Antigravel Omnibus 1

by George Saoulidis

  “Not like this. I don’t mean to scare you, Kyveli, but it’s bad. They’ve never been this daring before. They’re insane! Attacking us on all fronts. Your cousin was almost killed last week, did you know? They managed to get close to him in the theatre.” Father’s face looked worried.

  “Teddy can protect me, daddy. He always has.”

  “I don’t question that. But there’s only so much one Mind can do against a concerted effort like this.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “No, you’ll come back right now.”

  “No! Daddy, no, there’s still so much I haven’t seen here.” She whined loudly, clutching her pillows.

  “What ever it is, go see it and come back tomorrow.”

  “Five days. Okay, five days, daddy?” She opened her palm up to him and gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

  The King sighed. “I worry, you know that?”

  “Of course, daddy. Love you.” She hung up.

  Chapter 24

  Castor’s brother went on with his daily tasks aboard the ‘Touch Her and You’re Dead.’ It was easy to get close, their culture had reverse favouritism. Meaning the older and more powerful members of their society got as far the hell away from royals as possible. Positions near the royals were left to the lowest ranks.

  Nobody wanted to be near the royals. At least when you were a couple of light-minutes away, you might have a fighting chance.

  Posted right next to a member of the Diairetis family, and you wouldn’t even have time to register what happened.

  He took care of the princess’ wine bottles from the near planet. He helped himself to some to calm his nerves. It was no simple task, what he was about to do.

  He had positioned himself carefully in the princess’ court, and he had set up the seeds of the situation so that he could finally exact his revenge.

  His brother. Castor. The racing champion. Disintegrated because one of them was bored.

  After that, it wasn’t hard to take the decision of ending the royal line. And it wasn’t hard to convince the Catastrophists that he was their man.

  He clutched the sabotage device in his hand. It was disguised as a simple medical device, innocuous to even the ship’s deepest scans.

  There was a piece missing, you see. And that was by design. The circuit wasn’t complete, and that’s what made it undetectable.

  No, you needed to add a crystal, but not any sort of crystal. A crystal made of the finest jade in the galaxy, to make an emitter that would-

  He cut his thoughts short. He didn’t even dare think his entire plan, in case the Mind could pick it up. Oh, sure the Minds said they respected the privacy of people’s thoughts, but did they really?

  Was any security measure too extreme when protecting the princess?

  Castor’s brother carried on with his crates. The wine helped muddle his anxious brain. Yes, dip it in alcohol, that should make it harder to read. Or at least it would help his hands stop trembling.

  And then, he finally heard what he needed. “Will someone finally fix my bloody throne?” a scream from the throne room.

  Castor’s brother gripped the device, his knuckles white.

  It was show time.

  Chapter 25

  “Oh, now that’s magnificent,” Kyveli said excited. She hopped in place.

  Guillermo smiled. She was so childlike in her reactions some times. Other times, she was lithe and sexy and… This was one of the former times.

  “Indeed. Those are called tigers. Fearsome and beautiful, just like you.”

  The men below cracked their whips and kept the animals in check with electric batons. It was a specialised keeping area where the animals roamed free instead of being caged. They were used to the presence of people, but they still had their instincts. Only a fool would wander carelessly inside.

  She walked close.

  “Careful, madame,” the carer said and had his baton ready.

  Kyveli was not in any danger, of course. She had a protector at all times. She stretched her hand out and got it close to the tiger’s head. Men held her down, gripping her collar tight.

  Kyveli touched the tiger.

  Guillermo shut his eyes. What if this was it? Just a swift swipe from a predator and the world is gone?

  Would he even realise it happening? Or would it be blink-and-you-miss it just like the other things from these alien beings?

  The tiger roared and showed her enormous fangs. The motion of her head was quick and the fields around Kyveli sparked, protecting her.

  “Let her go,” Guillermo said and the men pointed the great beast the other way and loosened the collar. The tiger hopped with its feline grace and climbed a small hill, looking down on us.

