Forever Defend

by Michael Anderle

  “No, I chose to discuss whether we should blow you out of space. Bethany Anne chose to let you dock,” ADAM clarified. “Your operations plan suggested that killing Bethany Anne was one of three options. Option A, you decide she is not the right person to discuss your needs, then negotiate a trade deal and leave. Option B, tell her your secrets and work out a solution, and Option C was tell her your secrets, find no solution, and kill her.”

  “Yet you allowed us to dock?” Guard Bonn asked.

  “You were no threat, Guard Bonn,” ADAM told him. “I’m not saying this to belittle you, and I have compassion for the state of your world, but you were not a danger to Bethany Anne at any time. I had already defused the bombs inside of your ship before you arrived. The poison you wished to use on her doesn’t work on her physiology. The martial skills of both you and Keth are inadequate to hurt an Empress’ Guardian, much less a Bitch or the Empress herself.”

  “What you are saying,” Tomthum sighed, “is we are woefully inadequate when it comes to fighting.”

  “Against the Empress, yes,” ADAM confirmed. “However, you are merchants, not mercenaries. Why would you expect to be able to accomplish her death in the first place?”

  Caspise leaned over and placed a hand on Tomthum’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Tomthum. Our job was to see if she and her people could fight.” He shook his head. “What, you wanted those who helped us to be someone whose ass we could kick?”

  Tomthum’s eyestalks twisted a second, “Well, it does show a glaring flaw in our plans.”

  Caspise looked up at the ceiling. “ADAM?”

  A slight hesitation occurred before they heard his voice. “Yes?”

  “Am I right in thinking you are another enhanced being, like the Empress today?”

  “No, not in that way,” ADAM answered. “I cannot fight like she does. My abilities are in the digital realm.”

  “There you go, old friend,” Caspise said as he patted Tomthum’s shoulder twice before pulling his hand back. “We were played before we got here.”

  “If it matters to you at all,” ADAM spoke once more. “Bethany Anne had already determined she would try to help if it was possible. She just needed more details.”

  “Like what?” Caspise asked, as he settled back into the comfortable couch. “Did she get all she needed?”

  “Oh, yes,” ADAM confirmed. “She was just confirming with another advisor who might be behind the attacks.”

  “We know who. The damned Leath and their thrice-damned Gods.”

  “Yes, but the Gods of the Leath have another name,” ADAM responded.

  “Really?” Caspise asked. “What is it?”

  “Kurtherians,” ADAM replied.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Estarian Delegate Meeting Room

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips for a moment before she moved a few strands of hair out of her way and continued her discussion with the Estarian Senior Delegate.

  “Sir Cannock, we are but a few years here, and there are families who have a desire to stretch their legs on another planet, away from the fighting if possible. Some have loved ones who didn’t think through what living in a big rock in space truly meant. Some are migrating to Yoll, but frankly, the Yollins are still a problem.”

  Cannock nodded his understanding. “Too alien?”

  “That might be one way to put it. Another might be ‘too crustacean.’ However, between the Estarians and the Oggs, your physiology seems to resonate with certain groups.”

  “Resonate?” Cannock asked.

  “Yes,” Bethany Anne thought a moment. “Your body types are easier for some to get accustomed to seeing. To us, Estarians look like a tall blue human with a flatter nose. Even many of your gestures are not dissimilar to our own.”

  “And Oggs?” Cannock asked, curious about her answer.

  “You won’t understand this easily, but I’ll try.” Bethany Anne made sure not to roll her eyes. “The Oggs remind many of those here of a life-sized cartoon character named Spongebob Squarepants.”

  Cannock just blinked at her, not comprehending at all.

  “It’s due to their mottled yellow skin. I don’t see it myself,” Bethany Anne admitted, “but there you go.” She looked up. “Meredith, please take away the hologram model and replace it with a short video of the cartoon on the wall for the Senior Delegate and his team.”

