by Saxon Andrew
“But, Mom!”
“Time to grow up, Jan; this is your show. Make it happen!”
Jan stared at her adopted mother and smiled, “Good shooting, Mom.”
“Only for you.”
The screen went dark and she heard Jan start issuing orders to the three warships that just arrived. Ka looked at her console and saw the blips designated for her to hit start flashing. She looked over her shoulder and yelled, “Rico! Do you have your targets?”
“Yes, Sir. They just came in.”
Ka smiled and studied the tactical feed on the front monitor. Tal would have a little more time to rest. Mila turned to her and smiled, “She’s given us an escape track, so we don’t leave close to each other.”
Ka smiled, “Jan is a sensor officer at heart; she will be thorough.” Ka watched the monitor and about fifteen minutes before the Blue ships entered the range of the Brotherhood formations, Ka pressed the battle stations alarm. Everyone on the ship jumped at the loud klaxons blaring at high volume and, after a moment, Ka shut them off. Everyone on the bridge was staring at her and she shrugged, “It’s the only thing loud enough to wake him,” she said with a shrug.
Tal came running on the bridge fastening his collar. He looked around and his eyes narrowed, “WHO SET OFF THAT ALARM?!”
Everyone turned and looked at Ka. She saw them and shook her head, “So you’re throwing me under the bus that easily!”
Tal shook his head and started laughing. Indie stood up from Tal’s chair and Tal asked, “Status.”
“The attack should start momentarily, Sir.”
Tal turned to Ka, “Jan is in command of this and has issued the appropriate orders, Sir,” she said sweetly.
Tal sat down and saw the crew staring at him. “As you were. We have a battle to win.”
The crew turned around smiling and Tal turned his attention to the front monitor. He suddenly heard Jan over the wall-speaker, “Do not wait to open fire on your assigned targets. The moment they activate their phase fields, initiate your attacks.” He wanted so much to yell, “That’s my girl!” but managed to stop himself. It wasn’t professional.”
Katy said over her subvocal module, “The blue ships are turning; they’ve detected the trap.”
Jan came over the wall-speaker, “Wait until they activate their phase fields. They’re staying in hiding a little longer than I anticipated.”
Tal stared at the front monitor as the three huge Brotherhood Fleets activated their phase fields and launched at high speed toward the fleeing blue ships. The Brotherhood formations were spread out over a huge area of space and there was nowhere the blue ships could turn without being overrun. Their only route was to flee directly away from the massive fleets chasing them.
• • •
The Order Giver of the blue ship formation knew he was in big trouble. There were too many invader warships for him to call in assistance. Any ships coming to save him would only die with him. He had a head start and hoped he could outrun his pursuers. A few minutes later he heard his scanner leader announce, “I’m detecting sixty Invader warships directly ahead of us and they’re powering up their phase fields!”
The OG lowered his head. There was no way out of this box. “OG! The invader warships ahead of us are blowing up. Someone is attacking them!!”
“WHO?” Suddenly, an image of a small black warship appeared on the monitor and then it disappeared. He flew past the burning invader derelicts and pressed his communicator, “Whoever you are, thank you!” His ships fled and then left on different courses. The Brotherhood formations hesitated to break apart and the blue ships disappeared.
• • •
The Brotherhood Fleet Commander jumped to his feet, “WHO ATTACKED MY BLOCKING FORCE?!”
“Commander, nothing appeared on our scanner!”
“STOP THE SHIPS AND SCAN THE WRECKAGE!”
The huge formations came to a stop and started scanning the destroyed blocking force. After an hour, the Commander’s Second walked across the bridge and stopped at the arm of the Commander’s chair, “Commander, whoever attacked these ships hit them with blaster beams more powerful than any we’ve detected in the past. That eliminates the blue ships as the attackers. They were also hit by extremely powerful missiles, which would eliminate most of the other aliens that have been attacking us.”
