Etheric Recruit: A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by S. R. Russell

  Tabitha stepped out of her doorway and greeted Ashur. “Hey, Fuzzball!” “Everyone, come on in,” she told the group, and led the way into her main sitting area. “Can I get anyone anything?” she asked.

  Ashur came over and pushed his head against Tabitha’s leg to encourage her to scratch behind his ears. Bellatrix flopped on the floor as Bethany Anne and Anne settled into chairs, and the puppy sat on the young woman’s feet. Tabitha studied the girl and guessed she was somewhere in her early to mid-teens. She noted the girl sat forward to pet the pup’s head.

  The puppy looked at Tabitha and asked for some water.

  “Do you have a bowl or something to put it in?” Bethany Anne asked as she facepalmed, realizing that they’d need dishes and food for Jinx. “Meredith, could you inform Yelena that Jinx has found her person, and ask her to load a hover cart with food and dishes, please. We’ll need that stuff here once she’s done. Thanks.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Bethany Anne.” Meredith’s acknowledgment floated out of the inset ceiling speakers.

  “What can I do for you, BA?” Tabitha asked. She had returned from the kitchen and set a bowl of water on the floor in front of the puppy, who was apparently named Jinx.

  “Have you been keeping up with the doings of our K9 population?” Bethany Anne asked in return.

  “Not really,” Tabitha admitted. “Why?”

  Bethany Anne shifted in her seat, getting more comfortable.

  “I’ll keep it short,” she began. “The Cliffs Notes version is that Bellatrix and Ashur’s pups decided they were going to find their own people as opposed to having people pick them. Jinx has decided that she wants Anne for her person. Mrs. Jayden, the mother of Anne here,” Bethany Anne nodded in Anne’s direction, “has not adapted well to life on Meredith Reynolds, and she doesn’t like dogs. The only way I could think of to resolve the situation that didn’t require some form of compulsion was to have Anne declare her independence from her family. But, I don’t think she’s quite ready to live on her own. I was hoping that you could serve as a big sister and help her develop the skills required to live on her own, or be a shoulder she can cry on, if it comes to that.”

  Tabitha nodded. “I can do that, but where is her stuff?”

  “It’s an indication of just how bad the situation was at her home that I just told her to leave everything behind. The only thing she possesses is her tablet, and that’s because she needed it to read and confirm the emancipation.” Bethany Anne shook her head at the memory of Anne’s mother’s reaction. “Lend her something to sleep in tonight, then take her shopping tomorrow. She’ll need clothing, toiletries, and well, basically everything. Charge it to my account. ADAM can confirm that, if any of the merchants give you grief.”

  “Sounds simple enough. What do we do if you have work for me?” Tabitha asked Bethany Anne.

  “Oh, I will have work for you. I’ve got some …umm …” Bethany Anne looked at Anne and sputtered to a stop. “Let’s just say there are some beings who are a waste of genetic material … Oh, shut up!” Bethany Anne glared at Tabitha, who was holding her abdomen with one arm while covering her mouth with the other as she tried very hard not to laugh at her Queen.

  “I… I can’t help … it!” Tabitha got out before her efforts to restrain her merriment failed completely. She crossed both arms on her stomach as she rocked back and forth.

  Jinx and Anne looked at each other, wondering what sort of demented person Bethany Anne was sticking them with. “What’s wrong with her?” Anne finally asked.

  A voice came from the ceiling speakers again. “Bethany Anne can teach a sailor how to cuss, and I’m guessing Tabitha is finding it very amusing to watch her Queen trying not to be a bad influence on the younger ears present.”

  Tabitha pointed to the ceiling and nodded her head, still hugging herself because she was laughing so hard it was starting to hurt.

  “Any more from you, TOM, and I’ll knock some holes in the roof of the doghouse before I kick your ass back out there,” Bethany Anne threatened her resident alien.

  “Wait!” Jinx cut into the conversation. “You have houses for dogs? That’s great, are they big enough for my human to live in too?”

  Bethany Anne rolled her eyes, then looked at Jinx. “No, and no,” she answered. “Dog houses were something people on Earth would build for their pets to have a place to get out of the weather when they were left in the yard outside. And they were small. I don’t know exactly how it began, but it became a saying, usually something a wife directed at her misbehaving husband, that he could sleep outside with the dog. When TOM annoys me too much, I relegate him to an imaginary doghouse.”

