“At the behest of the Dark Lords,” added Bobby.
“I guess there's blame aplenty to go around,” Billy Ray admitted. “Let's try to learn from our mistakes and move forward.”
“We did discover that a warp drive is possible,” said Bobby, trying to steer the conversation to more positive things.
Mizuki smiled, happy to change subjects. “Yes, the Dark Lord's warp drive is quite interesting. I look forward to studying it.”
“It certainly is. We definitely need to warn the fleet that other such ships may be out there.”
“Yer right about that, honey bunch. Those chilly varmints bushwhacked us and almost did us in. We were lucky to escape.”
“Lucky, yes, but there was more than a bit of skill involved, dear.”
“I'd rather be lucky than good.” Billy Ray smiled at the other three as the dark mood in the room lightened.
“Amen to that, pardner,” Bobby said with a grin. “So what are we going to do about that artifact?”
“We're going back to the planet and find the darn thing, that's what.”
“The four of us?” asked Beth.
“The four of us,” he replied. “We can take the pinnace and start by visitin' Mizuki's pal the Queen. Maybe the ants have some knowledge about this thing, a legend or something.”
“Should we all go? Something could still go wrong.”
“Sweetheart, we've been in space over a year. I think the crew can find their way back home if something happens to us. Either that or we've been wasting our time trainin' them. Besides, this ain't a Navy ship, we are civilians on a trading expedition.”
“You're right, Billy Ray. Between Arin and Frank and the Chief they shouldn't have a problem getting home. We've taken care of the Dark Lords and their minions—what else could go wrong?”
“Beats me, pardner, but we will all be wearin' armor this time.”
Looking around the cabin the Captain saw no dissent among his officers regarding that point.
Sick Bay
Though they had been chased out of Sick Bay yesterday, Shadi and Zeke were back as soon as they were off watch the next day. Eventually, Dr. White took pity on them and let them see the still bedridden Mal.
“Now don't go wearing out my patient, you two. I just woke him up an hour ago and he's still weak and groggy.”
“We won't, Doctor, promise,” Shadi said earnestly. Standing behind her Zeke nodded affirmatively.
With a final stern look, Betty ushered the two young people into the room, saying, “Mal, I've got a couple of people here who want to see you.”
Mal, looking pale and gaunt, lay under white sheets, his head and upper body slightly elevated. When he saw who his visitors were he smiled weakly.
“Hey, guys.”
“Hey yourself, brother,” replied Zeke. Suddenly the loquacious Shadi was having difficulty speaking. Eventually she managed to ask a question.
“How are you feeling, Mal?”
“I've been better,” he replied. Then after a moment's thought added, “but I've been a lot worse.”
“I thought they killed you. Umky and me just about brought down the ants' palace before Cmdr. Danner told us you were alive.”
“I'm not that easy to get rid of, bro.”
Shadi took his hand and, with tears starting to well up in her eyes, spoke again. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn't do anything heroic.”
“Sorry, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You could have been killed!”
“I didn't do anything,” he protested.
“You knucklehead,” his brother chimed in, “the whole ship saw you jump in front of that RPG round.”
“Oh great,” Mal moaned. “Now everyone on board knows I'm an idiot.”
“Are you kidding? You're a bonafide hero, brother. You even managed to impress the Gunny.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. She said something about acting in the finest tradition of the Corps. Hell, I thought she was going to cry.”
“Wow. I'd have paid to see that.”
“Not only that, we ain't the Jumbo Twins anymore.”
“No?”
“No, we are now Mal and Zeke, though some of the guys are calling you Jumper.”
Mal moaned. Marines had a habit of giving squadmates nicknames, often embarrassing ones.
“It's OK,” said Shadi, still gripping Mal's hand. “They are also calling Zeke 'OC'.”
“OC?”
“Outta Control.”
“Ouch.”
“He really did almost destroy the ant Queen's palace. And Umky actually sat back and admired his handiwork, rather than help with the process.”
