But Michelle did not say those words. He could not quite tell what her mind was calculating.
“Who else knows this?” she asked.
Chapter 31
Mistake?
Know where you are. Know whom you worship. Play by their rules. Suffer the consequences of your mistakes. That is always true. But beware. When you are openly in love with Indra, while at the same time secretly in love with an Angel, be prepared to feel the tear.
—Kuko Kiena
Elysium
"General Mayhew,” the hangar duty officer whispered. Castor slowly opened his eyes. “Sir, it’s time.”
Castor Mayhew had told the duty officer not to disturb him until Kuko had been spotted on her return to Elysium and that Pegasus was not with her.
He stood, took a deep breath, and walked into the large fabrication center and machine shop — a shop that was on the other side of the hangar from the one Pegasus had seen earlier. He nodded to the foreman, who nodded to a technician who stood at the controls for the large sliding door. The door slid open and revealed the beautiful Lanonandek transport craft right behind it.
Castor Mayhew and two-dozen of the best master machinists and fabricators on Elysium walked around the transport craft, admiring every detail. And behind these masters were an army of draftsmen, tool and dye makers, machinists, and fabricators.
Castor Mayhew removed a set of keys from his pocket, exact replicas his assistant Reginald had personally made from Pegasus’ originals while she had innocently slept in the pilot’s lounge. He unlocked the pilot’s cabin, gingerly pulled the two levers that raised the wings, and then unlocked all the hatches.
“Let’s get to work then, shall we? Madam Kiena will be here soon,” Castor Mayhew said to his team of specialists. No one detected the wave of delight he felt. “We have precious few days to create precise plans and construct exact replicas.” With this army of Luftforce workers, it would be just as easy to make a thousand, as it would be to make one.
Kuko had timed her arrival on Outpost Okinawa so that Pegasus would board Lieutenant Kristeena Urim’s supply ship. Her roundabout course would deliver Pegasus to Carolina Isle in about 3 months Elysium time. Mr. Speer had personally guaranteed Kuko that he could accomplish the task of disassembly, copy, and reassembly within that timeframe. Even if Pegasus woke up and decided that leaving her transport under the care of the Nazz was a bad idea, they would be finished by the time she returned to Elysium. But if one of Kuko’s spies delivered the news that Pegasus had boarded a ship for Oceania, they could relax and take their time.
Castor almost bounced as he walked around and through the Lanonandek transport, making sketches, taking measurements, writing down observations as he went, while his expert team of engineers, designers, and technicians swarmed around him.
Lieutenant Colonel Magda Heydrich, their finest reverse engineer, sat at a table just outside the main hatch to the craft. She had several notebooks, one for each major operational system. Each time a technical team removed a cover or panel, they noted the type of systems underneath and provided the information to Magda. Magda wrote down the details in one of her notebooks and then generated two labels.
One label was attached to the panel before it was placed on a storage rack; the other label was attached to the wall where the panel had been removed. This way the craft could be reassembled just as systematically. Castor Mayhew wanted to ensure that inspectors on Salvington would not detect their craft had even been touched, let alone replicated. The Nazz’s possession of these transports must come as a complete surprise.
“Wait until Lord Indra sees this flight control system,” Reginald said to his master as he sat in the pilot’s chair, carefully getting the feel for the layout of knobs and levers. “Madam Kuko really delivered this time, didn’t she?”
“Yes, I would suppose her ruse against Pegasus will have left her feeling quite proud. Executed with the art of a master, wouldn’t you agree?” Castor replied, his left eyebrow slightly elevated.
“There are none better,” Reginald exclaimed.
“Have we heard if she has landed?” Castor asked, looking around for Salecia. Salecia had stationed herself just outside the curtain, waiting for Kuko’s arrival.
“Nothing yet, Castor,” Salecia called out.
KABOOM!
The sound reverberated throughout the hangar. Castor knew it had to be Kuko. He handed his notepad and sketchbook to Reginald, straightened himself, and walked toward the exit in the curtain.
