Lance grunted. “That's a significant drop. I don't want to throw a quarter in the air to see whether they can get into our systems and defeat us."
Meredith interrupted from a speaker near the two of them. “Me either. I can't imagine having an alien infestation in my memory banks. I've been working with ADAM on this problem for a year now to confirm I stay clean against foreign efforts. If it is all the same to you, I would prefer the possible damage be minimized."
Bethany Anne shrugged, allowing her father to take the lead.
Lance turned to the specialist. “Let them know that they are permitted to stop exactly three kilometers from the QBBS Meredith Reynolds. Make sure they understand what that is in their distance units. We will provide a shuttle for their crew to come on board."
Bethany Anne murmured after he was finished talking, "I guess this is as good a time as any to test the passive defenses."
Lance looked back at his daughter. “Don't you mean passive-aggressive defense?"
Bethany Anne smirked. “When have you ever known me not to be aggressive, Dad? I am either passive-aggressive or just aggressive-aggressive, so I am answering as if this was an algebra equation and I could leave off the extra aggressive. I'm either passive or aggressive."
Those around who listened anytime the Empress was close by kept their smiles to themselves.
Their Empress was never truly passive.
Planet Yoll, R’Chkoklet
"This is Pehl-eck, reporting from the city of R’Chkoklet. As we zoom out from our present location, you will notice that we have moved back another two blocks from the building where presently multiple upper-caste individuals are holed up. We have received word that the Etheric Empress has sent one of her team down to confront these individuals.”
The reporter continued her discussion as the news organization uploaded a video over her on the newscast. “On your screens right now is video from when Empress Bethany Anne first landed and exited her ship at the arena where she challenged the king. Note those exiting her ship with her, specifically the human male on her right. This is the individual we believe is heading in our direction at this time.”
“From all indications and eyewitness accounts, the human will confront at least twelve individuals inside the building. We do not expect—” Pehl-eck stopped talking for a moment and pointed toward the building. As the video zoomed in, her commentary continued. "I can see three more individuals arriving in what looks like military clothing. No, my videographer is telling me that seven military individuals are now entering the building. That is going to bring the total to nineteen individuals this one human will take on. Will this human come down with additional support, or will he or his people just blast this building into pieces from the upper atmosphere, causing those of us around the buildings to suffer with our lives? This is Pehl-eck, reporting from R’Chkoklet, and we are going to move back another couple of blocks."
QBBS Meredith Reynolds
>>Bethany Anne?<<
What is it, ADAM?
>> Bellatrix tells me through her partner Yelena that Dio would like to speak to you.<<
Are you shitting me? she asked her companion, I absolutely refuse to have another puppy following me. Where is Matrix, anyway?
TOM answered, I had Matrix go down to the park and frolic with one of his sisters. He needed to get out and run around, and asking you to do it at the moment didn't seem like a wise choice.
ADAM, you're not going to tell me that Dio wants to become your partner, right?
ADAM was quiet.
Bethany Anne, her mental voice upping an octave, continued her outburst, Am I right? You have absolutely GOT to be kidding me! There is no fucking way I'm going to have three dogs running around with me all the damn…
She received the mental equivalent of a snicker.
>>Gotcha!<<
Bethany Anne ground her teeth, trying to contain her anger. Some days it sucked having an AI in your head. Fine, tell me where. I will go speak to him. You had just better pray to the Digital God it really isn’t you.
This time there was a pause from ADAM's side before he said, >>Me? Why in the world would a puppy want to connect with me? I'm not prepared to have the responsibility of a puppy. There was another pause before ADAM continued, >>I have just reviewed what it takes to raise a pet. I would have to—<<
Bethany Anne interrupted his comment, ADAM?
>>Yes?<<
She snickered. Gotcha!
7
Purplish clouds swirled out of the way of the human’s Black Eagle as it cut through them, the mists mixing again as the gravitic air cavitation shield kept any wind from buffeting the aircraft while it streaked across the Yollin sky.
John glanced around, enjoying the view of the colors coalescing through the atmosphere. For a moment he felt like a kid again, and wished he could stick his arm out and run his hand through the mist.
"Tell me what the nanospies have for us so far, ADAM,” he said aloud.
“We have nineteen individuals inside the building. There are seven exits. The building is five stories tall, and has multiple windows made out of a substance very similar to Earth-type glass.”
"Are these windows as breakable as a standard window on Earth, or are they bulletproof- or destruction-proof-class see-through windows?"
“I do not know the answer to this question, I have now tasked multiple nanospies to gather more data.”
John flipped a couple switches inside the cockpit of his Pod. He viewed the surrounding area and zoomed in on the neighborhood blocks to see if any backup or reinforcements were making their way to the building. Satisfied he wouldn’t have to face more enemy, John turned off those displays and checked the magazines on both his Jean Dukes’ specials.
Fully loaded.
ADAM came back. “John, we have ascertained the breakage quality to be within the parameters of normal window glass on Earth.”
