew that there were times when they needed to be apart, and also that he couldn't ever be lost again, thanks to Gabriel's trackers, but that was a small consolation. She loved the man more than life itself, so his absence affected her deeply.

  "He's coming home soon, sweetie. I promise. In fact, why don't we ask Grandfather Draagh?"

  "Pops, are you out there?" Jennie asked out over the private family comm.

  "Why yes, hello, my dear Jennifer. And how are we today?"

  "Fine, thanks, but we're getting a bit sketchy about Max being gone. Can you contact him and get his E.T.A., please?"

  "Oh, but of course. That will be quite easy, yes, quite easy indeed. Please give me a few minutes and I shall contact him and inform him that you request his presence."

  "Thanks so much, Pops."

  "Yes, thank you so much grandfather!"

  "Liliana! It is such a pleasure to hear from you. Remember, we have a lesson appointment tomorrow at 1300 hours."

  "Yes, Grandfather. I shall arrive on time."

  Draagh turned back to the small computer he was sitting at, where King Krynos was attempting to conquer yet another level of Tetris, their mutual favorite computer game. The small room they inhabited was separated from the castle and even that world, but their coms still worked between the Rhönen Dominion and the Hub, enabling Jennie to initiate contact with her grandfather-in-law.

  "Old friend, you seem distracted. Were you in deep thought?" asked Krynos.

  "Hmm? Oh… no. It was Jennie, requesting I contact Max and have him return home. If he is gone more than a few hours she starts to suffer panic attacks."

  "Those long months without him have affected her deeply. I feel for the lass. Still, she is a strong woman, and the two shall birth many fine pups."

  Draagh looked at his friend, wearing a curious expression. Birthing pups was a common phrase in the Rhönen, but Draagh knew that when Max and Jennie did indeed have children they would be much more than mere lycan pups. Still, he didn't wish to irritate the king by correcting him.

  "Yes, I do believe you are correct, good friend."

  "Max, my boy. Can you hear me?"

  "Oh hey, Gramps! How are things back home?"

  "Your wife requires your presence."

  "Oh crap! Is everything all right?"

  Max head mental snickering in his head, followed by Draagh's response.

  "Yes, my boy. Everything is quite all right. She merely misses you."

  "Oh, good. You had me worried there for a moment. Please tell her we'll be back in a couple of hours."

  President Bierle noticed that Max appeared to be lost in thought, and put his hand on the young officer's shoulder to call his attention.

  "Captain, is everything well with you?"

  "Huh? Oh yeah. Do you remember how we said we'd make it so you could communicate with us telepathically
?"

  "Yes, yes I do. Is that what you were doing?"

  "Yeah. My wife wants us back in time for dinner."

  "Very well. I am actually ready to depart. Shall we be returning to Azul tonight?"

  "No, we'll go back in a couple of days. There's a reason for it. You don't mind, do you?"

  "Not at all, Captain. In fact, I am hoping that we shall have the opportunity to sample more of that delicious elk."

  "Pops, are you still there?"

  "Yes, Max. How may I help you?"

  "President Bierle wants elk for dinner again. Can you direct the kitchen to prepare some?"

  "Of course, my boy," the ancient Primulus mentally snickered back.

  Max looked at Bierle and nodded his head. "Done."

  "That easy? I sincerely cannot wait until I am able to communicate in such an efficient manner," said the leader of Max's worlds.

  "Hey Dons, how about some more beers before we head out? Jennie shot me a message and pretty much said I need to get home soon."

  "Maxie, you know it's always a pleasure to see you, but I don't blame you for wanting to get back to your woman," responded the small human clan leader, a sincere grin curling his small mouth.

  "Yes, she is quite lovely, Captain. Tell me, how did the two of you meet?" asked Bierle.

  The group got a fresh round of beers and listened while Max told his story from the beginning, mostly for the benefit of Bierle. One round became another and then another, with Max ending his story with his being found in that very bar. In fact, while seated at that very same couch. Jorgen Bierle had a new, profound respect for Captain Max Gunnarsson and mentally resolved to assist the man in any manner possible.