Mal chuckled and closed his eyes.
“Alright, that's enough for one day,” said Betty, reasserting control of the situation. “Let Mal rest.”
“Please, Doctor, can I just sit with him? I promise not to keep him awake. Please?”
Betty looked at the young girl, desperately clutching Mal's hand, her eyes on the edge of tears. Well, Betty, you were young and in love once, she said to herself. “All right, honey, but you let him rest, he needs time to heal.”
The look of gratitude on Shadi's face warmed Betty's heart. Turning to Zeke she said, “I suppose you want to stay as well?”
“I can't. I gotta go to the armory and finish cleaning armor and weapons. Besides, the squad will want to know how he's doing.”
“OK, let's leave these two alone then.” Betty ushered Zeke toward the door.
“Later, bro. You too, Shadi.”
Mal waved weakly with his free hand and smiled. Shadi, seated beside the bed, held the other and gazed transfixed at his features.
Outside the room Betty shook her head and said, “if that ain't the look of love, I don't know what love looks like.”
Mizuki & Bobby's Quarters
Both Mizuki and Bobby had donned the skintight pressure suits that served as inner garments for their combat armor. The suits had a tendency to highlight ever muscle and curve of a wearer's physique. Taking advantage of this, Bobby was admiring Mizuki's backside as she talked to her butterflies.
“You had better stop staring at my butt or you won't be able to get your armor on,” she said without turning around. Before they put their suits on they made up for the time spent apart during Mizuki's adventure with the ants. Both had been spent by their exertions, but evidently Bobby had recovered.
“You have to admit, it's a very nice butt, and the rest isn't half bad either.” Bobby smiled at his partner.
Mizuki turned and embraced him, exacerbating his armor clearance problem. “Bobby, you know I love you.”
“Yes, Mizuki-chan. And you know I love you too.”
“I discovered something while I was strolling through the forest and making friends among the natives, something that I always knew but was afraid to admit.”
“You're talking in riddles, sweetheart.” Knowing Mizuki, he realized that she would get to the point when she was ready.
“When I was alone down there, instead of giving up all I could think about was you and how disappointed you would be with me if I didn't stay alive until you came.”
“I never doubted that I would find you, not for a minute. You know that you are the love of my life.”
“What I discovered was that I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you. What I'm trying to say is that, if you still want to, I want to get married.”
Bobby was speechless. He stood mute, mouth agape, staring at her. Mizuki looked up at him from beneath raised brows. “So?”
“Yes! Yes, yes, yes, of course I still want to marry you!” He grabbed her around the waist, lifted her from the deck and spun her around. In a riot of color, the aoi chō took flight, surrounding the twirling couple in an ecstatic display.
After setting her back on her feet, Bobby looked lovingly at his bride to be. “You have just made me the happiest man in the galaxy.”
&
nbsp; She kissed him and pulled him close. “Some times you must almost lose everything to discover what is truly important in life.”
Savoring the moment they held each other as the butterflies settled down. They might not be empathic but they certainly could sense Mizuki's, and Bobby's, emotions. Gently separating, Bobby looked at her with excitement dancing in his eyes.
“You have perfect timing, sweetheart. I have something for you, something that is now an early wedding gift.”
He went to the locker next to the cabin door and produced a long bundle wrapped in cloth. Laying the bundle on the bed he began to unwrap it.
“I know that you were upset because you bent Saito-san's katana. Since you won't let the engineers try to fix it, I figured you also wouldn't want to risk any more damage to it. So I had Arin and his artificers make these.”
With a flourish he threw back the last of the cloth, revealing a pair of swords. Handing one of the sheathed weapons to Mizuki, Bobby stood back and watched her reaction. Pulling the blade from its scabbard uncovered a sword like she had never seen before. It was obviously modeled after a traditional Japanese katana, with a thin, gracefully curved, single-edged blade, circular hand guard, and long grip, made to accommodate two hands.
