WE HAVE CONTACT (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 12)

by Michael Anderle

  “So, are you going to fight me, or stand there and look pretty?” Bethany Anne asked the male Pricolici.

  Then, she took the initiative. She came in hard, slashing at him with her right sword. He dodged the first slash and jumped to his left when she came back around with the other sword. He kept on his feet, watching her sword work, looking for an opening. She seemed to stutter, switching forms, and he leaped.

  He howled in pain when the first sword pierced his chest. She had played him, waiting for him to move. Her eyes, glowing red, matched the feral grin on her face. She batted his arms away with her other sword then reversed the blade and slit his neck.

  —

  Stephanie Lee watched as Bethany Anne lowered her sword, and her father slid down to fall to the ground. His eyes, seeking her out at the end, finally gave her the one thing she had desired her whole life.

  Connection.

  Stephanie Lee’s lips pressed together as she regarded the arrogant woman staring at her, her lips turned up, “You peasant! You have no idea of the abilities, the history, the time this Clan has worked to prepare the Earth to rise up!”

  Bethany Anne casually cleaned her sword on the Were’s chest. Keeping an eye out for any movement from Stephanie Lee. “You speak as if I should give a shit, Stephanie.” She waved her two swords around before setting herself and smiled, “The only thing I care about right now, is making damned sure you receive my full retribution for killing my love.”

  “Killing your love?” she barked, walking to her left around the temple room and opening up the distance between them. There was still fighting happening inside the walls. “What do you know about love? What do you even care about love? The person you just killed was my father!” Her eyes flashed yellow in the dimness of the temple.

  “I’ll file that bit of knowledge under shit-I-don’t-care-about.” Bethany Anne’s voice changed, became darker. “You are nothing but a spoiled shǎbī that seeks power and prestige because daddy didn’t love you,” she hissed as she walked to her right causing Stephanie Lee to change directions, “You couldn’t rule a girl-scout troop, much less the world, you trumped up soiled piece of trash.”

  She is trying to bait you!

  She will cause you to make bad decisions. Get her swords away from her, they let her fight you from a distance.

  Stephanie Lee curled her lips, “What would you know about leading? Hmm? You’ve been given everything, haven’t you? Money, companies, even technology. You wouldn’t have anyone’s love if you weren’t powerful, so don’t stand there,” she hissed, “you hypocritical bitch and tell me how well I can lead! At least I am willing to fight with what the gods gave ME!”

  Bethany Anne cocked her head, “What, you mean these?” she held up the two swords. “This is what scares your pretty little pussy-cat head?” Bethany Anne spoke a little louder, “John,” she tossed her right-hand sword the thirty feet to John, who deftly caught it. “Darryl!” she threw her other to her left where Darryl caught it. Bethany Anne cocked her neck. “So, what is your devious plan now that you have me without swords?”

  “Well,” Stephanie Lee admitted, “It reduces your reach and unlike my dear, departed father, I’m not so slow!” She started laughing as her hands morphed into razor sharp claws, each five inches in length. Everyone in the group noticed that her feet had grown claws as well.

  “God, someone needs a serious pedicure,” came from behind her. Bethany Anne snorted.

  “Scott,” she said conversationally while watching Stephanie Lee, “Don’t make me laugh, please.”

  “Fine, but you have to admit, it was a hell of a line,” he quipped.

  Bethany Anne lifted her hand in the air and flipped him off.

  Bethany Anne focused back on Stephanie Lee, just as two shots rang out, and Eric spoke from his doorway, “Sorry, a couple of cats thought they might interrupt the reunion.” Then another shot, “Wow, tough son-of-a-bitches.” Then another shot, “Fucking stay down! Don’t you realize this shit is over five bucks a round?” Bethany Anne continued to watch Stephanie Lee as the antics were happening behind her.

  “Hey, dickless,” Darryl called out, “try hitting them instead of winging them and it might work a little better.”

  “Look, have you ever,” bang..bang… “tried to hit,” Bang! “cats running? Oh, fuck this!” Bethany Anne could feel the escalation of fear from Eric and then could visualize from the sounds when the first cat reached him, still dealing with the pain from the silver rounds Eric had pumped into it. The sickening sound of a body being ripped apart and then the plop of a dead body parts dropped to the stone floor, “Hey! No running away…Damn you, I can’t leave my post you son-of-a-…Awww, dammit!” There was some shuffling behind her, ‘Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize everyone was waiting for me. Do continue.”

  Stephanie Lee’s voice was low, acidic, “You will scream for hours when I finish with your queen!” She glared at Eric who shot her the finger.

  Stephanie Lee turned to Bethany Anne, “Your people are undisciplined, rude and immature!”

