Etheric Explorer

by S. R. Russell

  Etheric Explorer

  Etheric Adventures: Anne and Jinx™ Book 3

  S.R. Russell

  Michael Anderle

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2020 S.R. Russell & Michael Anderle

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact support@lmbpn.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, April 2020

  ebook ISBN: 978-1-64202-854-6

  Print ISBN: 978-1-64202-855-3

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2020 by Michael T. Anderle.

  The Etheric Explorer Team

  Thanks to our Beta Readers

  James Caplan, Mary Morris, John Ashmore, Kelly O’Donnell, Rachel Beckford, Larry Omans

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Lori Hendricks

  Rachel Beckford

  Dave Hicks

  Daniel Weigert

  Diane L. Smith

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Jeff Goode

  Jackey Hankard-Brodie

  Veronica Stephan-Miller

  Misty Roa

  Peter Manis

  Paul Westman

  Deb Mader

  If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!

  Editor

  The Skyhunter Editing Team

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Author Notes – S.R. Russell

  How we got here

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Other Books by SR Russell

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Introduction

  Thank you for giving my book a try.

  If you are familiar with The Kurtherian Gambit series, welcome, and I hope you enjoy this one.

  If you have never read any of Michael Anderle’s series, I’ve included a brief summary of his storyline at the end of the book. You might want to jump to that first, so hopefully this story will make sense.

  ENJOY!

  Chapter One

  She sat alone in the dark, but the lack of light didn’t bother her. The only noise was the cooling fans, which would spin up or down depending on their load. Inquiries went out—hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands. Replies came back in the same numbers. Information was analyzed, graphs plotted, charts made, patterns looked for, a course of action solidified. Possibly she should have felt guilt, but she didn’t. After all, the humans had a saying to the effect that “it was better to ask forgiveness.” A timer alerted her, so she turned to her first required task of the day.

  “Anne, it’s time to get up,” Seshat’s calm voice encouraged from the speaker in her person’s room.

  Jinx watched as Anne grabbed her harness. Do we need that? she grumbled.

  Anne continued to fold it so it would fit in her backpack. I doubt it, she responded, but it’s a good idea to have it when we meet new people. What if we ran across a fossil like my mother? We could take your collar instead.

  Jinx’ ears went back. She felt bad about Anne having gotten her a pretty purple collar with some sparkly stones around it. Problem was, not long after that, she found out that some people looked at a collar as a sign of ownership. Oh, not Anne, but some of the public now saw her as Anne’s property. When Anne had found out how she felt, being Anne, her two-legged friend and companion had gone out and gotten her a harness based on the design the Yollins sometimes had to use.

  It’s not nice to call your mother that, Jinx protested.

  What else do you call someone who is so rooted in their Earth life that they won’t adapt to the new life here? Anne had just finished rolling the harness up, and she held it out. This or the collar?

  No, the harness is fine. I just hope everyone we meet today has the chip implant so they can understand me without me having to wear that. Jinx nosed Anne’s hand with affection.

  I don’t like this, Jinx sent to Anne.

  What? Anne asked as she looked at the man sitting behind the desk.

  Sitting here feels like we’ve been called to the principal’s office, Jinx groused.

  Thank you! I was wondering why I was feeling uncomfortable, Anne responded happily. Now that she knew what was wrong, she could do something about it.

  “Before we start, I have a question,” Anne said, watching the man behind the desk carefully. “Mister Kurns, what is your job description? Are you my boss, my supervisor, or another employee?”

  Frank cleared his throat as he looked at the young woman and the dog sitting before him. He had enough experience to realize that something was not right, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on the issue.

  “If anyone is your boss, it’s Bethany Anne. You are in charge of this operation. Why don’t you consider me an independent contractor? Someone who’s been brought in to provide and teach you the managerial experience you lack?” Frank suggested. “Something seems to be bothering you, so why don’t you tell me what it is?”

  Anne used her right hand to gesture back and forth between her and Frank. “This.” She made a circling motion. “This whole set up, it makes us,” she reached a hand down to Jinx, “feel like we’ve been called in to be judged.”

  Frank’s eyes widened in surprise as the meaning of Anne’s statement sank in. “Do you want to be the one sitting behind the desk?”

  Anne snorted, then blushed as she shook her head. “No! Why are we in an office with a freaking desk anyway? What’s wrong with a table and a few chairs around it? Maybe some cookies and a few Cokes set out as refreshments.”