  “I want to keep one on my zoo,” Kyveli said, squealing from excitement.

  “What zoo?”

  “The one aboard my ship.”

  “You have a zoo aboard your ship?” Guillermo was stunned. At this point, nothing should surprise him but this fact was too bizarre.

  He resigned, and leaned back on the jeep. He saw the transaction from afar. The prime-minister of the country happily gave her the tiger. He was rewarded with exotic spices. Teddy trapped the tiger into a cage and loaded her up to the pod.

  “Why do I even bother?” Guillermo sighed.

  “What?” She lifted her shoulder at him, innocently. “I came here for one of your felines.”

  “Just like the Pharaohs.”

  “Exactly!”

  Back on the ship, they visited the zoo. Guillermo still couldn’t comprehend how it was possible to haul an entire palace with a zoo around the galaxy. The zookeeper greeted them and prepared a place for the tiger.

  It looked just like her home down below, they had already thought of everything. Everything but the feeling of captivity.

  “Would you like a tour?” the zookeeper asked.

  “Sure. I believe it will be a unique experience. Are you coming, your Brightness?”

  “No… I think I’ll retire to my chambers for the day.”

  “As you wish,” Guillermo bowed. “You don’t mind me then?”

  “Have fun.” She walked back to her rooms.

  The tour was indeed out-of-this-world. Guillermo saw flying creatures from faraway planets. The zookeeper knew them well and tried to explain most things to him, but he was too awestruck to take anything in.

  Creatures large and small. Quadrupeds, heptapods, or with no legs at all that simply rolled whenever they wanted to go. The zoo was an exobiologist’s wet dream, and said to himself he’d remember to get Lorenzo here as well.

  After Guillermo managed to pick up his jaw, he decided to pick the man’s brain. “Hey, how often does the princess visit the zoo?”

  “Oh, She never does.” The man’s expression darkened. “I thought it was due to my work, but no, she does not. I keep everything in excellent shape for the day she blesses me with her presence.”

  Guillermo couldn’t believe the man. “Really? Never? She has all those exotic animals from all over the place and… what? She just forgets about them?”

  “It seems that way, yes,” the man nodded solemnly.

  “Hmm.” Guillermo looked into the distance. The zoo kept an illusion around the edges that made it seem like you were on a luscious planet and the view went on forever. He thought about Kyveli. How could he teach her an entire way of living in the few days they had together?

  Chapter 26

  “The princess asks that you join her in her quarters,” the courtier said from the door. He was a short man, red of course, on the older side. He had an extremely crazy haircut which couldn’t possibly be easy to maintain each day.

  “Um… Is it appropriate?” Guillermo hesitated. He rubbed the sleep dust off his eyes.

  “It would certainly be inappropriate to keep her waiting, Liaison.”

  “Right. Give me a minute, please.” He shut the door to his room and splashed water on his face. Sure, he was on call 24
/7 but he did need some alone time. What could she possibly want this late at night? As far as he knew Ekrignontes needed sleep as much as humans did. In fact it was one of those universal panhuman traits that Lorenzo kept going on and on about. “It’s so weird, we’re all so alike all over the galaxy,” he’d say.

  The hippiest physicist Guillermo had ever met. But he was a good buddy.

  He made himself presentable and got in the corridor, where the crazy haircut was waiting anxiously for him.

  “Presenting Mister Guil-”

  “Yes, let him in,” she said from inside her rooms. “Leave us.”

  The crazy haircut darted away.

  It was dimly lit. Romantic, even. Spots of light shone from various places around the room, but they weren’t harsh like a candle light that blinds you and irks you with the flickering. These were organic, like glowworms. Soft and mesmerising. Natural sounds came from somewhere he couldn’t pinpoint, and they were certainly natural for someone else, not an earthling. But they were soothing, nonetheless.

  He took a few hesitant steps inside. “Your Brightness?”