“Unless one of them has developed a more powerful warship,” the Commander stated. The Second could only shrug. The Commander collected the data and sent it to Central Control. Let them figure this out. He had no idea what happened here. He looked at the Second and ordered, “Vaporize them!”
“There may be some survivors, Commander!”
“We don’t have time to search for them. My ships need to return to the planets they’re assigned to defend and I’m not going to delay their return, vaporize them!”
• • •
Tal sat and watched the huge Brotherhood fleet turn their blasters on the sixty warships and burn them out of existence. They were leaving nothing behind for their enemies to study or use to build weapons to be used against them. He turned to Katy, “Do you detect any survivors?”
“There are more than a thousand scattered among those ships, Sir.”
Tal turned back to the monitor. He realized he was going to be forced to be as hard and brutal as his adversary. He wondered if he had it in him to do that. Ka watched the destruction of the ships they attacked and felt something inside her turn cold. The assassin in her came out and she knew that there was something evil here that had to be killed. It posed a danger to her children and her instincts to protect them roared up as she decided that in the future, the Brotherhood wouldn’t have to blast their warships, she would do it for them. Tal saw Ka’s expression and remembered when he first met her in the Guild Master’s office. He believed that part of Ka had died…but in that second, he realized it didn’t. It was awakened by what happened here and controlling her in the future was not going to be easy. He couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jab looked into Ryshana’s injured eye and saw the white of the eye was blood-red. “Try to keep your eye open.” He took the spray bottle of genetic-restorative liquid and sprayed the eye. Ryshana blinked but then forced herself to keep the eye open. The red disappeared, and he smiled, “Now, close your eye.” Jab sprayed the swelling around the eye slightly until it was gone, only leaving a black coloration around the socket. He then sprayed the huge bruise on the side of her face until it was just slightly darker than her tanned skin. He checked the four cuts and they were gone, leaving no scars. He leaned back and shook his head; he was right, she only became more beautiful.
“Module; what’s wrong? Why are you shaking your head?!” Jab picked up the hand mirror off the floor and handed it to her. She looked at herself in it and smiled, “You are a miracle worker!”
“No, it’s simply technology at work,” Jab replied. Are you ready to go purchase some clothes?”
Ryshana’s smile grew, “Yes! I am!”
“Remember that I will be in Borgt’s role during this.”
“I know! I’m still looking forward to going shopping!” Ryshana stood up and rushed to the closet, took out a clean dress, and ran to the bedroom to change. Jab shook his head. Talk about mixed emotions! But he was thankful she was doing what he requested.
They left their quarters together and walked up the hall toward the elevator. Jab noticed several guards on duty and that most of them had scowls on their faces as they approached. He wondered what was going on, but they went to attention as he passed. He was a top-ranked Law Enforcer and they didn’t want to make him angry.
When they arrived outside the building, he saw a vehicle parked out front. The driver smiled, “Do you need transportation, Law Enforcer?”
“Yes!” The Driver opened the front door and Jab stepped in. The driver hesitated before he opened the back door. Ryshana stepped in and he closed the door. Jab took th
e white plastic card out of the front pocket of his tunic and held it out to the driver. The driver’s eyes narrowed, “You know there is no charge to transport members of the military.”
“CRAP!” Jab thought.
“Module, tell him you just mated and that you didn’t know if your mate would be free!” Ryshana quickly said.
“I know I’m free, but I’ve just been mated and didn’t know if she would also be free.”
The driver’s frown disappeared, “Congratulations! All military and their mates are transported at no charge.” Jab put the card away and was thankful for Ryshana’s quick response; she had using the subvocal module perfected. The driver could have reported this unusual behavior. “Where would you like to go?”
“I’m taking my mate to a woman’s clothing establishment. Do you have a suggestion?”
“There’s a good one about a mile ahead on this street.”
Jab smiled slightly, “Take us there.”