  Bethany Anne smiled, “Just the way I like them, come here and have a piece of me you jumped up fuck-brained syphilitic ass-ugly butt sucking pile of leftover dick tips!”

  “You are the most banal of them all! That you have even touched the mind of one of the blessed race is a disgrace I shall rectify!”

  “Oh God…did she say TOM is from a blessed race?” John cut in.

  Stephanie Lee’s furious gaze turned towards John who shrugged, “Oh, my bad! Yeah, I’ll get behind Eric when it comes to the screaming part…I’ll stand in line like a good undisciplined, rude and immature whatever-the-fuck you say in Chinese.”

  Eric added, “That’s Ok, I’ll let you cut in front of me.”

  “Hey tit-less,” Bethany Anne called Stephanie Lee’s attention back to her. “You’ve really gone and fucked up.” She started walking towards the Leopard Empress, her eyes deepening their red, her face breaking out with red lines of Etheric energy, her fangs growing.

  Stephanie Lee took a step back, “What…what are you?”

  “Are you happy now? You retarded wayward glory hole reject! You have the full attention of the Queen Bitch in the flesh. Claws?” Bethany Anne yelled, “You think CLAWS are the fucking answer?”

  Bethany Anne stepped close enough for Stephanie Lee to leap towards her, slashing down to eviscerate the woman. Bethany Anne put her arm up in a block, Stephanie Lee’s arm was sliced off as it hit.

  Her left arm, already swiping down, received the same result. Then pain screamed in her body as it tried to deal with two stumps.

  I’m trying to shut the pain down! What did she just do?

  There has to be a way out of this body! If she dies, WE die!

  FIGHT YOU BITCH! The two Kurtherians screamed in Stephanie Lee’s mind.

  Stephanie Lee ignored the voices in her head as she stared numbly at her two bloody stumps, her body trying to heal enough to stop the bleeding.

  Bethany Anne’s face was smiling, her fangs fully extended, “I don’t need any claws! I’m AM the Queen Bitch. And my love patiently, lovingly, taught me how to use the Etheric ... you failed alien genetic experiment!”

  Bethany Anne lifted her right hand, and Stephanie Lee watched as it changed, growing a copy of her own set of five-inch nails, razor sharp. The woman in front of her now looked like the goddess of death.

  Her death.

  A deep, malevolent voice spoke to her, “Stephanie Lee, you have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found ass-tastically inadequate and a fingerlicking trampy bollock fucker. I’ve been waiting for too damned long for this moment. Now die for your sins!”

  Bethany Anne plunged her clawed hand into Stephanie Lee’s chest easily cutting through the ribs, and ripped out her heart.

  Looking at her own heart beating in front of her, Stephanie Lee barely heard the faint screams from the aliens inside. She dropped to her knees, the temple swimming in her vision
.

  Bethany Anne stepped to the side and held up her hand. A second later, she caught the sword John tossed to her.

  “Die, Bitch!”

  The slice took but a second, the body falling in two pieces with wet sodden sounds. The head rolled across the floor, stopping when it bumped up against her father’s dead body.

  The end to a thousand years of planning the destruction of Earth’s freedom joined together in death.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Space Station One - L2

  Kiel found he and his people in the middle of a fight. Fortunately, behind their armor and carapace exoskeleton, they weren’t in mortal danger.

  But it HAD become a rollicking good fight.

  The aliens were about a head shorter than most of his people. Even so, there were some that were muscular and a few more that were extremely strong.

  Abnormally strong.

  “Kiel, bring me back a sample of one of the aliens with superior strength,” Royleen’s voice cut into his focus as he was slowly backing up under the onslaught of an alien with a full body-sized pole. These types of weapons had not been used in over fifteen of his generations, and twice his armor had saved him from exo-skeleton cracking hits.

  Kiel smiled savagely, THIS would be a story to talk about when they got back to Yoll.

  “Easier said than done, Royleen!” Kiel spat back before taking his own offensive, “I can’t implement full armor support, or I risk breaking these simple walls which might be a bad solution for yours truly. This alien is a demon of speed and has practiced with this…OUCH,” he interrupted his conversation, “you soft-skinned slink bait!”

  Kiel ignored the radio for a moment as he worked to attack. Finally, he was able to catch the damned stick in his grip and engage the servo-motors on his armor. The alien was stupid enough to hold on trying to keep his weapon. He bounced off of Kiel’s armor and laid out unconscious on the floor. Kiel looked up and saw two new figures.

  “FEMALES!” Royleen yelled into his ear. “I want one of those, bring one, Kiel. They hold answers to the genetics for the species and will serve me very well for other research.”

  One of his team members spoke over the comms, “Master Kiel, we have accomplished subjugating and grabbing a male of the species.”