  His eyes adjusted and he saw her. Oh, he couldn’t tear his eyes away even if he wanted to.

  She was lying on a huge bed facing down. Two maiden girls rubbed her down with oils and incense, and they too wore as little as possible.

  Not that he cared because his eyes were locked on her hills and valleys. She was definitely naked, bright red skin now practically shining with the ambient blueish light. The maiden’s hand rubbed Kyveli’s thigh and all he could do was follow it with his gaze.

  The combined effect was an assault on his senses, smell, sight, hearing. He got an erection instantly.

  “Nora,” she said, moaning and dragging the words, “will you tend to our guest?”

  “Of course, your Brightness.” The girl immediately walked up to Guillermo and started undressing him.

  He stopped her, holding her hand away from his shirt. “Please,” she whispered, “I need to do this.”

  He let her do as she was asked. The girl undressed him and had him lie back on a comfortable sofa. He had a perfect view of Kyveli’s back from that position. The girl started rubbing his chest with oils and his nose flooded with thick aromas that muddled his brain. She rubbed his upper body, massaged his neck and his arms and made him feel amazing.

  He didn’t even mind that she was half-naked and so close to him.

  Then she pulled down his pants and rubbed his legs with oil. Her moving upwards was slow and seductive. When she reached agonisingly close to between his legs, she stopped, and Kyveli stood up.

  The Princess walked the final steps toward him, swaying her hips just like she had done with the Crown. This time, she wasn’t just naked in his imagination.

  She reached close and leaned forward on his neck. She breathed on his ear, the reconstructed one that was still very sensitive while at the same time the maiden kept rubbing his feet and the other one rubbed Kyveli’s backside. It was so erotic that he got shivers everywhere on his body.

  Kyveli kissed him on the neck, then on the chest, then on the stomach, and then under his belly button, going downwards with each kiss. The intervals seemed like lifetimes and then she finally touched her lips on the tip of his penis.

  “A-Are you sure?” he managed to say.

  She spoke from the throat. “It’s not my first time.”

  “I can see that. No, I’m asking if, given your stature…”

  “If you’re worried about being safe, we are.”

  She climbed up on top of him and slipped her feet around his waist. They were both very well oiled and slippery so it came naturally. The maiden girls adjusted with finesse and rubbed both their backs respectively. The feeling of so many hands on his body was a mindblowing experience.

  “Can-Can you please ask them to leave us? Don’t get me wrong, I love what they’re doing but I prefer to do this alone with you,” Guillermo grunted.

  Kyveli waved them away with a tiny gesture, just like a princess should. The maiden girls promptly left them alone.

  “Would you rather I do the oiling up?” she teased and applied more to her hands. Then she rubbed his chest, going all the way down.

  Guillermo leaned forward and kissed her. “Yes, I’d imagine your rubbing to be worthy of kingdoms.”

  He picked her up carefully, she was slippery. She squealed with excitement. He put her gently on the bed and came on top of her.

  When he entered her, he lost all sense of time.

  Chapter 27

  “I demand ice cream!” the princess yelled in her imperial tone from her side of the bed.

  “Really? You have ice cream in your empire as well?” Guillermo asked, grinning like an idiot.

  “Of course we do, silly! What did you think, that it’s only on Earth? Take me somewhere with ice cream right now,” she teased, “or I’ll get angry and divide and blow everything up.”

  Guillermo kissed her side gently. “You know, it’s not prudent to play your ultimatum card so early in the negotiation. How can you possibly top that afterwards? The only way for you to go is lower,” he said, kissing her lower and lower, “and your opponent knows you don’t really mean it.”

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “Fine. Take me to the best ice cream joint on Earth.”

  He pulled the sheets off of her. “Like this? Naked?” he laughed.

  “No!” she chuckled. “Maids! Dress me.”

  Guillermo covered his naughty bits.

  The ice cream was tasty indeed. She practically dove into the bowl. She even forgot to take a picture with it, which was saying a lot about her appetite after their lengthy encounter last night.

