Gabriel ceased his rummaging and turned to give Alexis an incredulous look. “There is a party for Aunt Nickie?”
Alexis sighed in exasperation and held out Gabriel’s clothing. “No. Mom hijacked Aunt Nickie’s party as an excuse to get everyone together and wrap up the diplomatic talks with the Bakas. We need to get dressed.”
She grabbed the dress she’d hung outside the bathroom door and went in to change, switching to their mental connection. I can’t believe you didn’t expect it. Mom has been in the best mood since she gave the Ooken and the Kurtherians running them a nasty boo-boo to think about.
Gabriel snickered. It was less a boo-boo and more an evisceration. I’ve been helping Trey’s family get used to Vid-doc technology. He stared at the clothing Alexis had given him blankly. I only worked out that the freaking gala Trey’s been so nervous about was being held here when I got back from the Enclave fifteen minutes ago.
That sucks, Alexis teased. She didn’t need to be a genius to know that the boys had lost track of time in some game scenario or another. Are you getting dressed?
Gabriel held up two pairs of trousers, dubious whether either of them was suitable for a black-tie event. What do I wear? he pleaded. Help me out here. I’m lost.
Alexis came out of the bathroom, smoothing the skirt of her mermaid dress to ensure the sequin trim was lying flat. “Um…” She dismissed Gabriel’s crumpled armload and crossed to the wardrobe to select a crisp white shirt, a forest-green tie, and black dress trousers made from a light fabric. “There, the tie will bring out the green in your eyes.”
She ignored Gabriel’s skeptical look, holding out the garments. “Put them on while I find your dress shoes. This is the first time we’ve been allowed to stay out past our curfew. I want us to make a good impression.”
Gabriel felt his cheeks redden at the insinuation he didn’t know how to dress himself, never mind that he hadn’t put any thought whatsoever into what his clothing said about him. “I know,” he grumbled. “I was just caught by surprise, is all.”
Mental link, remember? Alexis smiled, holding out Gabriel’s shoes. “Come on, or we’ll be late. Mom won’t wait.”
“She will.” Gabriel shrugged, then took the shiny black shoes Alexis was thrusting at him. “Okay, she won’t. Do you think they’re ever going to punish us for taking the Izanami?”
Alexis put a finger to her lips and jerked her head toward the door.
Bethany Anne swept in and gathered the twins up in a brief hug. “Are you still not dressed?” She leaned against the dresser and folded her arms, being careful not to wrinkle her eveningwear. “Don’t make me leave this ship without you.”
Gabriel dashed into the bathroom. “I’m getting dressed!”
Alexis rolled her eyes.
Bethany Anne chuckled. “I will probably have to encourage your father to hurry up as well. It used to be that the women kept the men waiting while they got dressed.”
Alexis snickered at the thought of Gabriel or Trey spending any more time than it took to be minimally presentable. “Yeah, but not because they were too busy playing soldiers with their buddies.” She shrugged at her mother’s questioning look. “They were playing in the Vid-docs you had taken over to the Enclave. Trey’s uncles were being difficult about them until Gabriel showed them they could cheerfully hack each other to death in the game world with no consequences.”
“Whatever makes them happy,” Bethany Anne concurred with an indifferent wave of her hand. “You are aware how challenging this alliance has been to pull together. That we reached this point at all is largely down to Tabitha’s patience. Or possibly her stubbornness.”
Alexis bent to slip on her shoes, smiling fondly. “Males can be utterly ridiculous. As can females, but we at least have the decency to look fabulous while we’re blowing a hurricane.” She looked enviously at Bethany Anne’s eveningwear, a skintight suit with a high-collared jacket that swept down to brush the tops of her heeled boots. “You look great, Mom, and you’re doing wonderfully with the Bakas. What is that material?” She tested her low heels with her first two steps, then walked confidently to Bethany Anne to touch the shimmering fabric.