The driver pulled away and drove slowly up the street. He was extremely talkative and asked Jab how he liked being a Law Enforcer. Jab stayed in Borgt’s personality and described the pleasure and joy he felt at punishing those that didn’t follow the commandments. The driver asked, and he vividly described the beatings and killings Borgt had done over the years and the driver interrupted him, by saying, “I’m really enjoying this, but all good things must end. The shop is directly across the street.”
Jab stopped in mid-sentence, “I can wait and finish telling you.”
The driver smiled, “That’s OK. I see someone ahead waving at me. But I have enjoyed listening to you.”
Jab opened his door and raised a shoulder as he stepped out, “I sometimes get carried away. I do enjoy my work.”
The driver smiled and waited for them to cross the street in front of his transport. He saw Ryshana following behind him with her head bowed and thought, this Law Enforcer might enjoy his work too much! He had noticed Ryshana’s black eye and the bruise was still visible on her face. The driver pulled forward a block and stopped the transport. He took out a tablet and almost started writing on it. It was just not usual that a Law Enforcer would not know his mate was given free transport. He thought about it and suddenly realized he didn’t know it when he was mated; he would have made the same mistake. The intelligence officer put the pad away. It was clear this Law Enforcer was being honest; his descriptions were far too accurate for him to be anything else.
• • •
Jab entered the store and heard a tone as he opened the door. A colorfully dressed woman with a big smile and perfectly coiffed hair immediately stepped through a door behind the counter and watched Ryshana follow the large Law Enforcer into the store, keeping her head bowed. The woman’s smile evaporated. Jab saw it and wondered what he was doing to cause such expressions in people he encountered. “May I be of assistance, Law Enforcer.”
“Yes. I’ve just been mated, and my mate needs some nightwear.”
The woman looked at Ryshana, keeping her head down, and saw the drab community dress she was wearing. She turned back to Jab, “Is that all you need?”
Jab stared at her and then asked in a threatening tone, “Do you have a suggestion?”
The woman laughed and waved a hand at him, “Don’t act like you can frighten me, Law Enforcer. I keep the laws and respect my mate as I should. He is off serving with the fleet and he allows me to work here when he’s on active duty. You are more of a boorish man than I thought!”
Jab’s eyes narrowed, and he heard, “Module, be careful.”
Jab smiled and said, “Please forgive me. I’ve not had a mate and I worry about how she should be dressed. I can use your assistance.”
“You should also learn how to treat your mate respectfully,” the woman countered. “It’s obvious you hit her and force her to act fearful around you. Do you have any idea how that behavior makes others see you?” Jab’s expression showed his confusion. The woman tilted her head at the bar on his collar, “You are a high-ranking Law Enforcer, but you will never be promoted treating your mate like this. You should have stayed single.”
“Why?”
“Because treating your mate with such disrespect will show the decision makers that you lack class. Now, do you want me to assist you or not.”
Jab looked at Ryshana behind him, then turned around, “Yes.”
“Then I am going to provide her the clothing needed to show those around you that she is worthy of the fine officer you are. Do you want to wait?”
“How long will this take?”
“I’m going to give her ten outfits; one to wear on each day of the week. I suspect it will take two or three hours to get it done.”
Jab nodded and turned for the door, “I’ll see you in four.”
The woman smiled and said, “Come with me, Dear.” Ryshana walked around the counter and went through the door with the woman. Jab heard, “Module, be careful and avoid any conversations until I’m with you.”
“I will.” Jab exited the store and walked down the street in the direction the transport had brought them. He looked in the storefronts and saw that they rivaled anything in the colonies. He noticed the people passing him smiled and he nodded to them. This was a large change from the guards and woman’s expressions. He was doing something to cause it.
He finally stopped at a busy intersection and sat down on a bench. He watched the people as they walked by and he immediately saw something that caught his attention. The couples walking past him were often holding hands and none of the women were walking behind their mates. Their heads were up, and they were openly conversing with each other. They appeared no different from couples in the colonies out on the town.