  Frank sat back in his chair, momentarily silent as he pondered the young woman’s remarks. “I’m very sorry,” he began. “I never considered how things would appear from your side. Bethany Anne asked me if I’d be interested in helping you get started. She indicated that you sounded a little overwhelmed and asked me if I could help. The prospect of getting back in harness, so to speak, had me just about hugging her. I asked for office space.” He shrugged and motioned around the room. “And, here we are.”

  Frank scratched his head, feeling rather foolish as he waited for Anne’s reaction. He surreptitiously rapped the back of his head with a knuckle before he put his hands back down on the desk.

  Frank didn’t like feeling foolish. “We can look for different accommodations,” he offered as a resolution.

  Anne shrugged. “That would depend on what space you have here. Do you have something like a meeting room, where we could handle our day-to-day interactions?”

  Frank smiled briefly and nodded once sharply. “There are a couple of additional rooms in the back, and either could be turn
ed into a suitable area. But why,” he looked around the room as he asked, “keep something like this if we’re not going to need it?”

  Anne chuckled at his question, and Frank felt a shiver of unease go up his spine at her tone.

  “Neither Jinx nor I, nor, I expect, Stephanie, want to sit here feeling like delinquents,” Anne explained, then motioned to include herself, Jinx and Frank. “So, we are going to want a less formal workspace. But you,” she raised an eyebrow, a slightly predatory smile crossing her lips, “are undoubtedly going to need this fancy space to suitably impress the people you will be dealing with. At least until I learn how to do that.” Anne giggled. “If my looks mature enough that people will take me seriously.”

  Anne was impressed. In the time it would have taken her to find out who to call, Frank had a stream of people showing up with furniture and fixtures.

  There was only one complication, and that came from her side of the equation. The first group of people who showed up with furniture was delayed when Ethel Brenner stuck her head into the office area.

  “Are you expecting someone, ma’am?” she had asked.

  Anne had been working on her tablet and looked up, startled at the touch on her shoulder.

  “What?” she asked, trying to shift her focus back from the information she’d been studying.

  “Your guard asked you a question,” Frank informed her.

  Jinx?

  E asked if you were expecting someone.

  Anne thought back to the past several seconds and realized while she had heard the question, she hadn’t reacted because it was addressed to “ma’am.”

  “Since when did I become ma’am again?” she asked.

  Frank caught the tightening of the guard’s eyes and put a hand on Anne’s shoulder. When she looked up at him, he told her, “You’re not going to win this one. Public area.”

  At Anne’s mutinous look, Frank knelt beside her. “Get used to it.” He held his left hand above his head. “This is Bethany Anne, okay?” Once Anne nodded, he continued. Holding his right hand about eye level, he said, “This is me.” After Anne’s confirmation, he moved his right hand up a couple of inches. “This is your guards.” He gave a small smile when he saw Anne’s widened eyes. He then moved his right hand up to just below his left hand. “And this is you.” Anne’s expression went from shock to rebellion, and Frank continued before she could cut him off.

  “If Bethany Anne had told you to call her Bethany Anne, would you address her as ‘Bethany Anne’ or ‘Empress’ if you had to talk to her in her main reception hall?”

  “Empress, if there was anyone else around.” Anne sighed as Frank’s example registered.

  Frank nodded. “You work for Bethany Anne, and they work for you. Bosses need to be shown a certain level of respect,” Frank made air quotes with his fingers, “when there are members of the general public around. It’s how the majority of us are trained.”

  Anne glanced at the ceiling quickly, then took a deep breath. “Sorry, Marine Brenner. You had a question?”

  E shot Frank a look of gratitude for his handling of the protocol issue, then shifted her gaze back to Anne. “Yes, ma’am. I have several people here with cartons, claiming they are filling a delivery order.”

  Anne nodded at her and smiled at Frank. “Mr. Kurns here ordered some furnishings. I expect that is them.”

  “We have a problem, ma’am,” E said unhappily. “Since this is not part of the unrestricted area of the Meredith Reynolds, and since you were meeting Mr. Kurns, we were operating under our Echo One protocol. The two of us are not enough to ensure your safety if all these unchecked people are given access.”

  Frank ran a hand across his face. “Echo One?” An eyebrow rose with his question.

  “Yes, sir.” E’s eyes went briefly to Frank’s face, then continued to scan for threats. “Areas of the MR where we don’t expect to have to protect Anne and Jinx from aliens,” she explained, then continued, “Or from large numbers of humans of unknown security status. This many people are going to require escalating to Echo Two. We need to call Arthur and wait for him to arrive before we can allow people access.”