Bethany Anne held out the hem of her jacket for Alexis to inspect. “Jean’s latest iteration of light armor. I just picked it up when I brought her and Lillian over from the Helena.” She smiled at Alexis, wiggling a foot. “You haven’t noticed the best part.”
Alexis glanced down, her mouth dropping open in shock. “Those can’t be the boots Dad had made for you.” Her mind attempted to wander the second Bethany Anne shook her head. “But they’re identical! Do they have the same properties as well as the dinosaur hide?”
Bethany Anne counted her answers off on her fingers. “The printed material is identical to the dinosaur hide, except that it’s blended with a new polymer Qui’nan came up with and infused with nanocytes.”
Alexis' eyes widened. “I heard about those. Eve is working with them, right? How are the boots integrated with the suit?”
Bethany Anne inclined her head. “They are permanently integrated with the suit at the atomic level, meaning I have the durability of the hide, the flexibility of fabric, and a bunch of features that can only usually be gotten in a plated model.”
Alexis narrowed her eyes at the five-and-a-half inch heels Bethany Anne moved in like she was barefoot. “So…you have to fight in heels? I know you can, but what’s that going to do for maintaining them?”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow at Alexis and smiled as she pointed down at her feet. “Watch this.”
Alexis was left speechless again when the heels began to shrink. The slight platform receded as the heels were absorbed into the boot, leaving Bethany Anne wearing something closer to a combat boot. “Mom, we need to talk about this before we leave for Qu’Baka. Who’s working on this nano-fabric right now? Apart from Jean, of course. I can see her touch.”
Gabriel emerged from the bathroom with his shirt buttoned halfway, his left trouser pocket hanging out, and his hair standing on end. “Good to go.”
“Later, Alexis.” Bethany Anne took one look at Gabriel and shook her head. “You look ready for the apocalypse, maybe. Come here and let Alexis fix you up. I have to meet your father.”
Alexis huffed, knowing the conversation was done for the moment. “I won’t forget,” she promised. “I want in on this project when we get back from Qu’Baka.”
Bethany Anne simply smiled and wiggled her fingers at them both before heading back into the corridor. “Alexis, help your brother with his tie,” she called back over the clipped staccato of her heels, “and be in Transfer Bay One in twenty minutes.”
“What project are you so excited about?” Gabriel asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Alexis replied, reaching for his tie. “We have to go.”
Bethany Anne exited the dressing room, leaving the children to finish getting ready for the gala. She was eager to get moving.
Tonight was her first chance to pause since the discovery of the Kurtherian factory, and she meant to savor every moment of having her family and friends around.
Her joking prediction to Alexis a moment before turned out to be closer to the truth than she had imagined when she arrived at her and Michael’s suite and found him in much the same situation as she’d found their son in a few minutes earlier.
Bethany Anne leaned against the doorframe of their dressing room, a smirk playing across her lips. “Has it been so long since we were a part of the game that you have forgotten how to play?”
Michael turned from the mirror, his tie forgotten when he saw Bethany Anne. “You look…”
Bethany Anne lifted a shoulder, the corner of her mouth turning up as he ate her up with hungry eyes. “It was all Jean. My new armor.” She turned in a circle. “What do you think?”
Michael resumed his battle with his tie. “Fashion as a weapon? You don’t need to remind me it’s your favorite political tactic.”
“Yes,
it is. I turn up looking like I might be there for a fight, and the opposition shows their bellies. Never fails.” Bethany Anne summoned Michael with a crook of her finger, getting a visual snack of her own as he walked toward her. “Let me help you with that.”
Michael tilted his chin to give her access to his tie. “I’m not sure you should go out looking this good. The guests might have their minds blown.”
Bethany Anne snickered. “Like they’re not going to be too busy losing their shit when they find out I’m back.” She rested her hands on Michael’s shoulders when she was done. “I know we have everything locked down, but I’m having second thoughts about this.”