  “Yes,” the voice came from the speakers once again. “I know how I’m doing with Bethany Anne by my imaginary sleeping arrangements. Once when I was especially helpful, I was rewarded with a bedroom all to myself.”

  Bethany Anne nodded, a small smile for good times remembered showing briefly on her lips. She addressed Tabitha, who had finally gotten her laughter under control.

  “As much as I’d love to stick around and entertain you some more, I really need to get back to work.” Bethany Anne couldn’t repress the sigh that came with the reminder of the time and effort required to run the Etheric Empire. “I don’t expect to need your services as a Ranger for at least a couple weeks yet, so you got this covered?” She asked, looking at Tabitha.

  Tabitha turned from Bethany Anne to Anne and Jinx. “We good?”

  Anne nodded and Jinx yipped her approval.

  Tabitha looked back at Bethany Anne. “We’re good, don’t worry. I got this,” she reassured her Queen.

  Bethany Anne rose to her feet and went to give Anne a hug. Since she wasn’t a hugger it was a little awkward, but she figured the young woman needed all the support she could get right now.

  “After you get settled, research dog houses for Jinx,” Bethany Anne suggested as she released Anne. “Thanks, Number Two,” she said to Tabitha, then took a step and disappeared.

  Anne gazed at the now-vacant spot. “That’s so fucking awesome. I really need to learn how to do that.” Anne glanced at Tabitha, who was once again howling with laughter, and then at Jinx. “What?”

  Once she had managed to calm down again, Tabitha showed Anne and Jinx to the spare bedroom. She and Anne began to make the bed while they waited for Meredith to get Jinx’ supplies to the apartment.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Tabitha inquired.

  “How much do you know about the trophy wife episode?” Anne asked Tabitha in reply.

  “Umm, not a lot,” Tabitha admitted. “Didn’t BA rescue some family where the dad…” Tabitha trailed off, seeing Anne nod her head. “My super-ranger deductive powers lead me to guess that you guys were that family.”

  “Yeah, and the only way that dad could figure out to keep us safe and make sure it didn’t happen again was to join up with Bethany Anne’s group.” Anne continued the story. “My mother, however, wasn’t very happy giving up the country club life in Las Vegas to live in a spaceship, and now a space rock. Not enough spas and tennis courts to hang out at here.”

  “Well, that would be a… Oh, I get it.” Tabitha had initially wondered why would anyone waste space on a Leviathan-class battleship for tennis courts.

  “Yeah,” Anne shrugged, “so my dad is happy as a pig in shit because he’s now doing what he loves to do for the ‘good guys.’” Anne put air quotes around good guys. “But Mother is no longer a big fish in a little pond, and she hasn’t adjusted well. And they say I’m the one with growing pains and teenage angst and…” Anne broke off as Jinx pushed against her leg and reached up to lick the hand Anne had clenched at her side.

  Jinx stood still, not quite knowing what to do for her person, who seemed to be very sad all of a sudden. When Anne slid down to sit on the floor, Jinx wanted to say something, but she had no idea what was happening. She just sat next to Anne, leaning as much of her body as possible against the young
human.

  Jinx was surprised when Anne suddenly put both arms around her neck and buried her face in Jinx’ fur. Jinx looked up at Tabitha, who was standing there silently looking down at Anne. Tabitha made the funny shoulder movement that Jinx had learned was the human way of saying they didn’t know.

  “Do I need to go back and bite your mother?” Jinx asked.

  “No, that’s not a good idea, and Bethany Anne said Mother is the way she is because she has some issues that haven’t been addressed.” Anne raised her head from Jinx’ fur and wiped her eyes. “It’s just not fair that they think I’m goofing off when I’m trying as hard as I can. I can’t control the ‘growing pains,’ as my parents call them.”

  Tabitha sat on the bed and put a hand on Anne’s shoulder. “I know I’m more your roommate than a parent figure, but I’d still like to see you do well in school. If you need any help you can’t get from your friends, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Friends! That’s a laugh,” Anne said forlornly. “I get grounded so often I can’t make friends cuz I’m stuck in my room.”