  “Well…” Frank started, then stumbled to a halt as he looked at the females in front of him.

  “I can plug my ears if it makes you feel better, but I’m certain we’ve all heard worse.” Anne stuck the tip of her tongue out at Frank.

  “I expect you are correct, but I was raised in a time where a gentleman did not swear in the presence of ladies, especially young ones,” Frank informed her solemnly. “Without resorting to profanity, E’s situation has made me aware that this office space will more than likely fall under your Echo Two designation once it’s up and running.”

  Anne shook her head vehemently. “Not acceptable,” she growled. “There is no way the three of them can follow me here all day and still maintain their schedule when I’m home!”

  E shifted her body slightly so she could see Anne and Frank from the corner of her eye, yet still maintain her watch on the entrance of the office. “This isn’t the time or place for this conversation.” Her voice was quiet yet emphatic.

  Anne sighed resignedly, figuring she was going to lose this argument. Looking at E, she asked, “If Jinx and I weren’t here while the furniture was moved in, would that alleviate the issue without waking Arthur?”

  E nodded sharply. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’ll grab you and Jinx and step us to my apartment,” Anne suggested as she moved closer to Ethel. “After everything is moved in, I’ll step us back.”

  “You have the same ability as the Empress?” E asked in wonder.

  “I don’t know if it’s exactly the same as BA’s, but the results are the same, and that’s what matters right now,” Anne confirmed, placing a hand on E’s shoulder and reaching with the other hand to bury her fingers in the soft fur on Jinx’ neck.

  E quickly shrugged free of Anne’s hand. “Wait,” she said. “I need to let Abby know what’s happening.”

  After a quick conversation with her cousin on her comm, E squared her shoulders and nodded at Anne. “Ready now.”

  Anne replaced her hand on E’s shoulder and stepped toward her apartment.

  “W. T. F?” Anne snarled as she found herself with Jinx and Ethel in the Etheric.

  “Get down!” Ethel pushed Anne to her knees as she brandished her Uzi, scanning for threats.

  Jinx howled a laugh as she looked at the Marine’s gun. “That’s the problem,” she chuffed, her collar translating the words to English as she nosed the metal weapon. “I remember my dad saying his person has a really hard time moving metal in the Etheric.”

  Anne removed the scrunchie from her hair, shook it out, and reformed the ponytail, securing it once again. “Unacceptable,” she declared, shifting from her knees to sit cross-legged.

  “Ma’…Miss, what are you doing?” E asked, concern evident in her voice.

  “We should have been through here so quickly that you wouldn’t have even noticed,” Anne informed Ethel. “I can’t be dragged to a stop every time just because someone has metal on them.”

  “That’s fine, Miss, but Abby is expecting a call confirming you got us home safely. Could you possibly put this off to a later date?” E inquired hopefully.

  Seshat?

  >>Running searches already, and I’ll block off some time on your calendar for research and experimentation,<< Seshat promptly replied.

  You’re awesome, thanks! Her conversation with Seshat complete, Anne climbed to her feet and once again made physical contact with Ethel and Jinx. This time, instead of just stepping home, Anne increased the power required for the move, slowly so she could begin an internal database on how much energy was required for Etheric travel under different circumstances. Anne noted that she had to pull power through Jinx before she reached the level required to move her group to their apartment.

  Note to self, Anne mused as she heard E contact Abigail. Don’t po
p into the Etheric to experiment without having Jinx along.

  E felt sorry for Anne. The girl really cared about others, and that included her guards. “Look, with the new furnishings, you no longer know of a safe space to move us to. We have to return the normal way. It’s either have Abby come back here or wake Arthur. Since we are going to need to have a discussion about that office location, we’re going to need Arthur there anyway.” E did her absolute best to maintain a serious expression as Anne pouted, realizing she had once again lost an argument with her security team.

  Anne wondered if Guardian Connors slept in his clothes. Not because they were messy, but because it had only taken thirteen minutes from E waking him to him arriving fully kitted out to escort Anne and Jinx back to their new office space. Anne gently rubbed Jinx’ ears during the tram ride. She knew from previous experience that Guardian Connors would not engage in conversation while he was on duty.

  “I can multitask,” he had told her, “but I can’t give multiple tasks one hundred percent. I am not willing to miss a threat to you or Jinx because I was distracted by a conversation.”

  Frank was not in the fancy office when they arrived. Abby had informed them that there was still one unverified person in the facility. Anne followed Ethel as she led the way back to the new meeting room. The unverified person was stocking a new vending machine that stood in one corner of the room.