Bethany Anne got to her feet and clapped for order after giving the last arrivals—Team BMW, as usual—time to get in and seated. “We have an extra item on the agenda, which I’m going to bump to the start. Reynolds, do you have your crew’s decision?”
Reynolds stood and placed his hands on the table. “I have conferred at length with my crew, and we have decided to join you.”
Bethany Anne smiled and inclined her head. “That’s fantastic. But we do this right.”
Reynolds straightened up. “You misunderstand, my Queen. My mission has not ended until there are no Kurtherians left to hunt down. When that is done, I will go after their servants until no trace of their evil cults remains to blight this universe. So no, my mission has not ended. It has expanded.”
Michael skimmed the minds of their guests, finding each of them to be honest in their search for Justice. He shared his findings with Bethany Anne.
Oh, I know they are, she told him. I’ve seen proof of their good hearts, and there’s evidence of the strength of their team all over the Chain galaxy.
Bethany Anne instructed ADAM to take care of the contract and deliver it to Reynolds. “There will always be a place at my side for anyone who wishes to stand for what’s right. You are all welcome here.” She smiled. “If we’re all done making declarations, we have a long list of items to get through before the welcome dinner.”
Three hours in, Bethany Anne and Michael suddenly vanished.
“Bethany Anne and Michael send their apologies,” ADAM informed them over the speaker. “They had a family issue to take care of, nothing anyone needs to worry about. Bethany Anne suggested that Reynolds and crew take the opportunity to explore the city before they meet you at dinner tonight.”
Ka’nak cracked his knuckles, grinning broadly as he looked around the table. “So. Where’s good for a fight around here?”
Devon, The Hexagon, Residential Sublevel One
First Officer Jiya Lemaire, former cab driver and disinherited heiress, paced the dining area as Reynolds read the terms of the contract ADAM had sent for their consideration aloud.
“Let me get this straight,” Jiya summarized when he was done. “If we accept, we will be paid—and paid well—to accompany Bethany Anne on a tour of the Federation and various surrounding star systems of which she is the former Empress.”
“That is correct,” Reynolds confirmed. “Our role will involve assisting the teams installing the defenses Bethany Anne is providing throughout the expanded Interdiction. It will fall to us to defend her technical teams from attacks by anyone who attempts to steal the priceless technology their ships will be carrying.”
Jiya held up a hand to indicate she wasn’t done. “Not only that, but we are invited to a welcoming reception on the Queen’s current home base, which has the same name as this system even though they’re in different galaxies.”
One of the cubes on the table glowed blue as Navigation piped up. “Don’t get me started on that. High Tortuga was the original Devon until Bethany Anne claimed it and wiped it from the maps. Then she set up this Devon as a diversion for people looking to do business with the planet formerly known as Devon.”
The strains of Purple Rain filtered from the speakers, getting absolutely no appreciation from the crew.
John Grimes, however, chuckled.
“Finally!” Reynolds cried jubilantly, pointing at him. “Someone who gets the reference.”
“We’re getting off the subject,” Jiya told him. She looked at each of the core crew in turn. “What’s your vote?”
“I vote we find a fight somewhere,” Ka’nak supplied, backed up by a hoot of encouragement from Tactical.
“There’s probably gonna be a few,” John told them. “Not all of the places we’ve got on the itinerary are going to be happy about us dropping a military outpost on them. Thing is, Bethany Anne hasn’t got the luxury of tending to the disgruntled few when Gödel is waiting to swoop in and shit on everyone’s happy times.”
Jiya’s eyes widened as John spoke. “Okay, Captain Doom made his point. There will be fighting, so I’ll assume Ka’nak is in. Takal? Geroux? Maddox?”
Reynolds waited nervously, not saying a word in case he influenced them either way. He wanted more than anything to accept the honor he’d been offered. The tour would include a visit to the Meredith Reynolds, something he was unlikely to get another chance to do for a long time.