  "Okay, let's go, peeps. I'd like to help my kid with her homework before it gets too late," said Max, as he stood up and called his lycan soldiers to his side, along with Bierle. Within seconds they were all gone with a pop.

  Chapter 24 - Castle Sweet Castle

  "Papi! Papi! Welcome home!" Liliana cried out loudly. "Tell me please, how many Vrol did you eliminate?" The young girl was dressed in her student tunic and a long dress, which was unusual for her, and was similar to the more feminine garments sometimes worn by Jennie.

  "Hi Lili! I only nailed one. I dropped a chunk of street on it. But President Bierle here got his first kill. He was excellent in the field, and then we took him to see the ruins of the Santa Monica Pier."

  Liliana looked up at Bierle with bright eyes and smiled. "Mr. President, welcome to the club!"

  Bierle gazed at the small, innocent looking girl, and asked, "Which club would that be, young lady?"

  "Why, the club of… those who… have killed, erm, Vrol! Yes! It is the club for those who have killed Vrol! You are now an official member. May I ask your method of dispatching the vile insect?"

  "It was with this fine katana, through the back of its neck, severing the spinal cord from its brain. I do hope that was the proper method," said Bierle, while patting his sword. He was completely amused with the young lycan, finding her to be enchanting, albeit in a disturbing manner.

  "Oh yes, Mr. President. That is the most efficient method," she chimed, and then curtseyed to the system leader. Then, turning to her father, she said, "Papi, Grandfather Draagh said we are to again have elk for dinner. I assured him it was an excellent choice, especially as we have such a distinguished visitor inside these castle walls."

  "Why thank you, Liliana," said Bierle, "I am sure you shall become a great leader one day."

  "Thank you, sir. Oh, Mami?" she exclaimed, turning to her beautiful mother, "may I show President Bierle my pets?"

  Jennie looked at Max and the two nodded. "Sure honey, go ahead. That is, if the President would like to see them," responded Jennie.

  "I would very much like to see your pets, young lady. I was born and raised on a farm, so I am familiar with many types of livestock, and even had a few pets of my own."

  Thirty minutes later, Jorgen Bierle sat at the long, wooden table, quietly nibbling at the barely cooked, steaming elk on his plate. In essence, he was more or less force-feeding himself. He had lost his appetite after watching a live, sentient being screaming, as it fled for his life down a predetermined path of death, only to be consumed by a massive shark moments after having been released. Liliana, however, was happily munching away at her meal, while her parents tried to not laugh out loud. They knew exactly what they were doing when they allowed their daughter to take Bierle out to see the sharks. It was a way of driving home the fact that the Rhönen Dominion was indeed nothing to be trifled with - in case President Bierle got any ideas about who was in charge of Azul's defensive capabilities. If a young girl would feed live vampires to genetically-modified, ultra-intelligent fresh water great white sharks, then what would she do to an average person who got in her way? And if she indeed did that, how much more dangerous were the adults?

  "Mr. President! Thank you so much for accompanying me for this afternoon's feeding," the young lycan/mage blurted out cheerfully.

  "Ah, ahem, yes Liliana. It was quite interesting. But please tell me, from where did you acquire the… subject of your experiment?"

  "I believe I can answer that, my good man," offered Draagh, seated a few places down at the table. "You see, we found a sun-resistant, active vampire on Azul. There should be no active individuals of that subspecies anywhere aside from here. In studying him I found he is from this timeline, and he was modified on Azul, most probably by a rogue Primulus. It is quite disconcerting. Yes, quite."

  "So you say one of your kind modified the man? Was he a genetic vampire to begin with?"

  "Oh yes, and he had been provided not only with the ability to infect normals with his fetid condition, but he was also resistant to light in the ultraviolet spectrum, something unheard of here. Yes, it was part of some plan on a grand scale."

