“Their wounds match,” Rickey muttered to himself. He knew this was no accident. The creature or creatures that attacked these two intended not to kill but to humiliate.
He pulled his multi-spectral glasses from his pocket and compared the patterns in the wounds. “There were two attackers. One male, one female. See how some of the joints were chi-exploded from the inside out. Both attackers were grand masters. Now the question — who and why.”
They watched as the last drop of life faded from the body’s one good eye. “This was Colonel Haig Knobknoster, the commander of Outpost Okinawa,” Kati whispered.
Rickey remembered approving his old pal Knobknoster to that cushy assignment. Okinawa? With all the outposts scattered across Satania, why would the Valkyrie or anyone else want to attack Okinawa?
“You. Whoever you are.” He pointed to the highest ranked guard. Rickey knew Lieutenant Douglas Franziska but was far too aggravated to use his name. Franziska stood at attention.
“Tell Captain Oirin that Outpost Okinawa might be under attack. Tell her to contact Nazz Intelligence Services and send up two ships right away. In ten minutes, send up three more. Tell her to quietly get the crews to warm up fifty more ships. If there’s going to be a sneak attack, we don’t want to alert the Valkyrie. I will inform General Mayhew.”
As Rickey sprinted toward the doorway, he whispered to himself. “Finally, war has come to us again.”
As Colonel Reinhardt whispered to Castor Mayhew, General Mayhew’s expression gave no hint of the content, except to Kuko of course. Rickey received Castor’s instructions and as he quickly walked back to the exit, he signaled to a dozen other senior Nazz officers to join him.
Castor approached Lord Indra, leaned down to a polite distance, and whispered with his face pointed to the tabletop in front of him, as it would be rude to face his God and have his breath touch a divine ear. Of course, by that time, everyone at the table was curious as to what was happening. Castor intentionally whispered loud enough so that those who focused could also hear. That, too, would relieve the need for Lord Indra to explain.
Castor and Indra heard some soft whistling and glanced at Kuko who was rotating her knife through her fingers like a cheerleader’s baton. She floated the knife between her fingers from one hand to the other and back again, whistling softly to herself, innocently looking around at the lanterns on the ceiling.
“Kuko?”
“Yes, my Lord Indra,” Kuko replied absentmindedly. She smiled sweetly.
“Kuko?” Indra said a little more impatiently.
“Well, they pissed me off,” Kuko huffed.
“Evidently so,” Castor replied dryly.
All eyes fell on Kuko. She crossed her arms and said nothing as if not wanting to tell her story, but actually, she just wanted to build some tension.
Oh yes. It always has to come back to you, doesn’t it? Rahu thought, as everyone turned his attention away from him and to his nemesis. And aren’t we so lucky to be so beautiful. Smigyl has hardly taken his eyes off you all night. He’s MY God. MINE! Not yours.
“Okay. Okay. I took one of our vintage fighter ships for a spin. I landed on Outpost Okinawa, and Schreck, he’s the one in Interrogation room five, waved us in.”
She switched her attention to Castor, a flash of defiance flickering in her eyes. “Then he just apathetically tossed the green signal flag to the ground.” Her right palm now lay heavily on the tabletop as if to stabilize her emotions, the knife twirling rapidly in her other hand.
“Indeed?” Indra replied. He could understand why she would slay the offensive individual in question.
“Then after he positioned the off-loading platform, he insulted me. So I gave him a hard slap across his arrogant little chops.”
“A reasonable response,” Lord Smigyl said with a smile, thoroughly enjoying this new and much more interesting conversation.
“When I got out of my ship, I looked over at the guard shack. There was trash scattered around and everyone was passed out, so...”
“WHAT?” Indra exploded. Both of his fists hit the table with a crash heard across the room.
“Yes, my Lord. Exactly so. They had been given the honor of serving at a central historical monument, and there they were drunk, sloppy, and asleep right in front of the Valkyrie,” she said through gritted teeth, closing her eyes as streaks of silver flowed across her face. She stopped twirling the knife and held it steadily in her left fist.
“So I smacked them around awhile.”