“I’m game,” Takal announced. “I can see that every hand is needed to make this plan work.”
“Me too,” Geroux agreed. “Put us to work protecting the people of the Federation.”
Maddox had tears in his eyes. “I never thought to see this,” he managed around his swelling emotions. “You told us about the Federation, but I have to admit I doubted that so many species could live and work in harmony.”
“Are you kidding?” Jiya exclaimed. “You did see the effect Reynolds had on our homes, right? And on all those other planets we visited? I can only imagine what effect humans have had.”
“So far, my experience of humans has shown me they are fierce and loyal,” Maddox agreed. “But the sheer scale of this effort! It’s astounding to consider that some of the places on the tour itinerary are a galaxy apart.”
“That’s where we can help,” Geroux decided. “This system requires signal boosters to be placed at various points along the way. We can offer to go out in the Pods and lay the buoys.”
Takal glanced at John. “How likely is it I’ll get a chance to work with the nanocytes?”
John lifted his hands, palms up. “Above my pay grade. You’ll have to talk to Bethany Anne.”
Takal nodded. “I understand.”
“We’re being hailed by Fleet Base,” Comm announced.
“Onscreen,” Reynolds commanded, getting up from the table to make his way to the living area where the screen was located.
Jean Dukes’ head and shoulders filled the screen. “Reynolds, good to see you, but it’s John I’m calling for.”
Reynolds sighed. “I thought you were calling to tell me you were done with my ship.”
Jean shook her head. “Not yet.” She smiled when John followed Reynolds into the living area. “There you are. Your armor just got to Devon.”
John grinned. “That gives everyone some time to get acquainted. What about the scout fighters?”
Jean raised an eyebrow. “What is it with the whole damned universe wanting their ships today?” she demanded. “Just make sure nobody kills themselves or anyone else with that armor.”
The screen went blank when Jean cut the call.
John answered Reynolds’ bemused look with a shrug and went back into the dining area, where Tactical was complaining about being left in the guest quarters during the dinner that evening. “Why do we have to stay here while you meatbags live it up, partying with the Queen?”
The others agreed.
Takal shrugged. “We can each take one of them with us.”
“Come on!” Tactical declared. “I’ll be on my best behavior. I promise not to say fuck in front of the Queen, even if she says it first.”
Reynolds took his seat at the table, wondering if he was a glutton for punishment. “Fine, you can come to the dinner. But one step out of line, Tactical, and I’ll have you confined to comm for the duration of the tour. You hear?”
Chapter Four
Devon, Vid-doc Vault
Bethany Anne and Michael walked out of the Etheric.
“Put the curtain back up,” Bethany Anne instructed as she crossed to the viewing area.
Michael took a seat in the viewing area, his attention fixed on the screen and the carnage that was paused there. “I thought it would be a bit longer before they were ready to face Ookens.”
“What can I say?” Eve asked. “Trey was done by the end of the second stint in ‘stasis,’ and K’aia only had a few tweaks. The rest was always going to depend on when Alexis and Gabriel reached emotional maturity and found it wit
hin themselves to unlock their full potential.”
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes, unable to repress her reaction to the sight of her children’s situation. They were neck-deep in what could easily be mistaken for the climactic scene from one of those movies that made back its exorbitant production budget so many times over that they flogged the story to death with sequels that never matched the passion of the original.
She indicated the screen with a finger. “All right, time to play Catch the Mother Up. What led to this, and what else does the program intend to put my children through?”
Eve's eyes flickered while she ran through the milestones the children had passed. “The final step is the one that mattered, the one that unlocked the endgame.”
Bethany Anne fixed Eve with the look only a mother can give. “You’re prevaricating.”
Eve had the grace to blush, no mean feat for an android. “I don’t want to proceed with what the program is suggesting,” she admitted.
That drew Michael’s attention. “What exactly is it suggesting that is making you so reticent?”