  The Estarian delegate and team members turned to see what looked like an underwater scene. Something with a yellow character whose skin, if you squinted just right, did resemble the Oggs’ skin. Obviously, Oggs were not square, but Cannock had to fight a smile anyway.

  They seemed to him to be just as slow in the mind as this character was acting, too.

  “I…see,” he finally replied as he turned back. The video disappeared. “This character,” he pointed to the wall where the scene had played, “is harmless, so it predisposes a fondness for Oggs?”

  “I wouldn’t say fondness,” Bethany Anne temporized, “so much as they don’t feel negative toward them.”

  Cannock thought about what they had discussed so far. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. “On your side,” he nodded to Bethany Anne, “you have people who wish to immigrate, and our system has features they would like since Yoll is not a primary choice.”

  “Correct,” she replied.

  The delegate thought a moment. “We need a way to connect with the Etheric Empire, but since we are not heavily militaristic, it needs to be a friendly, maybe a slightly distant, relationship.”

  “We would call it an arm's-length friendship. Not super-close, but you could tap us on the shoulder should you want our attention,” Bethany Anne supplied.

  “And what happens if it takes you too long to get to our system?” he asked.

  Bethany Anne smiled. “Well, that is the other thing I would like to discuss with you.”

  “Why do I feel you have saved the most interesting for last?”

  “Well, it isn’t the most interesting, actually.” She shrugged. “It’s just the most clandestine.”

  “This word means?” Cannock asked.

  Bethany Anne checked, and sure enough, the translator didn’t know the right word to substitute. “Sorry, I am trying to say that this is the piece of the agreement we keep hidden from practically everyone.”

  Cannock swallowed slowly and folded his hands together. Here was going to be the information that changed his society.

  When the Etheric Empire had arrived, it had caused ripples that traveled all the way to the Sark System, over time. Now, the three other races that were unruly were making noises about exploring alliances. It was only a matter of time before one of them decided that even a militarily useless system like Sark was still something that would make them seem bigger.

  Frankly, the Sark System had enough troubles dealing with Estarians and Oggs. Adding some humans to the mix, provided it wasn’t too many, shouldn’t cause too much disruption. At least, that he could see at the moment.

  “And what are you thinking?” Cannock asked.

  “Meredith,” Bethany Anne called. “Please bring up the Sark System as a hologram again.”

  Sark (their sun) was in the center of the image. Then planets Ogg and Estaria, a huge asteroid belt, and then farther out, planet Secoria and finally Teshovia.

  “What I am thinking…” Bethany Anne spoke slowly. Fingers on both of her hands touched, then slowly separated. Cannock watched as the hologram zoomed in. When it reached the desired size, she reached out to touch the area labeled Asteroid Belt. “…Is that this area of your system does not have much activity outside of some limited mining, is that correct?”

  “Yes,” Cannock answered, not sure where she was going.

  “If you were attacked,” she gestured with her right hand, and suddenly a large group of warships appeared inside his system, “assuming they have the ability to gate in….” The ships emerged outside the asteroid belt, as most
ships wouldn’t want to get too close to the belt before appearing.

  Given the small chance of a ship coming through inside of one of the asteroids.

  “They would arrive outside the asteroid belt and then navigate through it to attack the two inner worlds, yes?” She turned to look at him, but he was still watching the hologram: the lifelike ships, the three-dimensional aspects of the planets he felt he could reach out and touch. He wanted to play with the wisps of clouds.

  His mind finally caught up with her question, and he saw she was waiting for an answer.

  “Yes.” He pointed to the warships making their way through the asteroid belt. “We believe this is the most likely scenario.”

  “Ok, then we would like to request seven asteroids as secret bases.” Seven green dots materialized at designated locations in the asteroid belt. “Some of them would be for stashes of equipment, some for missile defense outposts. We would not tell you what we are putting there, and you don’t ever ask us. Basically, you are gifting title to those asteroids to the Etheric Empire. In return, we promise to use our assets, should anyone ever try to attack Sark, to protect your system, because by attacking Sark, they would be attacking humans, too.”