  —

  Coach was watching John fight the monster in front of him. It had two legs, but the legs were articulated wrong like they were the back legs of a horse or some sort of large insect. John was trying to beat the crap out of it with the quarterstaff and Coach couldn’t get a swing in edgewise.

  “Dammit!” John yelled, “Stay fucking still you maggot spewing alien asshole!” He brought his quarterstaff around to block a grab and then shot out the end directly into the alien’s chest. The metal tipped end cracked on some sort of metal, but the suit he was wearing looked more like a plastic derivative to him.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t crack easily like plastic.

  Then, John found himself busy blocking the alien’s attacks.

  John could hear fighting going on all around him, but he could only focus on his own situation.

  “Coach!” John yelled, “I’m going to open him up and go low, try to swing for the stands at the top when I…” John didn’t get anything else out. The alien was successful in grabbing his staff, and John held on tight, trying to keep it. All the way to when he was slammed into the aliens armored covered body and cracked his head on its chest. John bounced back down the hallway, and the lights grew dim.

  Coach saw John go down right when he heard ReaLea behind him, “That’s my friend motherfucker!”

  “Didn’t I tell you not to come down here?” Coach spit out, trying to figure out the best solution.

  “Didn’t you know it was useless to stop an ex-cop from trying to help? What are you, a misogynist?”

  “That’s a really big word for calling me a dick!” Coach yelled back.

  “Well, if the name fits…What is it doing?” ReaLea and Bree noticed the alien turn towards them.

  “Shit!” Coach spat out, “it found what it wanted.”

  “What’s that?” ReaLea asked.

  “FEMALES!” Coach yelled, moving between ReaLea and Bree and the alien. “I'm not a fucking misogynist, I'm practical. You are a glorified research bug at the moment, so get the fuck out of here!”

  ReaLea could see the guys trying to get between her, Bree and the alien who had another of his kind coming up behind them.

  “GO!” Coach yelled as he and now Adarsh went after the alien together.

  ReaLea was biting her tongue, but had to agree with Coach, this time, she and Bree had quickly attracted the alien’s attention when they arrived in his field of view.

  Making a decision, she turned and grabbed Bree’s arm, “Let’s go!” the two of them started running back down the hallway.

  —

  “They are getting away!” Royleen called out.

  “Tell me something I am not aware of, Royleen.” Kiel snapped as he blocked a simple stick attack by the bigger alien. The one on his right slashed down with a knife, the blade catching a softer part of his suit. Kiel whipped his servo arm out and hit that alien, sending it bouncing off of the walls.

  Kiel started walking towards the direction where the females had just left when the tip of the stick was used to hit him in his helmet. It didn’t break anything, but the loud crack was disconcerting.

  Kiel looked down at the alien, anger coloring his eyes, “I’ve had enough!” Kiel kicked up the speed aspect. He would have to restrict his movements some, but now he was fighting faster.

  —

  Coach heard the two women’s steps as they left the battle area. He didn’t doubt the two had courage, but there was no reason to leave the tasty chocolate out to entice the uninvited guests. He grinned, maybe this would change how tight their body suits were? Can’t figure out who the females are if the suits hide the anatomical differences.

  His batter-up effort didn’t do a damned thing. Adarsh had just scored a good hit with his knife. Well, good if one assumed the alien’s response pointed to his success. Adarsh was out of this fight. Coach saw John was getting up from behind the alien, his healing abilities helping him and three others were now causing a problem for the other alien.

  Using the opportunity Adarsh created, Coach turned his quarterstaff weapon and jabbed it for all he was worth right at the shield over what he assumed was its face. The gold reflective coating scratched just a little.

  But oh boy, he got the alien’s attention!

  “Come here and let’s talk about this like civilized aliens…You fucking ground pounder!” Coach snarled.

  —

  John got his head turned in the right direction, which is to say eyes open and figuring out what was going on. He heard Coach yelling behind him and turned toward the back of the alien that had clocked him a good one. He could feel the blood along his scalp and in his hair.

  The blood was going to suck to clean up.

  —

  “Penn, this is Gabrielle.” Gabrielle had moved to Bethany Anne’s chair on the Bridge of the ArchAngel. “We are taking two of our Pods and sending them out toward the unknown vessel. Do not try to override any programming on your side, it will just be wasted efforts.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Penn replied.

  “What is your status?” she asked.

  “Ma’am, we are fighting large bipedal creatures that are in armor. We don’t have decent weaponry up here that we can use without decompression worries that can do anything to them in armor. So, we are fighting with sticks, basically. The aliens are also fighting with similar weapons. I don’t know if that is because they worry about the walls getting holed, or we are just no challenge to them at the moment. All I can say is that the armored aliens are easily a match for our Wechselbalg with simple weapons.”

  “Understood. Hold on SS1 - ArchAngel will be coming around the moon and visible in two minutes.”