He watched them for a long time and began to see a few couples that were different. The men were scowling, and the women refused to look at them. As those couples passed, he felt a sense of anger at the man and suddenly realized that was what those around him felt when he passed them with Ryshana walking behind him with her head down.
It was clear, most of the mated couples felt real affection for each other. This idea Ryshana had put in his head that he might have to punish or abuse her just didn’t appear to apply to normal city society. If that happened, it would be behind closed doors, if it happened at all. He needed to ask her about that comment she made when he met her.
He heard a loud noise and looked up. One of the small ships was moving down to the street and several guards were directing traffic around its landing area. A Guard jumped out of the ship at a run and he saw Jab staring at him. He yelled as he ran into the store on the corner, “I’ve been ordered to pick up a package by a Cleric!”
Jab waved and turned his attention to the small ship. It was dark the night he flew the ship from the community to the city and he immediately noticed something he missed. There was a large blaster barrel protruding out of the bow of the small ship. There was a plug in it, preventing it from being used but Jab could see that that small ship was used in combat. He looked overhead and saw the sky filled with them moving in different directions. What possible purpose could this small ship serve in combat operations?
An old man cleaning the street saw him staring at the ship and commented in an old voice, “The Berserker is a beautiful craft, isn’t it, Law Enforcer. The fastest ship in the fleet the Berserkers are. I was almost given the opportunity to crash one into an enemy ship when I was young.” The man moved away with his broom and bag and Jab heard him say quietly to himself, “Oh, I wish I had.”
Jab turned back to the ship and didn’t see any other weapons. Just a single blaster in the bow was the sum of its armaments. It suddenly dawned on him what the ship’s purpose was. The blaster was to knock out a phase field and the pilot would then crash it into the ship he was attacking. It was probably filled with explosives and could cause massive damage to any ship it hit. And the old man said it was the fastest ship in the fleet. He remembered flying the ship from the community and thought then that th
e ship was overpowered. Its thrusters were barely used to lift and fly the ship to the city. That ship had to be incredibly fast. Was it faster than the Sha Class? It would certainly be faster than the Alpha Warships. He had to get this information back to the Admiral. But first, he had a decision to make about the brotherhood; he needed more time to do that. The pilot came running out of the shop and quickly boarded the small ship, it lifted, and disappeared at high-speed. He stood up and started walking back to the store. It would be four hours since he left, in fifteen minutes and he didn’t want to be late.
He arrived and saw Ryshana sitting in the front of the store wearing her community dress. She looked up, as the shop woman asked, “When do you want your purchases delivered?”
Jab handed her the white card, “When would be convenient for you?”
“I can send them in an hour or two if you will be in your quarters.”
“Two hours sounds good,” Jab replied. She handed him the plastic car back and Jab asked, “I was wondering if you might do something for me.”
The woman’s eyebrows went up, “What is that?”
“Would it be possible for my mate to wear today’s outfit now?”
The woman smiled, “Yes, I’ve not packaged them yet.” She looked at Ryshana and smiled, “Come with me.” Ryshana stood up and he saw questions in her eyes. He smiled, as she followed the woman through the door.
Ryshana emerged from the door and Jab’s eyes widened. She was strikingly gorgeous. The woman had put some make up over her blackeye that matched her skin color and she looked flawless. The dress was a yellow that seemed to change to different shades of yellow as she moved. The woman turned to Jab, “You have chosen well, Law Enforcer. She deserves to be shown off by you. I just wish I had her beauty.” Ryshana’s face turned red as she lowered her eyes.
Jab said softly, “Do not lower your head. From now on, you will hold it high.”
Ryshana looked up, “Yes, my mate.”
The woman watched them leave the store. She saw the woman move behind him but was stopped and moved to walk beside him. She smiled, This Law Enforcer was a fast learner.
