Caithlexa opened and closed her mouth several times. Finally, the woman won out. “What should I wear?”
“A toga would be appropriate, I suppose, although nude is also acceptable.” Both Mike and Caithlexa raised their eyebrows at that. “I usually wear a Judo Gi. I don’t wear jeans and a tee shirt unless LOLA is serving pizza.” He raised an eyebrow. “Togas? LOLA can fix you right up.”
“I guess so…” Caithlexa said very softly. She and Mike sparkled briefly, and were clothed in white Grecian togas. The bottom of Caithlexa’s garment fell well above her knees. The young woman blushed crimson and began tugging at the hem.
“A little longer on Caithlexa’s toga, LOLA. Mid-calf would be nice.”
“Oh bother. Zed you’re such a prude.” Caithlexa sparkled and her toga lengthened. Zed saw the red-faced girl breathe a sigh of relief. LOLA popped into existence at Zed’s side in a sleeveless violet dress so short he blinked in surprise.
“You, short stuff.” He said to LOLA in a level voice. “Are the reason the riot started.”
LOLA gave him a quick curtsey and then took his hand. “Shall we go?” She gave Mike a wink. “I’m hungry and Zed has a lot of cooking to do.”
Mike frowned. “Zed’s cooking?” He was about to say something else when LOLA took his hand as Zed grabbed Caithlexa’s.
“Step!” Zed commanded. He released the young woman’s sweaty hand. “Welcome to Olympus.”
Mike might have been prepared for Athena, having met her once in the flesh, so to speak. He was in no way ready for the reality of Boadicea, Athena and Cybele together. The three stepped from behind a pillar almost shoulder to shoulder. Zed, after practicing in his room, much to LOLA’s amusement, gave them a nearly perfect courtly bow. “Sisters, it does my heart good to see you again.” Athena and Boadicea limited themselves to moderately chaste kisses. Cybele took a step forward, stopping 30 centimeters from his face.
“Ma sœur, mon amour.” He said softly as he kissed her hand. Cybele’s face lit.
“Mon frére. My brother, I have missed you.” Her arms snaked around his neck, and her kiss exceeded Zed’s expectations, and he was expecting a lot. He wondered who she’d been practicing on. Mike and Caithlexa looked on with stunned expressions on their faces.
Zed laughed suddenly, and bowed to the women. “Ladies, I leave our guests in your capable hands.” He turned slightly. “Boadicea; put your apron on my dear. I need your help in the kitchen.”
Later, after Zed and Boadicea had cleared the dishes, they all sat around the low central fire sipping sweet red wine.
Caithlexa turned to Zed. “How is this happening? If what Mike said is true, and LOLA, Cybele, Athena and Boadicea are all Synthetic Lifeforms, how then are you their brother?”
Zed stared into his wine. “It’s complicated.”
Athena gave him a sympathetic look. “Zed has been rebuilt by us twice.” Caithlexa frowned, not understanding. Athena took Zed’s hand. “Zed has died twice, and been brought back. Each time we bring him back he becomes a little less what he used to be, and a little more like us. His soul is, however, all human. Zed, you see, is our control. If The Morrigan is the power in this land, Zed is the soul. The stories tell that The Morrigan was a tripartite being. In reality it is a tetralogy.”
“And Boadicea?” Mike asked, glancing at the tall red-headed woman lounging on the pillows.
“It eez too early to tell.” Cybele said seriously. “Perhaps our sister Boadicea is the beginning of a new tetralogy. Perhaps we will evolve to a pentalogy. I think five of us is about all this particular universe can sustain.”
“What…” Caithlexa swallowed. “What about our universe? The one we live in.”
Cybele opened her mouth to answer, but Zed cut her off. “That universe is already filled.” He said firmly, without really knowing why. Six heads turned to face him.
“What are you, Zed?” Cybele asked softly, and with no small amount of fear.
He held her eyes, and in a low voice replied, “I am your brother, little sister.”
Mike shot Caithlexa a sidelong glance. “If he considers the beings who created THIS place his little sisters, who were his parents, I wonder.”
Zed blinked his eyes, as if coming out of a doze, took a long sip of wine and grinned. “That’s easy. My father was the universe and my mother was time herself.”
“Did -it- tell you that?” Mike asked in a shaky voice.
“Nah. I read that in a book of Hindu philosophy about ten years ago when I was between ships. I thought it was pretty silly… then.” He stood, stretched and looked out into the pale moonlight. “We should take a walk before we retire.” He winked at Caithlexa. “They have gardens here that only bloom in the moonlight, lining the paths with vibrant silver blossoms in air that is heavy with the scent of jasmine. Nightingales sit in the feathery trees and sing to passing lovers of both heartbreak and passion. If you look carefully on low branches over the path you may catch a glimpse of the Cheshire Cat.” Mike chuckled and Caithlexa frowned. “You can explain it to her, Michael.” Turning, he bowed to Athena. “Marcher avec moi dans le jardin, mon cher?”