“It's long, almost long enough to be an ōdachi.”
Bobby nodded. “2 shaku 5 sun 5 bu, right at 78 centimeters. I had them made a bit longer than your katana so they would work well with gauntleted hands. The weight and balance is almost exactly the same though.”
Holding the blade under the overhead light, patterns could be detected. The blade lacked the hamon, the distinctive tempering line found near the edge of traditionally forged Japanese blades. Instead of horimono engravings—depicting gods, dragons, or other mythical beings—holographic designs appeared to be part of the blade's metal itself.
“This is not steel,” Mizuki observed.
“Metal ceramic like our armor or the ship's hull. Nano engineered to be flexible but hard, sharpened to an almost monomolecular edge.”
“Won't the edge get chipped or nicked?”
“The scabbard holds custom nanites. When the sword is sheathed the nanites automatically repair any damage done to the blade and resharpen the cutting edge.”
Mizuki made a few test swings, a smile spreading across her face. She finished her impromptu kata and again examined the blade. “It's beautiful, Bobby, thank you so much. Now I can leave Saito-san's katana on the mantle where it will not suffer further damage.”
“That was my thought. That sword is more than a weapon, it is a cultural treasure—for Japanese and for all humankind. You don't have to worry about damaging your new sword.”
She looked at the second sword, still laying on the bed. “You made two.”
“Yes. The way I see it that sword saved your life down below.”
“Many times.”
“A weapon that useful should be standard equipment, at least for officers, so I had them make one for me as well—his and hers katana.”
“Certainly more functional than his and hers wash towels.” Mizuki grinned impishly.
“I was hoping you'd see it that way. Now come on, we need to go put on our armor and get the scabbards attached to our suits.”
The two officers grabbed their new swords and headed aft, trailed by a flock of blue butterflies.
Shuttle Bay, 3rd Deck
“Captain, I just don't like it, yous four officers goin' off by yer selves, no Sir.” The Chief was obviously not happy about the plan to return to the planet below.
“I've got to agree with the Chief, Captain,” added the Gunny. “I don't like the idea of you going in without any backup. At least let me send a couple of Marines along.”
“Or better yet, take the whole squad and the armored shuttle.” The Chief put his hands on his hips and squinted at the four armored officers gathered at the boarding ramp.
“Yer objections are noted, but we are going down to pay a visit to the local monarch and then, perhaps, take a side trip up north to see if we can find any T'aafhal artifacts layin' around.”
“Besides, Gunny,” the First Officer added, “The Marines are needed to crew the ship, just in case some other unwelcome types show up.”
“You shouldn't go down to the planet with just a couple of Jap swords,” the Chief reiterated, gesturing to the katanas strapped to Mizuki and Bobby's armor. Then, realizing what he had said he added, “no offense intended, Ma'am.”
“None taken, Chief,” Mizuki replied. The Chief was a crusty old sailor whose language sometimes strayed from the politically correct.
“We'll take sidearms with us as well, they should prove sufficient to deal with the local fauna.”
“With all due respect, Ma'am, you should be more heavily armed than that.”
Billy Ray looked at his two senior noncoms and sighed. They are probably right, better to err on the side of caution. “OK, we'll take Hitch and Jacobs with us.”
“Heavy armor?”
“Light armor, there's only so much space in the pinnace. They can bring railguns, that should handle any foreseeable local threat.”
Chief Zackly looked at the Gunny, realizing that the Captain's concession was all they were likely to get. Rosey nodded her agreement. The Chief spoke into his collar pip.
“Hitch, Jacobs! Get yer sorry asses into light armor, grab some railguns and a full ammo load, and come to the shuttle bay.”
“Aye, aye, Chief!” came the enthusiastic reply.
“When they arrive send 'em up,” Billy Ray said. He turned and went up the airstair to the pinnace. The others followed. Bobby was the last to board, and before he did he turned to the two NCOs.