Another guard entered the room from the stairs below. He approached Castor, stopping a polite five meters away with his eyes fixed straight ahead. Castor acknowledged him and the guard quickly walked over and whispered in his ear. Castor said nothing in return and the guard quickly walked away without looking back.
“Two more,” Castor announced to the table.
“So why are they falling from the sky?” Benito asked excitedly.
“After I sliced them up a bit, we stripped them and tossed them into the Rakta,” Kuko replied.
“We?” Castor asked.
Kuko knew someone would eventually ask. “Well, yeah. I asked Metcalf and his lads if they wanted to help me slap them around a bit. Then Metcalf suggested the final solution — strip them down and toss them away like flotsam.”
Kuko shook her head. Silver mercury now flowed across her eyes, her face, and her hands. “And you know what? I just couldn’t believe it.” With the knife clutched tightly in her left hand, she turned to her right and addressed Smigyl personally.
“When I got ready to leave, Schreck just paced the shoreline back and forth like a fricking coward.” She glared at Smigyl, and without looking, her left wrist flipped and the knife soared like a missile to the other side of the room, embedding itself in the wall, exactly in the spot where Rickey Reinhardt’s head had been only moments earlier.
Kuko scanned the faces at the table, dwelling on Patanjali a few extra seconds. Patanjali nervously cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. She only glanced at Rahu, giving him a shitty little smirk. Oh yeah, buddy. You’re ready to pop. Just a couple more twists to the screw, and then you’ll see who’s pulling Smigyl’s strings.
She turned from Rahu, taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly while shaking her head. “So, how many have they found so far?” Kuko asked Castor. She took another deep breath and let it out, the silver receding and the deep rich green of her native complexion returning.
“Four by now,” Castor replied with a blank expression. “So, I suppose we should expect more?”
“I don’t know how many were tossed in after I left. Besides, who knows how many will land on Elysium? That was just a stroke of felicitous happenstance.”
“Why were you landing on Outpost Okinawa anyway?” Indra asked, hoping this might explain why she had been missing since Smigyl had landed. He was even more annoyed to hear she was just flying around having fun when there was important diplomatic work to be done.
“I was dropping Pegasus off.” Kuko looked at Indra. “I field-promoted Heinden to colonel and left him in charge.”
Kuko sat silently counting the seconds.
“Why were you dropping off Pegasus?” Indra and Smigyl asked simultaneously.
“Oh, yeah. That part,” Kuko said quietly, tapping her knuckles on the table.
“Pegasus looked exhausted, so I gave her a lift to Outpost Okinawa to catch a ship to Oceania for some much needed rest.”
“Oh you did, did you,” Rahu quipped.
Kuko said nothing, just hung her head. She looked upset. Only Castor Mayhew saw her mind calculating, baiting the table.
“This is highly irregular, Lord Indra,” Rahu complained. “This…”
He almost said, ‘This monkey’, but stopped himself.
“Neither Pegasus nor anyone else had our permission.” His eyes narrowed to slits, piercing Kuko. “How dare you take liberties behind our backs? Everyone knows the time compression on Oceania. How long w
ere you planning to delay my God here?”
Kuko’s chin dropped to her chest. “My Lord,” she finally whispered without looking up. “There’s another matter.”
She glanced at Castor, wearing the expression of someone beaten down by Rahu’s reproach and frightened by his anger. “Have you told him yet?” she asked her brother just above a whisper.
Castor wanted to laugh out loud. Kuko was reenacting a scene from an ancient play he and his sister had performed. Her facial expressions, voice, and intonation were exactly the same. While everyone else, especially Rahu, thought she was being humble and apologetic, Castor knew she was leading Rahu by his nose.
“No, General Kiena,” Castor said flatly, contrasting himself to Rahu’s outburst. “None beyond my work crews know.”
Castor hoped calling her ‘General’ Kiena would insult Rahu. He not only hated Rahu’s prissy, pathetic temper tantrums but also knew if Rahu possessed only a fraction of Kuko’s strategic mind, The Children of Luminosity would have defeated the Azakamani long ago.
She slowly looked up, fixing her eyes on Indra. “I apologize for my impertinence my Lord Indra.” Then she fell silent, again lowering her head.