  Tabitha looked quizzically at Anne. “When was the last time you were grounded?”

  “This afternoon, same time I was sent to bed without supper,” Anne replied sorrowfully.

  “Puta! Oh shit, you didn’t hear that. Oh, you didn’t hear me say ‘shit’ either.” Tabitha went from angry to flustered.

  Anne started to giggle. “I’ve heard them all before and I know what those words mean, so you don’t have to worry about saying them around me.”

  “Deal,” Tabitha told her. “Just don’t tell anyone else you heard me saying them! Bethany Anne has a way of making a person pay if they upset her, and a new collection of bruises really isn’t on my wish list right now.”

  “Ouch, really?” Anne tilted her head back to look up at Tabitha.

  “Ouch, really!” Tabitha winced. “Bethany Anne believes that pain is a great motivator. The bigger the lesson she feels you need to be taught, the more a sparring session with her hurts. Don’t get me wrong, she won’t just pop in from nowhere and start beating on you. She even gives the bad guys a chance to surrender. But once you’ve gone past a certain point, Bethany Anne lets pain be the teacher. Unless you’re just a douche bag; then she simply removes you from the equation. Now, did I hear you say you didn’t get any supper?”

  “Yup, you did. I wasn’t properly cowed by being grounded for the umpteenth time, so it was ‘off to bed without supper for you, young lady.’” Anne giggled some more while she waved her hand and affected an English accent, like a queen passing judgment on the peons.

  “Well, I spent a lot of time hungry while I was growing up, and I can absolutely say that it doesn’t do anything positive as far as a person’s performance is concerned,” Tabitha told Anne. “I don’t have anything here to eat right now, but we can hit up the Guardians’ mess. Weres are constantly hungry, so their mess always has some sort of food available.”

  “I could eat a bowl of soup, if they have any,” Anne admitted.

  “If they don’t, I’m sure they can thaw some or open a can or…something,” Tabitha promised. “Let’s head out.”

  ---

  The room that Tabitha took Anne and Jinx to was fairly quiet since it was past normal supper hours, but, as promised, there was food in a few hot pans. Having been set up primarily to feed Weres, the selection tended toward proteins, but Anne wasn’t interested in gnawing on a steak.

  Jinx, however, was very excited by all the wonderful smells coming from just above her head.

  “You’re one of the Rangers, right?” A middle-aged woman in a chef’s uniform and hairnet pushed through the swinging doors from the kitchen.

  “Yes I am, but we’re here so this young lady can get some soup or something. She hasn’t had supper yet,” Tabitha informed the chef.

  The woman looked Anne over carefully. “Not a Were?” She guessed.

  “Nope, straight-up human, but we do have a modified K-9 with us,” Anne replied, pointing to Jinx.

  “Wow! Which of you is the lucky person to get one of Ashur’s puppies?” The chef asked, kneeling down and putting out a hand toward Jinx.

  Jinx sniffed her hand and then allowed the chef-person to scratch her under the chin. Oh, that felt really good!

  “This is Jinx, and she decided she wanted to see what life with a teenager was like. She chose me, just earlier today,” Anne replied with a smile.

  “The Ranger said you want …”

  “It’s Tabitha. My name’s Tabitha, not Ranger,” Tabitha interrupted the chef.

  “Tabitha, okay. Tabitha said something about soup?” The chef asked Anne.

  “Yes, please, if possible. And my name’s Anne. I understand that people-food is not good as a constant diet for dogs, but could we get a piece of steak for Jinx?”

  The chef nodded her assent, then asked, “Chicken noodle soup do?”

  “That would be wonderful. And a piece of bread or a roll with it, if possible,” Anne agreed.

  The chef smiled and turned toward the kitchen. “One bowl of chicken noodle soup with a slice of Italian bread on the side, and a steak for the pooch, coming right up. You sure you don’t want anything, Tabitha? Slice of cheesecake, perhaps?”

  “I give!” Tabitha shouted at the chef’s receding back. “Who can turn down cheesecake?”

  In less than five minutes the chef returned, carrying a tray with bread, soup, and a piece of round steak, along with two slices of cheesecake.