  Cannock leaned back in his chair and watched as little missiles leapt out of the seven asteroids and attacked the ships crossing through Sarkian territory. There was a mighty struggle between the warships and the missiles before a third of the ships were destroyed. Many others showed damage, and all of them turned to leave the system.

  He had to admit, it was a very effective demonstration.

  “And if no one ever comes to attack you, no one needs to know we already have weapons there.”

  “How would you get them there?” Cannock asked, still staring at the hologram.

  “We won’t be ready to immigrate for a while, but we are willing to stage what we call a show of force on the edge of space and make a big deal out of you guys being our friends. If our demonstration gets no special response, then we will allow immigration to happen however it unfolds. If we get a lot of negative response from your neighbors, we will make a lot of special trips.”

  “What happens between your trips?” Cannock questioned, then turned to Bethany Anne.

  “Cannock, each trip will be us bringing more of our weapons and people to build the bases. Each time we leave, the system will be just a little bit safer. One of the reasons we won’t start with humans immigrating is that I want a solid defense for the Sark System before the first families move to your worlds.”

  Cannock was thinking diligently about how this would affect his people, and so far he wasn’t finding the gotcha.

  “Any special rights for those immigrating?” he asked.

  “What, humans?” Bethany Anne shook her head. “They need to have basic rights, including the ability to own land, create businesses, and trade. They can’t ever become slaves.” She tapped her finger on the table to get his attention. “Cannock, understand what I am saying here.” She took a deep breath. “If you, or those who come after you, ever try to create a state where humans are slaves, the Etheric Empire will come and beat the ever-loving shit out of your political leaders until they realize that is a no-no. So, whatever we agree to, make sure that piece is iron-clad or I will be visiting your planet.”

  She waved a hand negligently toward the hologram and Cannock turned to see the mighty ArchAngel II arrive in the Sark System. Except this time the ship appeared very near Estaria itself, bypassing the Asteroid Belt.

  There were a lot of military ships with her.

  “I won’t fool around at all,” Bethany Anne continued. “I will come in, figure out who is trying to fuck over our people, and get rid of them. Your people will have to fix the problem before our military presence leaves your skies.” As she spoke, the ArchAngel II had disappeared, but a few large ships stayed behind.

  A few moments later, the other ships left.

  Cannock continued looking at his world for a while after they left, thinking about the consequences to his people. While they could be considered elitist, they weren’t slavers. They weren’t Skaine or any of their ilk.

  The Empress was providing what he wanted: a way to create a friendship pact, along with a reason for protecting his people by integrating some humans onto the worlds. The information, as limited or factually inaccurate as it might be, still spoke of a leader who took care of her people.

  At least, those who abided by the rules.

  He pointed toward the asteroid belt. “Are any of those seven special in any way?”

  “Only one,” Bethany Anne replied. She moved her hands in the gesture that zoomed the map. She pointed to a larger asteroid. “That is Gaitune-67.”

  Cannock squinted. “I don’t recognize it,” he admitted.

  “No reason to, yet,” she told him. “It has been a temporary shelter for ships from time to time. We wish to build a special little town there and house a few dangerous toys. We are willing to install technology to help create atmosphere on that asteroid.”

  “How will you do this without drawing attention?” Cannock asked, intrigued.

  Bethany Anne winked. “We create an Estarian company. Isn’t that how everyone hides a government’s activities?”

  Personal Ship Powerdrive, exiting Commercial Gate Five, Yollin System, Ring Three

  Shi-tan was impressed. The company he was contracting with was able to speed him through the approvals process once he exited the gate.

  He looked at his controls and moved one to confirm that the ship couldn’t approach closer to the human’s Meredith Reynolds without his personal physical confirmation. He didn’t need to be accidently blown to atoms by a ship’s automated mistake.