“Don't fret, you two. You know that we all can take care of ourselves if it comes to a fight, and we will have Matt and Stevie to back us up.”
“Yeah, but those fair-weather sailors can be dumber than two sacks of hammers.”
“Come on Chief. Sure, if they have too much spare time on their hands they can get into trouble, but they are steady in a fight and you know it. Besides, they have had experience around T'aafhal equipment, which might come in handy.”
“I guess so, Sir, we just don't like you officers goin' off without an escort, that's all.”
“Hell, Gunny, we blasted the Dark Lords into plasma, stopped an interplanetary invasion, and rescued Mizuki. What else could we find down there to top that?”
Part Four
Caverns Measureless To Man
Chapter 34
Captain's Pinnace
Bobby guided the pinnace on a slow approach to the ant Queen's palace, circling the structure before setting down on the surrounding plaza. The view from above gave him a feeling of déjà vu. There was activity at all three major entrances, with the northern transept being particularly crowded with workers.
“Looks like the eastern entrance is the best bet, Captain. They even seem to have repaired the doorway.” Around the freshly repaired doorway a number of ant warriors stood with grounded spears, watching workers come and go.
“All right, set her down.”
Bobby sat the shuttle down in front of the eastern entrance and lowered the airstair.
“Alright, let's go talk with the Queen. Hitch, Jacobs, guard the boat,” Billy Ray ordered, adding, “do you think the guards will try to intercept us?”
“Don't know,” Bobby replied.
“They didn't when the Chief and I were last down here,” Beth added, “but things were in a state of confusion then.”
The four officers deplaned and headed toward the entrance. As they approached the guards became more animated, moving to block the humans' path.
“So what do we do if they try to keep us out?” asked Bobby.
“Mizuki, can you take the lead?” Billy Ray asked. “They ought to recognize you at least, seeing how you traveled with the Queen and fought beside them.”
“We can talk to them using the translation data collected by my pendant. It has be
en downloaded to all our suits.” Mizuki halted in front of the warriors, her flock of butterflies forming an ominous cloud above the quartet of Earthlings. “I am Lord Mizuki, here to see Queen Timushi.”
The ants clicked and buzzed at each other, saying nothing that the suit computers could translate. The frustration level among the humans was rising while the warriors made no move to step aside.
“So what do we do now?” Bobby said. “Somehow I doubt forcing our way past the palace guard will make a favorable impression on the Queen.”
“I don't think they recognize me, I'm going to try something.” With that Mizuki opened her helmet, throwing it backward and partially retracting it into her suit. The ants twitched and waggled their antennae. Picking up their spears the guards backed away, opening the path to the interior.
“Why did they do that?” Billy Ray asked. “It's not like they couldn't see you through yer helmet.”
“Or the butterflies.” Beth raised a single finger to point at the swirl of color overhead.
“They are not visual creatures, at least not the lower castes. They are very scent oriented.”
“You mean they needed to smell you to recognize you?”
“Right, Bobby. Remember, I was not sealed inside a suit when I was helping them before.”
“Probably a good thing, otherwise Umky could not have tracked you and the guards wouldn't have recognized you just now. Suddenly I feel inadequate, at least as far as my sense of smell goes.”
“Let's not stand here jawin' about it, let's get inside.”
At Billy Ray's prompting the four entered the palace. Workers scurried every where—in the main hall, and along the aisles and balconies—repairing and cleaning. No bodies of slain warriors or alien commandos remained. The stone floor where they laid had been scrubbed until it shined, blood stains removed and bullet holes patched.
“A lot cleaner than the last time we were here,” Bobby said to Mizuki, who was walking beside him.
Mizuki looked to the right as they came to the intersection of the vaults. “The northern hall is still a mess. Zeke really did a lot of damage.”
Bobby shrugged. “He thought they killed his brother. If they had harmed you I would have leveled the place.”
The Queen's Daemon (T'aafhal Legacy Book 2) Page 26