“Geh mir verdammt noch mal aus dem Weg!”
(Get the fuck out of my way!)
Castor arrived just in time to see her long silver hair disappear up the stairwell to the senior officer’s personal quarters. The two guards stationed at the dressing room exit were standing mouths agape. It appeared the dressing room was the origin of the cannon-shell sound. Castor gently clasped his hands behind his back and casually strolled toward the two guards, with Salecia behind him.
Once inside, he saw a pilot shyly peek from around a row of lockers. The pilot cast a look toward the far wall. Following her gaze, Castor saw a black smudge. There were particles scattered around the floor and the remains of a smashed helmet. Castor picked it up, examining it to determine if it had been Kuko’s. His eyebrows rose slightly. This was one of their strongest materials. Somehow, she had managed to obliterate it.
The wall where the helmet had struck had a hairline crack radiating from the point of impact. He doubted anyone beyond Indra could have hurled anything with such force.
He looked at the pilot.
“General Mayhew,” the pilot said, straightening herself and saluting. “All I saw was General Kiena enter the room. She was walking very quickly. She threw her helmet against the wall and left without slowing down, Sir.” Then the pilot bowed her head.
Castor looked at Salecia. “Air traffic control told me Kuko landed hard and taxied all the way to the unloading platform at the door. I heard there was someone in the co-pilot’s seat.”
“Very well,” Castor replied. He strolled out the back door with his hands clasped lightly behind his back.
Salecia, with her assistant Daresiel, sprinted out of the room, across the hangar, through the door and up the many steps to where the private rooms for senior officers were located. When she reached Kuko’s apartment, the door was already closed. She could hear crashing sounds and shrieks of rage in the Dek language.
Salecia, who had been Kuko’s loyal servant for millions of years, knew that nothing would have upset Kuko like this unless it involved her unspoken love for Pegasus. Salecia loved Kuko completely and felt a primal urge to comfort her. But she dared not be so rude as to open the door, knock, or do anything else that could be construed as an invasion of privacy.
So, Salecia stood with her back against the opposite wall and waited. She would wait until, if, or when she was needed, even if she had to wait for days, weeks, or months, indeed, for the rest of time. And she would wait with her good friend Captain Daresiel Dranz standing right beside her to take care of any needs Salecia might have.
Castor Mayhew emerged from the ground floor door to where he presumed Kuko’s fighter was parked. Already Sergeant Kati’s team had attached the ship to a tractor and pulled it toward a wash station. The smell of burning brake pads hung in the air. He heard retching and turned to see someone kneeling on the pavement, throwing up hard. Kati was giving him a generous few meters to avoid the splatter, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked down at him.
A small purse of sour lemons came across Castor’s mouth as he strolled toward her. He knew this retching individual held the clues to what he sought.
Kati saw Castor approach out of the corner of her eye and looked up. She gave her shoulders a slight shrug. They stood together, Castor crossing his arms to match Kati’s, leaning their shoulders against each other.
“Hey,” she said a couple of seconds later as she turned and planted a small kiss on his cheek.
/> “Who is this?” Castor asked apathetically, looking straight ahead, ignoring the individual on his hands and knees. If Kati had the answers Castor needed, then there was no need to offend his senses by gazing down upon something so distasteful.
“No idea,” Kati responded. “All I know is that Kuko was furious when she landed. She looked like she wanted to kill him.”
Castor glanced at the vomiting mess, noting he had been stripped of his name and rank — an outcast indeed.
Kati took two stomps forward.
“Hey. Kleiner Scheißer. Wer zum Teufel bist Du?”
(Hey. You little pussy. Who the fuck are you?)
He said nothing as he continued to lean over on his hands and knees.
Kati glanced back to Castor. Castor shifted his glance from the man on the pavement, to Kati, then back again.
“Ich bat dich, du kleiner Scheißer. Wer zum Teufel du bist?”