  At least if he made the mistake, then he had earned the death.

  He had checked on the Yollin twice, and both times he had been sleeping. He had alerts set up should he stop breathing or start to become violent.

  “Powerdrive?” A Yollin voice came over the speaker. “This is Ring Two. You are scheduled to approach the QBBS Meredith Reynolds at location one-seven-seven, where there is a private commercial landing hanger rented for your use. Please contact QBBS Meredith Reynolds for details.”

  “This is Powerdrive. Understand approach QBBS Meredith Reynolds location one-seven-seven and contact ship for landing specifications.”

  “Correct, Powerdrive. Ring Two out.”

  And that, Shi-tan thought, was that. Efficiency in action. His ship started to turn as he felt the engines kick in.

  The last time he was here had been another rundown. When he left, he thought he had started an Interstellar War. He had actually laughed about that once or twice. The other group had shied away from attacking when the Etheric Empire melted a much larger warship than any they had in their fleet.

  Now he was back, and he had asked to meet in All Guns Blazing because, try as he might, he couldn’t find Coke anywhere else in the Systems.

  The drink was damned good. This time he was going to store three of those barrels if he could, or find out how he could keep it for a while if it went bad too quickly. The last batch he purchased had lasted him a mere two weeks, and he had suffered a terrible head pain for half a day after he ran out.

  Apparently one of the very minor ingredients in the drink was slightly addictive.

  He didn’t care. It was too good not to get more.

  A little while later, his speaker came on. “Ship Powerdrive, this is Control for the Meredith Reynolds. I have you slotting into Commercial Hanger five-five at location one-seven-seven. Is this correct?”

  Shi-tan leaned forward to push his talk button. “That is what I understand, Control. Ring Two suggested you would have additional information,” he finished, and released the button.

  There was a slight pause. “Yes, the hanger has been rented for seventy-two local hours. Should Powerdrive stay beyond that time, you will be responsible for the additional charges.”

  “Powerdrive understands. Sev
enty-two local hours, and charges beyond are my problem.”

  “Correct. Welcome back to the Meredith Reynolds.” The audio clicked off, leaving a slightly annoyed Shrillex.

  They knew he had been here before. Personally, Shi-tan was a big fan of governments that didn’t know every time you showed up. Not that he had done anything bad last time.

  But eventually, they would have enough information on him that he might find it annoying.

  —

  “Gabrielle, wait.” Bethany Anne put a hand on her arm as they wished the last of the Estarians a blessed evening.

  “God, Bethany Anne,” Gabrielle murmured. “I’ve had less pain after a workout with you than having these twins in here.” She pulled out two chairs. One she sat in, the other she would use to elevate her feet. “Are you about to tell me why, at a mere five months, I look like Mount Olympus, here?” she grumped as she lifted both feet into the chair.

  There was a knock on the door. “John, open the door if that is Eric.”

  “It is,” he replied as he opened the door. Eric was surprised to see John step out and close the door behind him after Eric stepped in.

  “Family meeting?” Eric asked, as he came up behind Gabrielle and massaged her shoulders.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned. “You may stop doing that sometime next decade.”

  “Sure, baby,” Eric agreed.

  “I know that you know that I know you are lying, Eric.” Gabrielle whispered, her eyes closed. “But don’t remind me that I know anytime soon, ok?”

  “Who's lying?” Eric asked.

  Gabrielle just reached up and patted the hand that hadn’t stopped massaging.

  I really, really don’t want to do this. Bethany Anne sighed.

  >>We don’t know it won’t come out ok, and this is the only logical solution we have come up with.<<

  I would never hurt either of them, Bethany Anne. However, if we want the best shot at fixing this, we are going to have to go through the surgery. The Pod-doc is having issues with the different nanocytes’ programming.

  I know, TOM. We have already been through this too many times. I just… Fuck. I hate my life sometimes.