"Good to know. If I throw some asshole out the window, he won't bounce right back at me. That would be fucking frustrating.”
John rolled his eyes at the thought. “Can you even imagine how embarrassing that would be, ADAM? Would you be so kind as to add that to the checklist for the next time the spybots are sent down?"
“I have added the request to the list for the spybots.”
John could make out the small town he was heading toward with his own eyes now.
He smiled to himself. “One riot, one Ranger.” He cricked his neck back and forth to get ready for the challenge ahead.
“One planet? One Bitch!"
Planet Yoll, R’Chkoklet
Pehl-eck felt the presence rather than hearing anything arrive. She lifted her eyes and saw the small ship sliding down out of the sky.
It wasn't so much flying as floating.
As she watched the wings melted into each other, going from an “X” shape to a single line. Moments later, it hovered a mere foot off the ground and the canopy cracked open.
Pehl-eck waved to her videographer to make sure he was getting the action. A large human in blood-red armor hopped out of the ship and reached back in to grab what looked like a helmet, then additional weapons. He kept his eyes on the building at the end of the street as he holstered two pistols and put what looked like four small metal boxes across his chest.
A moment later, the canopy started closing and the ship slowly rose into the sky.
Either he wasn't worried about getting hurt, or he was concerned with somebody trying to acquire his ship while he was busy.
Pehl-eck called to the human. Her videographer grunted behind her, and she waved her hand in a way that meant “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Surprisingly, the human started walking in her direction even though he kept his eyes focused on the building at the end of the street.
While he was certainly encased in some sort of metal armor, it folded and molded to him as if it were fabric. Personally she preferred her males to have hard exoskeletons, not a soft skin outside, but sh
e supposed that the armor the human wore was hard enough that it could make things interesting.
It wasn't that his looks appealed to her, it was the sheer sense of raw destruction it felt like he was about to unleash—yet she did not feel afraid for her personal safety as he strode over to her.
She put the microphone out to him when he arrived. The human nodded to her and turned so that his mouth would, in fact, speak into the microphone. Considering some of the arrogant personages she had interviewed during her career, she appreciated the courtesy.
“Hello, my name is Pehl-eck.” John nodded. “I was wondering if you would mind me asking a few questions before you head down toward the end of the street?"
John smiled. “I figured you were a reporter," he nodded toward her cameraperson, "since you have the necessary staff to help you here. What would like to ask?"
She adjusted the microphone to make sure she caught his full answer. "My first question is, how do you plan on arresting those men?"
John turned to look her straight in the eyes. “I'm sorry, you must be mistaking me for a Queen’s Ranger."
She gave him a puzzled look before she caught up with his translation. "Forgive me my ignorance. I didn't even ask your name. Do you mind providing it, and would you explain to me what a Queen’s Ranger is?"
Her normal ability to play the disinterested reporter was being challenged in this person's presence.
"Certainly," John answered, his eyes once again focused on the end of the street. "My name is John Grimes. You ask what a Queen’s Ranger is?" She nodded her head. “The Rangers, probably more accurately called ‘the Empress’ Rangers’ now, are tasked with locating and finding lawbreakers. They respond to situations according to the laws laid out by Empress Bethany Anne. While they can kill in the line of duty, justice, not death, is their prime directive."
A shot was fired from the end of the street, hitting the side of a building close by. John raised an eyebrow. “I guess they are ready to meet their maker." He nodded to the lady, then started walking toward the building. Pehl-eck called after him, "If you're not an Empress’s Ranger, a Queen’s Ranger, or whatever type of Ranger you mentioned, what are you?"
John called over his shoulder, "I'm a Queen’s Bitch." He snagged his helmet, ready to lock it into place as he finished his statement. "We get called in when someone has taken a situation beyond the law." He jammed the helmet on his head, sealing himself into the latest Jean Dukes armor.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Transit Quarters, Fourth Group
Aerolyn had been running now for over four months through three different star systems. He had hoped that by coming into the Yollin system, he would have the opportunity to obscure his tracks due to the upheaval resulting from the aliens taking over the Yollins’ system.
Unfortunately, the humans had implemented rules that had made the system more efficient.
It was just his luck to find an efficient star power. He chose to head toward the humans’ space station when it became obvious he would stick out on the Yollins’. The Yollins didn’t have a specific area for all the aliens to congregate. They kept them off in their ships for the most part.
At least on the humans’ station, rumor had it, all sorts of aliens were congregating in an attempt to find out more about the “new kids on the block,” and determine what kind of money could be made from them.
Aerolyn had two problems. The first was that he felt the king and his cronies were not ruling in the best interests of the people of his planet, and he spoke often and loudly about this in the common bars on his planet.
The second problem was his relationship with the king himself. Aerolyn called him “Dad.”
When he was younger his comments were taken as humorous ignorance, but as he became an adult his father could no longer ignore his outbursts.
One evening, his older brother warned him that should he open his mouth one more time, the king—not his father—would have to act on his civil disobedience.