  “Is this where you’re from?” she asked with a spoonful in her mouth.

  “No, actually. I’m from Spain, this is France, city of Paris. The gelateria here across the hotel Rafael has the best glace I’ve ever tasted. And I have been around,” he teased with meaning.

  She licked her lips and smiled at him.

  Teddy frowned at him from the seat next to him.

  “Going to wash up,” she said and left, Teddy in tow. It turned back and gave Guillermo an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture as it went into the bathroom.

  His phone chirped. It was Lorenzo. “Hey, heard you got lucky last night!”

  “Shut up, man,” he whispered. “Are you crazy? People can hear you.”

  “Oh they heard. Don’t worry, you know how royals are. After all, you’re of royal blood too, no matter how distant. Didn’t you deny a barony or a viscountcy or something like that?”

  Guillermo gritted his teeth. “There was a reason for that.”

  “Right. Your turbulent past. Anyway, congrats. I could see you were smitten with her from day one, I know this wasn’t a touch and go thing for you.”

  Guillermo looked around, then sighed. “No, it wasn’t. I think I’m madly in love with her. What will I do, Lorenzo?”

  His friend winced and sucked his teeth. “Yeah, can’t help you there. In matters of the heart, physics goes haywire, kinda like going too close to subatomic levels. Never mind, you’ll figure it out, I know you will.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “Always here for you, mate,” he said proudly. “And I’m not just saying that, we’ll definitely hang out after this whole thing is over.”

  “Drinks are on me.”

  “Your old man is waiting for you up on the ship.”

  “Really? He made it? Well, I needed his advice a few days ago but it will be nice to see him again. Gotta go, she’s coming back.”

  “Give her a smoochie from me wi-”

  Guillermo hung up.

  Chapter 28

  No one goes near the gemthrone. Especially not when it’s vacant. No one dares touch the gemthrone. The ship sees you. The ship sees everything.

  But Castor’s brother could this time and this time only to go near the gemthrone. He had been tasked to fix it, file out the flaw on the surface that
made the princess’ delicate butt hurt when she sat on it.

  He hesitated only for a second. Then he leaned down and touched the gemthrone, activating the device that would fix it. As it shone its laser at miniscule frequencies and powerful energies to file off any imperfections, Pollux put his other device on the gemthrone and activated it.

  Chapter 29

  “They nuked me! Those motherfuckers nuked me!” Avatar Teddy was livid, its chubby hands holding the top of its head.

  Guillermo looked up.

  “There was barely a whiff at the side. It doesn’t look like a nuclear mushroom to me.”

  “That’s because I absorbed the blast, you primitive life-form!”

  He squinted, covered his eyes. Staring at the shiny orb of a spaceship was extremely hard on a sunny day. There was a minuscule mushroom cloud, all right, emanating from the side of the ship. “Oh God, are we safe?”

  “Are we safe?” Avatar Teddy screamed. “Yes, your meat is safe at this distance. I can see how worried you are about my main body, though. Thanks a lot!”

  “I’m sorry, Teddy. I honestly don’t know about these things. Is your ship alright?”

  Avatar Teddy looked up, unblinking. The ship ‘Touch Her and You’re Dead’ listed to the side and started sinking from the sky. Alarms blared below, humans scurried to evacuate, puffs of smoke appeared from so many buildings.

  Paris was on fire.

  Avatar Teddy rocked back and forth, mumbling, “I can’t connect, I can’t bloody connect.”

  Guillermo wanted to ease the robot’s pain, but how could he do that? What was it like, losing your ship? Humans couldn’t possibly have an equivalent. Was it like losing a limb? No, the Teddy Avatar was the limb, albeit with a mind of its own. So it was like a limb losing the rest of the body, but the limb having thoughts on its own.

  What a mess.

  Guillermo shook his head. “Wait, I’ve only just realised. You said you absorbed the nuke? You could have let it strike the city?”