(I asked you, you little fuck. Who the fuck are you?) She yelled and then kicked him in the gut.
“Gave him an excuse to throw up,” Kati said to Castor as she resumed her position, arms crossed, leaning against him.
“An excellent tactic,” Castor replied dryly.
They stood there for a couple of minutes, disgusted by his continued retching. Kati looked behind her, put her two fingers in her mouth, and gave a hard whistle. Two of her technicians immediately sprinted toward her.
“Clean him up,” she said when they arrived, giving only the slightest gesture with her head.
One technician opened a door, uncoiled a fire hose, and aimed it at the object of disgust. Holding the nozzle tightly, she turned to one technician who then opened the valve. The pressure immediately rolled the poor wretch and his vomit toward a drain.
“Strip him,” Kati barked.
The technicians pulled out their utility knives, hacked off his clothes, and tossed them into a refuse container. One of the technicians poured some liquid soap on him and then gave him a last good spray to make sure he was clean.
“Take him to interrogation room five,” Castor said to Kati’s two crew personnel. “Find Nurse Jackoline Ilse. Ask her to obtain the basics on him. I’ll come down later,”
“While he’s still retching, you want me to help him retch up some clues about Kuko’s anger?” Kati asked.
Castor gave his head a slight shake no. “I have something better than that for you. Something I need your help with. Do you know what a Lanonandek Transport is?”
Chapter 32
Sisters
Sisters have been playing games with each other since their birth. So if you enjoy getting crushed, just try standing between them.
—Collin Striker
Oceania
Unfortunately for Collin, it proved easy enough to find Wrenn. He had pressured himself to make at least a weak effort to find her today, while praying she would not be working at Bill’s. He was still feeling emotionally drained and hoped to use her absence as an excuse to look no further for at least another day or two while he recuperated. Of course, who would be the first Angel he saw when he walked through Bill’s door?
Wrenn took Collin’s hand and led him to the beach so they could talk in private. Collin had prepared a mental script to apologize to her, but then found he was unable to remember any part of the script. Worse yet, he was unable to speak.
Wrenn gently held his hand. Several minutes of silence passed as they walked barefooted in the cool, pink sand.
“So what kind of relationship would you like to have with me now?” she finally asked.
Having not anticipated this, his mind remained blank.
More silence passed.
“Does your silence mean you want nothing more to do with me?” Collin could hear the sadness in her voice.
He stopped, took her other hand in his, and pulled her closer to him. Collin looked up, Wrenn looked down, and from there, it became quite easy to kiss her soft lips. When he pulled back and looked in her eyes, he saw a tear. He let go of her hands, wrapped his strong arms around her slender body, and gave her a long hug. She hugged him back.
“It was really hard for me to talk to Josephine after…well, you know…and then you just ignored me.”
They pulled back from the hug just far enough to see each other’s face, yet both of them continued to push their pelvises tightly against each other. “I was so scared that I’d lost both of you,” Wrenn continued, tears flowing.
“But now everything is okay between you and Josephine?”
Wrenn let out a big sigh, shaking her head. “No, Collin. Of course not. Don’t be stupid. No relationship ever completely recovers from such a thing.”
The loss of innocence, Collin thought, immediately remembering how upset Jessica was after deceiving her friend Brittney while incarnated on Eden.
“I’m sorry, Wrenn,” he said softly. “I’m sorry it turned out that I used you in such a way.”
“Turned out that you used me? So I was never special to you? I just happened along at the wrong time? A time when you were looking for a diversion?” Wrenn sadly shook her head as she stared at the sand and fought back tears. “Wrenn, the diversion. I guess that speaks volumes to my special nature…”
Collin closed his eyes. Why did I come on to Wrenn?
“You say these things as if I consciously planned them,” Collin finally uttered. He rested his forehead against her shoulder as they both stared at the sand. “I didn’t say to myself, ‘Okay Collin, let’s go find someone to screw so I can break it off with Josie’, and then happen to run into you at Bill’s and think, ‘I guess that one’s as good as any’.”