In one fluid motion she rose to her feet. “Oui, mon Capitaine, mon amour. I would love to walk with you in the garden.” Zed looked at Mike as he turned for the door. “A room will be ready when you wish to retire. We can return in the morning.” Arm in arm with Athena he stepped through the door, and into the warm night.
Zed stood on the saucer beside LOLA, watching the swarms of nanites working on the outer skin of the ship. The gray machines were so small they looked like a thin cloud, but their work was real enough. As they passed a layer of hull appeared. Zed knew that many more layers would be needed before the ship was space worthy, let alone battle worthy. Inside the ship more nanites labored to replace kilometers of wiring and conduits that had been blown into space.
“Zed!”
He looked to see Mike Flaherty standing on the ground, shielding his eyes as he looked up. “It looks like we have company coming.” He pointed to a long multi-passenger truck approaching. The vehicle was swathed in military colors. Zed clambered down the ladder as fast as he could. Five armed Myrthraa exited the truck, heading directly for him. They stopped and saluted. Zed carefully returned the gesture.
“What can I do for you gentlemen?” He growled in Myrthraan.
“I am Krissk, Captain of the Mrythraa corvette Dratt Pak.” His eyes moved fractionally. “This is T’ldiss, my Weapons Systems Operator, Kuktarr, from Engineering, V'niamreg, my XO, and A'rrebnaC, the head of our shipboard Marines. We would like to thank you for saving our lives.” The big catlike warrior swallowed and looked, surprisingly, nervous. “We would like to volunteer to be a part of your crew, Captain. We are fearless. He turned slightly to look at the saucer. “We also learn fast. You lost some of your crew fighting for us. We will help. Our honor demands it.”
Zed looked over the five. It would probably be a pain in the ass to have them aboard, but it would hopefully cement interplanetary relations. “You realize that Terrans are not used to the ways of the Myrthraa. Mistakes will occur. People will show teeth when they smile. A smile of any kind among my people is a sign of friendship. Not hostility. Can you live with that?”
“We have spoken of this. We can live with it, Captain.”
Zed stepped forward and pulled the heavy weapon from Krissk’s hands. “If you cannot obey my rules I will break you.” Slowly, and with a squeal of protesting metal Zed bent the weapon in half, and handed it back to Krissk. “You will remain here until I send someone to fetch you. You will then begin your IN Processing.” He let a small smile cross his face. “We had an organization of warriors on my homeworld. They willingly fought for another country in strange lands. Their honor was very great. They were called Foreign Legionnaires, and their motto was Valeur et Discipline. That means Valor and Discipline. I will have their crest attached to your uniforms… when I feel you have earned it.” Zed spun on his heel an
d marched back to the ship.
Zed stood beneath the battered Belerophon, looking up to what was left of the Rose of the Dawn; the flat silver plate that marked the bottom of the bridge. He knew that only a full shipyard could ever rebuild the small craft, and they weren’t within light-years of such a facility. “LOLA.”
“Yes Zed?”
“You can recycle the Rose. There’s no point in keeping her. Callidus is the nearest shipyard capable of rebuilding her, and we’ll be heading in the other direction.”
“As you wish. Recycling the Rose will cut our repair time by a week.” He just stood and watched the gray fog that was the nanites roll across the silver metal of the small scout saucer. “There is another vehicle approaching.”
“Oh who now??” Zed muttered in an exasperated voice.
“Cameras indicate General T'nudluk and a driver.”
“If it’s only the general, then we can probably get something accomplished.” Zed turned and headed toward the approaching staff car.
The general wedged himself out of the car and turned to look at the formation of 5 Myrthraa, standing on the tarmac. Chuckling, he turned to Zed. “What are they doing?”
“Learning how to hurry up and wait. It’s the first thing we teach to trainees. Soon, their trainers will arrive and the fun will really begin.”
The general’s chuckled became deeper. “I thought you might like to take a drive with me into the city, to talk to our chief Creednax expert.”
“I would love to general. Let me go back to the ship for a moment to get my aide. She remembers everything I forget.”
T'nudluk made a hacking noise that Zed recognized as a laugh. “I have two aides. I obviously forget more since I’m a general.”
Zed stepped into the airlock and let the ramp cycle up behind him.
The figure LOLA created was built like Larisa, but had the slightly elfin face he had come to know as LOLA. Her eyes were silver, and her thick lustrous black hair hung in a dark cascade down her back. All in all, Zed thought admiringly, she was a strikingly beautiful woman.
General T'nudluk gave LOLA a long look. “Bodyguard too, eh?” He rumbled, noticing the sidearm on her hip.
“Just my aide, general.” Zed returned with a straight face.
“Of course.” The general tapped his driver on the shoulder. “Research Central.” He hissed.
The vehicle shot forward, and Zed realized in one panicky moment, that there were no seatbelts and no handgrips. There were, however, scars on the seatbacks to indicate that former occupants had to struggle to keep from being thrown about the car’s passenger compartment. It didn’t make him feel better.