“What is this other thing?” Indra asked Castor Mayhew.
“Sire, while employing an elaborate ruse to distract Pegasus, my sister was able to organize a great…”
Castor leaned down and whispered to Indra such that no one heard, not even Kuko.
“Then please lead the way,” Indra said as he stood, waving Castor to lead the party downstairs. Rahu stomped along after Castor with Indra following Rahu. Kuko brought up the rear with a slightly confused, but mainly amused Smigyl. None of the others were invited. Shorinam felt Smigyl call to him. He hopped up and followed at a respectful distance.
Kuko walked near Smigyl. With a carefully calculated touch, she slid her arm through his and pulled herself closer. “Getting rid of Pegasus was the hardest part my Lord, so just wait until you see this,” she whispered. She gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, her feet almost skipping with joy. She wanted all the foreign dignitaries in the room to see her act of intimacy, wanting them all to report back to their Overlords that there was no quarrel between Smigyl and her, irrespective of how boorish Rahu might be.
They reached the hangar deck. The guards allowed Castor and his party to enter the large, high-security room. Rahu’s anger intensified when he saw hundreds of parts from the Lanonandek transport scattered across numerous tables.
“We are replicating it,” Castor Mayhew said flatly to Indra. For many days now, Castor had been curious as to how Indra and Smigyl would react. He was pleased to see calculating intrigue on their faces. He turned to Rahu, marveling at Rahu’s lack of comprehension.
Immediately, all work came to a halt when the Nazz saw Indra. “Will all of you please continue with your activities,” Castor announced. He knew if he had not given this order, within moments the Nazz would certainly start chanting, ‘Heil Indra. Heil Indra. Heil Indra’, louder and louder until the windows and their ears rattled.
“And how were you able to accomplish this?” Smigyl asked Kuko, his arm still interlocked with hers. Like Indra, Smigyl instantly comprehended the significance of what he saw.
Kuko quickly explained how she duped Pegasus.
At one station, a female Nazz technician carefully examined Rahu’s jewel-encrusted golden crown, taking precise measurements and making drawings. As far as the technician was concerned, it was just another object associated with the transport craft. She gave it no more and no less importance than she would a wing assembly. But to Rahu, this was the ultimate insult — a female Nazz touching his precious crown. That, coupled with the deepening intimacy between Kuko and his God, threw him over the edge.
“You stupid little bitch,” he screamed at Kuko. “How dare you interfere with our schedule? Did you actually think this bunch of monkeys could ever…”
SMACK.
Smigyl’s open palm slapped him to the floor.
“You are unworthy of Eden’s Planetary Prince, unworthy of the title Ishmael, and you are no son of mine,” Smigyl hissed. “Get out of my sight.”
Rahu lay devastated on the hard, cold floor. Smigyl casually took Kuko’s arm again and turned both of them away from Rahu.
“Did you ascertain the function of the red button?” Smigyl asked Castor Mayhew. To him, Rahu no longer existed. “Was it, in fact, some sort of self-destruct mechanism? While on Urantia, Pegasus seemed preoccupied with it,”
“Indeed, it was,” Castor replied. “But I think we were able to discover and neutralize all the explosive devices.”
“And how have you progressed in replicating the layers of lifting jewels?” Smigyl continued.
“Please allow me to show you our progress thus far, my Lord,” Castor said as he led the party around to the other side of the ship. Kuko gave Smigyl a couple tender pats on the buttocks as her parting gift to Rahu.
Castor led everyone to the bench where the panels of lifting jewels were being analyzed, documented, and replicated. Kuko naturally let go of Smigyl’s arm, allowing him to follow her brother as she walked to the opposite side of the bench. Her part in this complex play was over.
“Of course, my Lord,” Castor explained with an even tone. “You well understand the difficulties in creating and adjusting the different jewel layers. It is quite challenging and…”
Kuko’s eyes wandered over to Indra. He was looking her squarely in the eyes.
“You have done well, my precious daughter. You have done very well.”
And with that praise from her God, Kuko’s heart melted into pure rapture.
Chapter 36
Serving Two Masters
Contrary to popular myth, it is possible to serve two masters — even multiple masters. Difficult, possible, and in Satania, frequently essential.