Michael touched his forehead to hers, his arms finding their way around her waist of their own accord. “You have every right to second, and even third thoughts. This is no small decision. It’s going to change everything.” He stepped back and gave her a serious look. “Do you want to wait on the reveal until we return from Qu’Baka? It’s not too late. We can take the children with us. Delay the politics until we have Mahi’ on unshakeable ground.”
Bethany Anne considered finding another way to dismantle the brick wall she’d been banging her head against repeatedly since her Empire was dissolved—for all of a third of a second. “No. I’m done restricting myself in the name of peace. This is how it has to be. It’s gotten to the point where the shit is going to hit the fan whether I act or not.”
She dropped her hands, clenching and unclenching them for a moment as her frustration became a physical thing. “I feel like I’m going to explode if I have to spend one more fucking minute wearing that mask while my people fall further into danger.”
Michael ran a hand through her hair and leaned in to murmur into her ear, “Then you know what the solution is. Act.”
Bethany Anne leaned back and looked up at him, a small smile on her lips. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Devon, The Enclave, Mahi’Takar’s Residence
Trey hissed as his mother tugged on his fur, twisting it into tight braids on the sides of his head. “It won’t grow any faster for being pulled.”
Mahi’
He sighed when Mahi’ paid him no attention whatsoever and turned the focus of his grumbling to the musty ceremonial armor she had made him wear for the gala. He was dreading taking the ill-fitting armor off and finding out how much fur he had lost to the pinching plates. “What is this outfit?”
“That, Tu’Reigd,” Mahi’ told him wistfully, “Is the armor your father wore for our crowning ceremony, and before that, my father wore it for his. It looks well on you, my son.”
Trey immediately felt terrible despite the chafing around his groin. “I didn’t mean to dishonor his memory.”
“You didn’t.” Mahi’ patted his cheek with her free hand, then resumed her brutal capture of his fur. “You honor him with every day of your life. I expect you will learn the humans’ standards of honor and respect while I am away.”
“So will you,” Trey countered. “You get to hang out with the Empress. Nothing I’m gonna do is as cool as that.”
“I am sure you will not be bored inside the program Eve has created for you,” Mahi’ murmured. “As for humans, I find them acceptable. You will be an adult when I return, not my boy any longer.”
Trey hadn’t heard his mother so contemplative before. He considered how Mahi’ would cope without him. Probably quite well, he thought, but she would miss his companionship if not pulling him out of the trouble young males with his curious nature invariably found themselves in.
He knew Mahi’ would never take another husband. That made it his duty as her only son to ensure she did not go through life alone. “Do you want me to put off my enhancement to come with you?”
Mahi’ chuckled. “No. I will take care of Lu’Trein. I will avenge your father, and we will return home to our long-lost family.”
Trey smiled. That was all he’d ever wanted: to see his home and breathe its air. To meet Bor’Dane, the hero he’d heard so much about from Mahi’ his whole life. “What then? Will we still be allied with the Empress?”
Mahi’ tied in the bead at the tip of the final braid and dropped it. “That will depend upon you. ”
Trey turned in his seat to look up at his mother. “What do you mean?”
Mahi’ smiled. “When I send for you, it will be to take your place as ruler. Do you fully understand what is going to be done to you? It is not too late to choose differently, and there is no dishonor in changing your mind.”
“I understand.” Trey had considered backing out. However, honor demanded that his family and his people came before personal feelings. “I would feel better about it if I wasn’t convinced this is a shortcut,” he admitted. “My concern is that playing war games won’t be enough to prepare me mentally and emotionally for leadership. What good is it being a child in an adult’s body? Will the people even accept me after enhancement, or will I have to fight them, too?”
Mahi’Takar nodded, pulling Trey close as he spilled his worries. “All good questions, my son. I hope you find your answers while we are apart.” She headed out of the room, pausing just before she left to smile at Trey. “You will be the foremost warrior, Tu’Reigd. That is the only advantage you need.”
Trey wasn’t too sure about that. Nevertheless, he kept his opinions on the might-makes-right approach to ruling to himself.
For now.