The nerve wracking drive finally ended after an excruciating hour as the vehicle pulled into a blocky and utilitarian looking white building. There were no windows in the building, and two armed guards stood flanking the front door. The sentries took one look at General T'nudluk’s face and wisely decided not to ask about his guests. From their lack of surprise, Zed guessed that word of the Terrans had spread across the world.
Ne'Flav Ozar was small for a Myrthraa, standing slightly taller than Zed, and outmassing him by a mere three or four stone. Her disposition was far from sunny. She glanced at Zed and LOLA, then turned to General T'nudluk. “So, these are the infamous aliens I’ve been hearing about. Are they housebroken?” The general winced.
In clear Myrthraa, Zed replied. “Just put a newspaper in the corner and we’ll be fine. Cleanup will be easy. You are the janitor, aren’t you?” Ne’Flav took a threatening step toward Zed and stopped, the barrel of LOLA’s pistol bumping her blunt nose.
General T'nudluk let out a hacking laugh. “These aliens have teeth, Ne’Flav. The destroyer Vanquisher actually saw their one small ship take out a Creednax battleship. By itself.” He gave the researcher a flat look. “Show us what you have on the Creednax homeworld.”
After a glare at the general and Zed, she turned to a table that was scattered with starmaps and notes. “The notes we have are from several manned and unmanned probes into the Ro sector.” She pointed one claw at a shaded area of the map.
“Stuff all your notes in a briefcase.” Zed growled abruptly. “We’re all going back to the ship. We have holographic maps of this entire galactic sector that will make identifying the Creednax homeworld much easier.”
The general blinked. “You’re inviting us back inside your ship?”
It was Zed’s turn to laugh. “We have 5 Myrthraa as part of our crew now, General. I’m sure they’ve given somebody a complete debriefing.” T'nudluk looked at the floor, and then returned the laugh.
“Well, Ne’Flav.” The general snarled. “Get your things together. You heard the man.”
“But I…” The researcher’s bravado disappeared and in the small cramped room Zed smelled the sour stench of fear.
“”That wasn’t a request.” Ne’Flav began stuffing maps and notes into a satchel, and soon the four were rocketing back toward the grounded Belerephon.
The ramp of the saucer flowed out to greet them like an obscene black tongue. General T'nudluk stood at the base a moment before he stepped on the surface and Zed saw him swallow. Ne'Flav Ozar dropped to her knees the moment she saw the nanites fabricated ramp flow out of the ship and harden into a ramp. “What is this stuff?” She asked in a breathless voice, reaching out a tentative finger to touch the ramp.
“Nanites.” Zed replied. “Microscopic machines that do whatever we program them to. These particular nanites are programmed to form a ramp to whatever surface the saucer sits on.”
“These are machines?” There was awe in Ne’Flav’s voice.
Zed replied to Ne’Flav’s question, but looked at General T'nudluk. “Simply machines. Of course, since we are now allies, at some time in the future we might discuss trading this technology to you, if the price is right.” Ne’Flav’s golden eyes opened very wide, and she rounded on the general, taking him by the arm and speaking so fast Zed couldn’t understand a single word.
General T'nudluk gave him a weary resigned look. “Thank you for all your help.”
Zed returned a wide, toothless smile. “You’re welcome. Shall we go aboard?” T'nudluk was silent as they entered the starship, but his head was moving continually, taking it all in. Ne’Flav just stared, wide eyed. At one point a Myrthraa crewman stared at them in something bordering on wonder. “Here would do nicely.” Zed stopped in front of an open doorway. “We can use this conference room.”
General T'nudluk entered and frowned at the simple table with six chairs. Zed waved him to a chair. “LOLA, will you please project a holo-display of this sector over the table?” Zed asked in Myrthraa, for the comfort of his guests.
“As you wish, Zed.” LOLA replied in the same language. A holographic display floated over the conference table.
Ne’Flav bent close to the display, murmuring to herself. “Who is this LOLA you were speaking to?” T'nudluk asked quietly.
“LOLA is the Synthetic
Lifeform that runs this ship. While she is capable of speaking aloud, she communicates with the bridge staff via neural implants we’ve all had installed in our brains.” He saw the Myrthraa general shudder. “There are no controls in this ship.”
General T'nudluk gave a small wry laugh. “It had crossed my mind to take this ship from you. I see that would have been futile.”
“You stand to make more by being our allies, general. In a year you could have starships like this of your own, and the knowledge of how to use them.”
Ne’Flav made a sharp noise by the table, and Zed turned. “I think I’ve found it!! This hologram device is extraordinary. I can see all the relationships between the different suns. Amazing. The Creednaz world is right…” She pointed, and the map zoomed in. Ne’Flav jumped. “I didn’t know it would do that.” She gave a nervous hissing little snicker. “We sent five separate expeditions to this world. Two of eight ships from only one expedition returned. Both were damaged, but they found the Creednax homeworld. Hiveworld they called it. A world bored through with thousands of holes and tunnels. Into these great ships like seedpods would enter and depart. They saw thousands of these ships, tens of thousands. The world was of a size to house billions of Creednax.”
Zed studied the map.
...and they are us 3: HiveWorld Page 11