After a few moments, he continued. “All I know is that I was getting panicky when Josephine started becoming increasingly serious. But at the time, the lines of logic that connected this together were just not there. Then, a few days after Josephine dived in for an assignment, a couple of ships came in, and I found it easy to distract myself. And if you remember, Bill’s was packed. I saw you, so beautiful, your skin like black onyx, your smile sparkling like diamonds, your expression so light-hearted. So I came on to you.”
“And I also remember that I saw you long before you saw me.”
“Yeah. That’s right. I looked at you, then you looked at me, smiled, gave your long black hair a little toss…” he ran his fingers through it, “…then you looked down, smiling at your drink, waiting for me to come over. So wouldn’t it be more accurate to say, it was you who chose me?”
“I guess you’ve seen this little game the Angels play.”
“Oh yeah, many times,” Collin said quietly.
“So what kind of relationship would you like to have with me now?” she asked again.
“Well, as I’ve thought about it a few thousand times, I’ve concluded that it’s not possible for me to have a serious relationship with any one individual. The more I think about it, the more I remember how I bolt when someone starts getting serious.”
“Any other brilliant insights?”
“Two fundamental ones. One, I can never have sex with either one of you ever again and at the same time attempt to be a good friend to both of you, and...”
“That’s not so bad,” Wrenn interrupted with some enthusiasm building in her voice. “Sorry, go ahead.”
“…and use my friendship to get the three of us together and try my best to repair yours and Josephine’s love and friendship for one another.
Wrenn held his hands tightly as she pulled her stare away from the sand and studied Collin closely, confirming she saw and felt only honesty. “That’s very good Collin. A decision that I can fully support. So what’s the second fundamental insight?” she asked.
“Well, the second one…uhh, I uhh…I never really planned to tell anyone about this.”
“Spit it out Collin.”
It was as though he noticed for the first time there was love in her voice and on her face. He immediately wondered if that expression had always been there but he had not noti
ced it.
He looked down again and addressed the sand, speaking slowly. “The second one is, I remain lovers to both of you, and…”
“And?” Wrenn said with an eager rotating finger, trying to pull the words out of him faster.
“And at the same time I have sex as usual with other Angels…”
“Wow,” Wrenn said. “Black, white, and all the colors of the rainbow in between. You are ambitious if you think you can keep us all satisfied at once.”
She wrapped her long arms around him and gave him a strong kiss. Her hands moved down to his buttocks, pulling him tight against her, enjoying the build up of energy she felt flowing from his sex chakara to hers and back again. “Maybe you’re more of a stud than I gave you credit for.”
Wrenn felt a shift in his energy.
She turned her head to see who had grabbed his attention. Two people were approaching — one was Josephine.
To Collin’s surprise, Wrenn did not react, did not try to conceal their intimacy. Slowly, she dropped one hand from his buttocks as she turned around to face Josephine, a receptive sweet smile on her face.
Most Angels, from the birth of their Personalities, find themselves attracted to and deeply compatible with specific individuals, often forming eternal bonds. But as Wrenn tugged him along toward Josephine, Collin never imagined the depth of the bond that ran between these two girls. Wrenn gave Collin a quick glance, shook her head in mock dismay, and then rolled her eyes.
“Hi Josie. We were just talking about you,” Wrenn said as she casually gave Collin a couple obvious pats on his butt. She wrapped both her arms around Josephine and gave her a big squeeze and soft kiss on the lips.
“Really? About me?” Josephine said. Who else would these two be talking about other than me? she thought to herself, nonetheless enjoying the playful banter.
“Hi, PaPa,” Wrenn said to Josephine’s companion. “I’m so happy to see you.” Then she gave David a full hug and a kiss on the lips.
“Thanks, PaPa. I’m starting to feel a lot better now,” Josephine said to David. Then, looking from David to Collin and back again, Josephine continued. “But I think you two boys still have some things to discuss.”
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 21