  "So then, may I ask, why, if you had him under control, did you allow this wonderful young girl to wantonly murder him?" Bierle was starting to show his love for liberty and the judicial process. Max looked at him with no small amount of compassion, but also knew that, in order to defeat the Vrol, they would have to act in a savage fashion on occasion.

  "Mr. President, this creature was no longer human. He had been horribly changed, and if he were to turn even one person it would spread, and eventually Azul would be overrun by sun-resistant, sociopathic ghouls, hell-bent on conquering the universe." Max had a look of business about his face, and Bierle took it seriously. Still, the politician had a hard time swallowing Liliana's actions.

  "But, if I might ask, why did you allow your lovely young daughter to use the creature as an experiment? Why did you simply not imprison him?"

  Max pointed a finger into the air and created a holographic infoscreen, showing a vid of a particularly gruesome battle, where numerous vampires picked up normal children and fed on them by severing their jugular veins, causing blood to spurt out like mini fountains. But what mortified the civilized politician even more was how they further fed. They all laughed uproariously as they took spoons and scooped out the children's eyeballs while the younglings were still screaming, and then ate the ocular organs. Bierle stared, jaw agape, and then slowly nodded his head.

  "They all must die," he agreed.

  "Yup," murmured Liliana, her mouth half-full of food.

  Bagatelle entered the main dining hall and took a seat next to his sister, kissing her on the cheek as he did so. "Good evening, everyone. Mr. President - how was your day in PAH?"

  "It was enlightening, Admiral. I believe I have a better grasp on what we are up against back home. I must say, it is quite lucky that you are able to provide live training against Vrol for our troops, albeit in a slightly controlled situation. That being said, the captain said we were to return to Azul in a couple of days. Why the wait?"

  "Well, unless you want to hide in the base on Vera, we have to stay here. It's the full moon back home, two days long, so we'll need to wait here until it passes," said Bagatelle.<
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  "Is there a similar effect on Vera? What causes the change to phase 3?" asked Bierle.

  "It is a particular amount of reflected solar radiation that causes a change to the salubots in our systems, Mr. President," offered Max. "There is an equivalent effect on Vera, but not as frequent."

  "I find that odd - a particular amount of solar radiation just happens to be reflected from a moon - on occasion," he responded.

  "Oh yes, my dear man, you are quite correct. However, nature is as nature does, and it always finds a way," said Draagh, pulling his hand away from his third helping of elk.

  "What do you mean, Mr. Draagh?"

  "Think of phase 3 as a sort of system renewal that lycans must periodically go through. It rejuvenates the cells, flushes and sloughs away the older components and allows the organism to start anew."

  "You know, I never thought of it that way! My skin is always so glowing and smooth after turning on the full moon," said Jennie, with her husband nodding in agreement.

  "God, you're totally right, Jen. I never looked at it that way either," said Max. "It is like a cleansing. Pops, why didn't you ever tell me that?"

  Draagh gave his grandson a curious gaze, and said, "Because you never asked, my boy."

  Max just shook his head and went back to eating, with everyone else returning to their individual conversations.

  In a matter of ten minutes the entire unofficial Gunnarsson clan was seated at their long, wooden table, with all in various stages of starting or finishing their meals. Michael and Clarisa were twiddling fingers as usual, while Gabriel and Jessica were maintaining their typical low profile, but were playing footsie out of the view of everyone else. Liliana was fading fast, frequently leaning over onto Pandy's shoulder. Alicia joined Bagatelle, and was prompting him to finish his meal and to go to bed.

  Bierle found it amusing that he was in such a large family. But beyond being amused, he felt a warmth he had never experienced before. It was an odd, eclectic mix of somehow-related individuals, each with a terrifying amount of power. Despite the fact that he was aware that Draagh and his archangel sons, as well as Captain Gunnarsson had unearthly abilities, he feared Liliana most. She had an innocent savagery he knew was uncontrollable, and he meant to keep an eye on her - especially if she returned to Azul with her parents after defeating the Vrol.