Eve hesitated before answering. “Breaking their connection to each other. The program has identified that as a potential weakness if one of them dies in battle.”
“No,” Bethany Anne stated, her eyes flaring red as the unthinkable possibility wormed its way into her head. “There’s no need for that because they’re not ever going to be put in that situation.”
“Bethany Anne, it’s a simulation.” Michael ignored the shaking of the vault, just like he ignored the energy pouring from his wife. He took her hand, keeping his voice low and calm. “Get control of yourself before you cause an earthquake.”
The energy receded when she clamped down on it, but Bethany Anne felt no peace. She glared at Michael, her eyes still bright with red light. “I don’t care if it’s a simulation, Michael! I. Will. Not. Have. My. Babies. Suffer.”
Michael pointed at the screen. “Look at them,” he demanded. “Those are not babies. They are adults. No matter our perception of their lives, theirs is different. They’ve lived those years with and without us, and earned the right to put themselves in whatever situations they wish to.”
He brought his hand back to clasp hers. “Did you think they would stay with us?” he asked gently. “They are our children, made from us. They have the entire universe at their feet. Would you stay?”
Bethany Anne bowed her head. Why did he have to be right?
The vision she’d had of the four of them remaining together slipped away and was replaced by the reality that Alexis and Gabriel were highly-trained fighters. “No, I guess I expected them to want to spread their wings,” she admitted.
“We need them in this war,” Michael reminded her. “They’re every bit as powerful as we are.”
Bethany Anne pulled her hand free and turned away, regretting it when she faced the screen and saw the proof of what Michael was saying. “I cannot and will not look at our children as assets, Michael.”
“That’s why you had the Gemini built,” Michael soothed. “And that’s why we’re going to allow the program to run.”
Bethany Anne still hesitated.
“If they don’t get the inoculation,” he continued, “what are the chances of survival for anyone around them if it comes to the worst?”
Bethany Anne hated it on the rare occasions she had to concede that Michael was logical.
“Dammit.” She clenched her fists for a moment before looking up. “Fine. Run the program,” she told Eve.
“As you wish,” Eve replied.
“I don’t fucking wish,” Bethany Anne ground out. “But better here where I can pull them out if it goes too far.”
That moment came around sooner than Bethany Anne expected. An alert sounded from the console. “What was that?” she asked.
“Alexis has lost her grounding,” Eve whispered. “She’s about to lose herself to the Etheric. It’s showing her how to get Gabriel back, and she’s about to unlock the ability to alter the fabric of space-time.”
The vault shook again.
“It’s not me,” Bethany Anne told them. “Is Alexis affecting the real world? Get me in there, now!”
Eve handed Bethany Anne a headset that covered most of the top of her head and face.
Bethany Anne searched out her daughter’s mind and caught hold of the last fragment before it drifted away. Alexis. Enough.
She felt Alexis’ awareness return and her internal struggle to obey the command. Alexis’ determination tore at her heart. She felt her daughter’s confusion and sensed her search for what grounded her.
Your brother, Bethany Anne reminded her.
Gabriel. Alexis returned to herself at the memory. I almost forgot myself completely.
Bethany Anne spoke quietly, understanding in her voice. It’s tempting to give yourself up to the peace of nothing. It would be a relief some days. But you don’t have that option, my love. None of us do. We have to be the barrier, the line others don’t dare cross. Duty doesn’t care how tired you are, and Evil never sleeps.
I’m sorry, Alexis whispered.
Bethany Anne sent her a wave of love and withdrew now that the urgency had passed. She removed the headset and handed it back to Eve, feeling better about the ending of the game now she was there. “She’s okay.”
Michael indicated the holoscreen with a finger. “You don’t say.”
Bethany Anne’s face split in a grin when she saw the twins pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. “Eve, can we get some popcorn down here?”