  She set the tray on the table that Tabitha and Anne had claimed and passed one of the pieces of cheesecake to Tabitha.

  At Tabitha’s raised eyebrow, she stated, “You said Anne missed supper, not that you did. Enjoy, everybody.”

  With that the chef went back to the kitchen, and the faint bangs of pots and pans were heard.

  Anne lifted the plate with the steak and looked at Jinx. “I know you are your own dog and you guys are way smarter than normal dogs, but I’ve seen normal dogs eat steak before and they just choke it down as fast as they can. No one is going to try to take this away from you, so please chew before swallowing.”

  Jinx, almost dancing in place, yipped her agreement and laid down by the plate Anne set on the floor. Not wanting to disappoint her human, she carefully chewed off a section of the steak and then took her time. “Oh, this is won— Ow, I bit my tongue!” Jinx whined.

  “That’s why humans have a rule about not talking with their mouths full of food,” Anne told the pup, “Not only does it look gross, but you can bite your tongue or cheek or even spew food all over the place. Boys are the absolute worse, cuz they seem to think it’s funny to be gross.”

  Jinx waited until she had swallowed the meat before speaking again. “I can see I have a lot more to learn.” She chewed off another piece of steak.

  Two humans and one very happy German Shepherd puppy finished their food and returned to Tabitha’s apartment.

  ---

  The hover cart was waiting outside the door with food and dishes for Jinx. The cart was narrow enough that it could fit through the door so Anne just pushed it inside. She followed Tabitha into the kitchen, where Tabitha made room in one of the cupboards for the container of dog food. Tabitha suggested that Anne wash the dishes that were sent for Jinx before she put anything down for the pup. Anne scrubbed them thoroughly then filled the now-clean dishes with food and water.

  Tabitha went to her room and found an old sleep-tee she thought would fit Anne well enough for one night. She joined Jinx and Anne in their bedroom and offered the tee to Anne. “Change into this, and I’ll set your clothes to wash during the night so you’ll have something clean to wear tomorrow.”

  Anne thanked Tabitha and headed off to the bathroom, returning shortly with her clothes bundled in her arms. “If I understand things correctly, I’m pretty much responsible for myself now, so I guess that means I need to learn how to take care of my own laundry.”

  “And
you will,” Tabitha told the young woman as she held out her hands and made a “gimme” motion with her fingers, “just not tonight. You’ve already had a full day. I’ll show you how the laundry works tomorrow after shopping. You’ll need to wash everything before you wear it anyway, so you’ll get lots of practice.”

  Anne sighed and handed her dirty clothes to Tabitha, but before she could react, Anne stepped forward and gave the surprised Ranger a hug.

  “Thanks for everything,” she whispered in Tabitha’s ear before releasing her and stepping back.

  “De nada.” Tabitha hoped the blush she felt on her cheeks wasn’t visible. “You and Furbucket get a good sleep.”

  “Furbucket?” Jinx looked at Tabitha, confusion evident in her voice.

  “It’s a nickname,” Tabitha told the pup. “I call your dad Fuzzball, so you’re Furbucket.” She stuck out her tongue at Jinx, then turned and headed out of the room.

  “I don’t know if I like nicknames,” Tabitha heard Jinx comment to Anne as she closed the door behind her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The next morning Tabitha, carrying Anne’s cleaned clothes, peeked into Anne’s room. The girl was still asleep.

  Tabitha smiled as she noticed Jinx curled up behind Anne with her head resting on the girl’s hip. Jinx cracked her eyes at the sound of the bedroom door opening.

  “Busy day, with all the shopping we’re going to need to do,” Tabitha told Jinx. “Do you want to wake up Sleeping Beauty, or do you want me to?”

  “This Sleeping Beauty, is that another of your nickname things?” Jinx tried to keep the growl out of her voice, but she was beginning to think that she really didn’t like nicknames.

  “Yes and no,” Tabitha answered.

  Jinx did growl this time. “How can it be both?”

  “Well, Sleeping Beauty is sort of standard nickname for females who oversleep, so yes, it’s a nickname. But it’s not something that I specifically thought up, so no, it’s not one of my nicknames. Not like Furbucket. That is one of mine.” Tabitha smiled proudly.