5
Devon, First City, Hexagon Plaza
Bethany Anne wasn’t too pleased to be met by the swarm of vid-drones that swooped in on their Pod the moment they landed in Hexagon Plaza. “I don’t remember giving the media permission to be here tonight.”
“Kids, maybe?” Michael found himself mildly amused by the cloud of amateur journalists and over-inquisitive teens who had their cameras around the Hexagon pretty much full time these days. He nodded at the bobbing cloud around the ship. “They’re monitored for risk by Winstanley, so it’s harmless. They want to know everything that’s happening in the Hexagon.”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow, her shift in stance causing the interior light to make her jacket shimmer. “Tell me something convincing. I’m not buying it.”
Alexis laughed. “Mom, you don’t need to go all QB on them. Have you seen the news channels on the holonetwork?” she asked. “All day, every day, it’s Baba Yaga. It’s either that or speculation about where the Ooken are going to attack next. I know what I’d rather watch.”
“Anything other than those two things,” Gabriel offered. “But especially the rise of the media in this ‘age of connection.’ It was bad enough studying the phenomenon in sociology class. Aunt Addix is so obsessed.”
“Spycraft is an ever-complex business,” Michael qualified. “In our world, the media is a tool to be used to reach the people rather than a source of entertainment. Tabitha tells me some of the less reputable channel producers pay for footage. She and Sabine have been flooding them with junk videos for kicks.”
Bethany Anne’s mood lightened at that, but she still wasn’t happy with the intrusion. “It looks to me like everyone with a drone and nothing better to do is out there.”
Alexis shrugged. “Can’t argue with the will of the people, Mom. They drive the market.”
Bethany Anne’s jaw twitched. “Want to bet? The market on this planet exists on my sufferance.” She waved a hand at the screen. ADAM, kill those cameras.
>>My pleasure,<< ADAM replied.
The vid-drones around the ship dropped out of the air.
Gabriel touched Bethany Anne’s hand. “It’s got to feel strange to be in public as yourself again,” he consoled. “Are you sure about it, Mom? There’s no going back after this.”
Bethany Anne smiled as Gabriel diverted her gathering anger with his father’s eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Alexis took her other hand, identical concern on her face. “This is a huge change from keeping our identities a secret from everyone outside of our family. What if
there’s a revolt? This place isn’t the most accepting of authority.”
“Our family is here,” Michael assured the twins. “Almost all of them. We are safe.”
“There’s no changing my mind.” Bethany Anne looked at her husband and children, strengthened by their love. “I tried to stay out of it for the sake of the Federation, but we no longer have the luxury of sitting this out to cater to their feelings. We are the only line of defense between every innocent in the Federation and the Seven. We will be true to who we are, no matter what is happening out there.”
Gabriel grimaced. “You mean Da’Mahin still causing a stink.”
Alexis smirked and bumped her brother’s shoulder, a wicked glint in her eyes. “Not after tonight. Unless you mean an actual stink? Because I can totally see that happening.”
Bethany Anne smiled at her two biggest reasons for fighting. “It’s about time everyone realized that the Witch was the pleasant option. They get on board, or I make certain they can’t wreck everything we’re working for. One way or another. I’m done with diplomacy.”
Michael found that to be a complicated statement. “That would imply you ever had time for diplomacy in the first place.”
Bethany Anne lifted her hands. “What I haven’t got time for is repeating myself. Draw your own conclusions.” She clapped her hands and walked off the bridge. “Time to make a move. Izanami is waiting.”
Michael smiled at Alexis and Gabriel. “You heard your mother. Let’s go.”
They left the bridge after Bethany Anne and made their way down the short corridor leading to the exit hatch, where the AI waited for them.
Bethany Anne still felt relief at the sight of Izanami. “You ready to field-test your new HLP drive?” She looked at the flawless Baba Yaga skin the AI’s avatar wore, narrowing her eyes at the black armor to make sure Izanami wasn’t shaving her curves again.
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