Eve held up a finger and the sound of popping came from the kitchen in the outer chamber, followed by the smell of buttery deliciousness. “Tabitha and John both messaged to ask what the emergency was. They’re on their way down here with the others. I told them to pick up some Cokes if they were planning on staying to watch the end.”
Bethany Anne sat back. “We might as well make a party out of it.”
When the moment came, everyone on the couch got up and cheered. Bethany Anne turned to Eve with anticipation. “They defeated the Kurtherians. How long until they can come out of the Vid-docs?”
Eve tilted her head while she checked the progress of the neural integration process. “It’s going to be a few hours yet. Maybe a day.”
Bethany Anne let out a groan of frustration. “How is it that the closer I get to seeing my children, the longer it feels?”
Michael laughed. “I don’t remember you ever being this impatient before.”
John, Scott, and Darryl helped by listing times when Bethany Anne had been unwilling to wait.
Eric nodded, agreeing as a backup.
Bethany Anne threw her remaining popcorn at them. “I could focus all my attention on you three until Eve calls to tell us it’s time.” She looked at each of them. “Anyone want to spar? No? How about a little training with the Etheric? No? How about a bit of time spent dodging? No one wishes to play ‘dodge the red-hot flaming Etheric ball?’” she asked, one eyebrow raised.
John shook his head vigorously. “We’re good, thanks, Boss.”
* * *
Mahi’ and Fi’Eireie met Bethany Anne and Michael at the elevator early the next morning.
Mahi’ greeted Bethany Anne, excitement showing beneath her regal exterior. “I have been counting the minutes until Tu’Reigd’s return,” she admitted to Bethany Anne as the elevator descended. “The feed Eve provided has become my people’s most beloved form of entertainment. No Baka’s life has ever been so celebrated.”
Michael and Fi’Eireie discussed the highlights of the children’s final scenario while they waited for Eve to open the Vid-doc vault.
Eve met them in the outer chamber. “I wasn’t expecting you. The process is not yet complete.”
Bethany Anne walked past her, heading for the table in the living area. “But it’s going to be soon, right?”
“Well, yes,” Eve conceded.
“Then this is as good a place as any for Mahi’ an
d I to talk about the Bakas’ part in keeping this end of the Interdiction protected during my tour.” Bethany Anne took a seat. “Let’s start with arrangements for the Federation troops who will be arriving for training to fight the Ookens.”
Eve shrugged and glided to the inner chamber to continue monitoring the system. “You won’t disturb me. I’ll call when I’m ready.”
Two hours after every detail of the Bakas’ responsibilities had been hammered out, Bethany Anne paced the space between the Vid-docs with growing impatience. “How long?” she asked Eve for the third time.
“Neural recalibration can’t be rushed,” Eve replied with a hint of annoyance. Why had she wished for more action? Those years on Earth might have been the calm before the Bethany Anne Storm.
Michael had just as little patience, but his was coiled tightly, holding him still by the control panel. “It’s been hours.”
“Perfectly normal,” Eve assured him. “The process has to be completed, or they won’t retain everything they gained in the system.”
Bethany Anne stopped pacing and her head swiveled like the turret of a tank as she stared at Eve. “They could lose their memories?”
“As well as their physical abilities,” Eve confirmed.
Only Mahi’ kept her calm. She sat with her hand resting in Fi’Eireie's, watching the replays of the battles with rapt attention and a growing smile.
An alert went off and ceased immediately.
“That will be Tabitha,” Eve informed Bethany Anne and Michael. “Only she can interfere with the system like that.”
“Only me,” Tabitha announced over the speakers, confirming Eve's prediction. “Well, me and a couple others.”
Eve smirked and turned back to the control panel. “I knew it. We’re almost ready here.”
“That was what you said an hour ago,” Michael reminded her.
“Well, excuse me for thinking an hour wasn’t long in human terms,” Eve shot back.
Michael sniffed. “I believe you have been working with Akio and other humans for centuries.”
Return Of The Queen: The Kurtherian Endgame™ Book Eight Page 4