—Nazz First Lieutenant Beth Rozner
Elysium
First Lieutenant Beth Rozner watched a recording of Castor Mayhew correcting Chef Vohu Manah and his three master chefs. The news spread throughout the Nazz intelligence community. It would not be long before Valkyrie command heard about a blatant, Rabbi Class 5 violation in an Elysium kitchen.
Castor had the trouncing recorded so the Valkyrie and The Sisters of Mercy would clearly understand that this had been a Caligastian crime, not Nazz. It was critical to the success of Indra’s overall plans for Eden. The enemies of Indra needed to be assured that the Nazz were playing by the rules.
Castor slapping the rule-breakers around was one thing. But after Doctor Mangler finished with Chef Vohu Manah and his three master chefs, compassion was the only thing the Valkyrie and The Sisters would feel. The Nazz understood that being blinded by compassion was the primary weakness of those loyal to The Blind King. Using a Caligastian monster like Manah to weaken the Valkyrie made the situation all the better.
Beth wanted to stay far away from tonight’s banquet. She found the appetites of the Caligastians and The Children of Luminosity to be beyond perverse. Like most Nazz, she was a strict vegetarian. Using physically unpleasant techniques to glean information from the enemy was acceptable. However, Lieutenant Rozner was not one who condoned meaningless torture, especially if the torture was against women.
It was only by chance that Rozner overheard one of the Clerics who was assigned to tally the sacrificed bodies say, “A dozen Angels unaccounted for. And strangely enough, all are female.”
Rozner trotted toward the kitchen where the crime had taken place in hopes of finding an answer.
Those stupid Clerics are happy enough to call it a rounding error, Rozner thought. But they don’t have to answer to Rickey. I do. And Rickey has to answer to Indra. And if it comes to the attention of Kuko that twelve female Angels are unaccounted for, the shit will really start to fly.
Before the Angels had arrived on Elysium, the Clerics had received a list of their names. Rozner got the list and asked one of her co-workers to delay the trans
port ship and conduct interviews to create an accurate list of the names and descriptions of who was missing. Rozner held the list of names in her hand as she pushed open the doors to the kitchen area.
“You must be out of your mind to want to mess around with him. Brice is SA, pure Caligastian Faggot,” Hyniel said to Alfatha as they scrubbed the kitchen floor. Both were excited to have recently received their first stripe as privates. Scrubbing a kitchen floor with a toothbrush was a step up from scrubbing the inside of a sewer line with a toothbrush.
“He is?” Alfatha replied. “That sucks. But Brice is so beautiful. Are you sure?”
“I’m not sure how this discussion is making the floor any cleaner,” Master Sergeant Kleptic Askerak barked. The two teenage girls jerked their heads back to the kitchen floor.
“I was here tonight when Chef Vohu Manah hacked up that cute little Angel, Brittney,” Hyniel whispered once Askerak was out of earshot. “She screamed her head off, but Brice just stood there with a smirk on his pretty face.”
Brittney. Rozner scanned the list of missing Angels. This is it. Brice. Sloot VanCaste. Golab Mastema. Cardinal Ziminiz. This makes sense.
“Hi. Excuse me for overhearing, but can you tell me the last time you saw Brice?” Rozner asked politely.
Hyniel and Alfatha looked up. “Uh…” they stammered as they jumped to their feet.
“Please girls. Stand easy.” Rozner smiled at the two young privates.
“Uh, Ma’am. Right after the Brittney thing, I walked away…”
“Excuse me, Lieutenant Rozner,” Master Sergeant Askerak interrupted. “I really didn’t know what to think at the time…”
The old master sergeant quickly rattled off all she had seen.
Lieutenant Rozner seethed as she sprinted down the narrow hallway that led to one of Elysium’s small, secret departure strips. Rozner knew that Angels missing in addition to Chef Vohu Manah’s indulgences would most assuredly bring an in-depth investigation from Justice Lycurgus. The last thing anyone needed, especially knowing what Indra was planning with Smigyl, was for Lycurgus to send in the penetrating eyes of the Rabbis.
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 25