Unfortunately, it took all of three days for Aerolyn to forget the warning from his brother and express his opinions in a local bar.
One of his friends notified him of the Royal Decree later that night. There was a price on his head, and it took him three long agonizing hours to locate someone who would get him off the planet.
He had hoped that if he left, his stupidity would be forgiven at least. Unfortunately, he found out in the next system that the price on his head was for dead or alive, and there were no distance limitations.
He had been on the run ever since, and now he was in the Yollin System.
Where he suspected he would die when a bounty hunter found him.
Planet Yoll, Nachid
Nachid was a medium-sized city in Yoll’s northern hemisphere. It had been the present size for the last four generations, never getting any larger and never shrinking in population. Most Yollins ended up shipping out to the space stations, where they would then be redirected out to the commercial or military organization that needed their services.
A lottery determined who would stay behind and continue helping the city grow or ship out to the space stations.
Brylen walked the streets of his city, considering its history in light of the aliens taking over.
While everybody took standardized tests, it seemed like it didn’t matter what you scored on the tests or how you answered the question “Where would you like to work?” One would be randomly assigned to whatever role they had the least ability to accomplish.
The same way it was handled in bureaucracies in whatever solar system you came from.
It was amazing that his people were able to produce the beautiful craftsmanship they did, Brylen thought.
The middle-aged Yollin walked toward the bar where he expected to meet his partner Rih-benn at a back table. He finished his musing about the government with the thought “There was no ability Yollins possess that bureaucracy can’t screw up.”
Stepping quickly into the bar, Brylen moved to the side. He didn't want to be outlined in the doorway any longer than he had to.
He walked the perimeter of the room and quickly located Rih-benn at the back table. Looking around surreptitiously, Brylen noticed three of Rih-benn's men sitting and talking at the bar and two more sitting in a nearby booth.
Rih-benn wasn't taking any chances at all. He must have heard the same rumors that Brylen had regarding this human they had chosen to meet.
“Good to see you, Brylen.” Rih-benn pushed over a glass of the new beverage.
Brylen took it and sniffed. “Pepsi?” Rih-benn nodded as Brylen took a sip through the straw. “Burns.”
“I actually like that feeling. Interesting that the humans introduce a gas into the drink. Similar to fermentation, but unnatural. It causes my wife to bitch at me when I expel the gas back out of my mouth. She always waves a hand at me, and tells me I am acting like a kid again.”
“Oh, well in that case,” Brylen raised the drink to his mouth again and took in a large amount through the straw before setting the drink back down on the table, “I’m not happy with Chr-len right now. She wants to say I’m childish? Bring it on!”
Rih-benn chuckled. “Living dangerously?”
Brylen looked around the bar before turning back to Rih-benn and tilting his head toward the bar. “No different than you, apparently. Why the large number of head-breakers?”
Rih-benn looked at his guys. “Options,” he answered and took a drink of the Yollin version of beer, which was made from a local plant which fermented quickly. “I have the option of taking the information I want on pain of death, or making sure if our contact does something stupid he doesn’t touch me.”
“Still sensitive to pain?”
“Always. Aren’t you?”
“I live with pain every day,” Brylen answered.
Rih-benn smiled. “Yes, but your wife doesn’t count.”
Brylen grimaced. “Oh, well if that is the case, then no. I’m good not feeling too much
pain.”
The two males picked up their drinks and clinked them together.
“What’s with the pack on the table,” Brylen asked, nodding to the bostok pack. Bostok was a semi-legal way to drug oneself. It was mostly frowned upon in public, but allowed many Yollins to relax at the end of a hard day.
“Options,” Rih-benn replied cryptically.
The silence went on for a few moments before Brylen said, “Ok, I’ll bite.”
Rih-benn took the pack of bostok and flipped it end over end on the table. “If I leave this on the table, my men are going to take this jackhole out when he leaves. We will stick him in the ship and take him out to the back canyons. A few choice whacks and he gives us what we need to know.”
“What about Krylen?” Brylen asked. “Won’t it force him to tell the truth?”
“Don’t know yet if it works on humans. I’d hate to have our human to be the first to die when we want him to answer more questions.”
Brylen thought about Rih-benn’s answer for a moment while Rih-benn turned the bostok box over and over. “What about when you are done asking questions?”
Rih-benn stopped turning the box. “Well, you know, there isn’t a good reason not to use it then.” He shrugged. “We would find out something useful if we shoot him with the stuff. Why waste the opportunity if he isn’t going live anyway?”
8
Nathan walked the last mile into a medium-sized town on planet Yoll. He found the bar, fronted by a nondescript door in a nondescript wall connected to a nondescript building in a warehouse district on the west side of town.
Basically it was symmetrical, and he would have to admit that in its bleakness it had a form of beauty. However, it was bland as shit in its perfection.
Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Three: Books 15-21, Never Submit, Never Surrender, Forever Defend, Might Makes Right, Ahead Full, Capture Death, Life Goes On (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 29