Gateway To The Universe: In Bad Company

by Craig Martelle

  Her face dropped. “How long do you think we’ve been on board?” she asked.

  “A day? Eighteen to twenty hours? I think I should be more tired.” Terry raised his eyebrows in expectation of the answer.

  “Seven hours,” Char said flatly.

  “Holy shit.” Terry’s eyes glazed over. “It’s like we’re in a time warp. We’ve had a few fights, conversions, a great steak, and we have an arch enemy! It’s been a full day. I wonder what the next seven hours will hold. Where’s Dokken?” Terry looked around.

  “He’s not far. I smell dog.” Char sniffed at the air.

  The door to the bridge opened and a crewman worked his way past the ship’s first couple. They smiled and nodded as he passed.

  Terry noted the thick bulkheads and double-door system leading to the bridge. A ship built for war, but outfitted for comfort. As Terry remembered from his Marine Corps days, there was a great deal less action than people thought. When combat came, it was fast and furious. The other ninety-nine percent of the time, it was training and abject boredom.

  Terry wanted to learn what war in space was all about. He had no idea, yet he’d been chosen out of all the beings in the universe to lead the direct-action arm of the Bad Company.

  Char was blocking the door with her body as she waited on TH. They’d been married long enough that she knew to let him go when he was lost in thought. She expected it would happen more often with the exponential increase of unknowns in his life.

  Terry liked what he liked, and ignorance wasn’t one of them.

  He blinked back to the present and started forward, rubbing his body across Char’s as if trying to squeeze through a too-small space.

  Three people could have walked through the door side by side without touching each other. Char chuckled at her husband’s mischievous smile.

  They found the captain watching them. Terry tried to look embarrassed, but he wasn’t. Being back on a warship made him feel like a young Marine again. The surge of energy as they sailed from the safety of their home port into harm’s way, ready to disembark under fire.

  Then kick ass and take names. So invigorating.

  Terry waited until Char was at his side before approaching Captain San Marino.

  Micky’s position was on a pedestal overlooking the consoles where various crew interacted with screens both two and three-dimensionally. Terry and Char looked up at the captain.

  “Master of your domain?” Terry asked.

  “Jack of all trades, master of none,” Micky replied. “There’s a lot that goes on to fly this bad boy around space. You might think that space is a really big place, and the chance of hitting something is small. If that were only the case. Let me show you how we manhandle the War Axe through space.”

  Terry and Char listened intently as the captain walked through the systems and an hour later, Terry understood quite clearly how much he didn’t know. By the end, the captain could see it on their faces.

  “Breathing the jet stream isn’t easy,” Micky said sympathetically.

  “Were you ever this stupid when it came to space flight?” Terry asked. Char jabbed him in the ribs. The captain hesitated. “Lie to me, then.”

  “I was raised with this stuff, born to it, I guess you could say. Smedley will help you process it and fill in the blanks when something doesn’t make sense. Spend the time with him that you need, both of you. I think you’ll find that we follow the laws of physics, but our understanding is a little more in depth than what you were taught.”

  “I’ll say. Thanks, Skipper,” Terry said earnestly, holding out his hand. The two men shook and then the captain shook Char’s hand.

  “Skipper?”

  “A Marine term, captain of the boat or a Marine captain. I call all captains Skipper. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all, Terry. You are an interesting character and I’m sure we are going to…what’s the term? Kick down some doors together.”

  “I would like to think so, and I’d much rather do that than have someone kicking down our doors.”

  “You might want to rest up. Space is tiring,” the captain cautioned.

  Terry and Char couldn’t argue with the captain. Eight hours and they were ready to pack it in for the night.

  ***

  “Tonight’s meeting is canceled. Thank God. Is anyone else still up?” Marcie sat with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

  “Joseph and Petricia. I saw them heading toward the hangar deck,” Kae said. “They’re like little kids playing with new toys.”

  “Wouldn’t you?” Kae asked, taking a seat next to his wife, stretching languidly before rubbing her back.

  “I feel like a kid who’s lost her toys.” Marcie sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned into Kae’s strong fingers.

  “It hasn’t come back yet?”

  “Not a single doorway opening into the fog that is the Etheric. I’m starting to worry. It’s like being blind.”

  “I can’t imagine,” Kae sympathized. And he couldn’t because he’d never touched the Etheric in a way that he could sense. His nanocytes pulled power from the other dimension, but they did that of their own accord.

  It was the genius of the Kurtherians and their technology.

  Marcie abruptly stood. “Come on. Let’s see what Uncle Ted can do. This is his kind of challenge.” She held out her hand and Kae took it.

  He had no intention of being left behind.

  ***

  “Did you ever imagine anything like this?” Joseph said as he used one finger to push the hair over Petricia’s ear. She smiled back. They had discovered the ship’s store and were wearing jeans and button-down shirts.

  It was the first time in forever that either had dressed in something other than black leather.

  The sun had caused them intense pain. Only leather had protected them. But they didn’t need it any longer. Nor was there any sun to bother them.

  Petricia leaned close to a porthole beside the vast doors that opened from the hangar bay to space. There were energy fields to keep the atmosphere in, as well.

  When something could kill as quickly as space, redundancy was built in.

  The Vampire looked at the star field beyond. She planted her face against the clear material. Glass but not glass. Petricia cupped her hands around her eyes to block out the light behind her.

  “It’s incredible,” she whispered.

  Joseph squeezed in next to her and together they looked at the stars. Petricia finally turned away, leaning against the forward bulkhead and sighing. She lifted one foot and put it against the wall. She appeared much younger than her century in age.

  “Space suits you,” Joseph said.

  She nodded, but wasn’t looking for pleasantries. “Terry Henry saved our lives, in more ways than one.”

  “I’m from the old country and adhere to the tradition, in my own way, but I owe TH a blood debt that I’ll never be able to repay. I will follow him to the end of the universe and back. The best part is that he never takes it for granted.” Joseph took Petricia’s hands and pulled her to him. “What a life we have.”

  “I don’t want any other.” Petricia smiled and put her hand on Joseph’s cheek. “I’m curious what’s next for us, although you’re right. It doesn’t matter. We’ll do what we need to do. For honor. For Terry Henry and Char.”

  The two Vampires kissed gently before strolling across the open landing area of the great hangar within the War Axe. They had nowhere to be and all the time in the galaxy to get there.

  ***

  Valerie and Robin stood at the entrance to engineering, mystified at this marvel of a ship. It was unlike anything they had ever come close to seeing back on Earth.

  “No regrets?” Valerie asked with a glance at Robin. She knew the younger woman had left behind a lot to come on this journey.

  Robin simply shook her head, then gave a wave to one of the engineers who had noticed them and nodded their way.

  “I mean
…you feel like you came for the right reasons and all?”

  This time, Robin frowned, confused, before turning to Valerie. “Holy shit…you think I came because of you.”

  Valerie blinked, caught off-guard. “Um, you kinda did. I mean, you wouldn’t be here if not for me.”

  “That’s two very different things, Val.” Robin leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest. “I didn’t leave my parents behind to come gallivanting after an old flame. Damn, is that what you think of me? I’m here just like you. I know I have something special, and I’m willing to devote my power and skills to making Earth a safer place. If safest place means fighting from the stars, so be it.”

  Valerie took a moment to process this, then nodded. “So you’re just…like…a mini version of me.”

  Robin laughed and hit her in the arm. “Screw you. You’re an older version of me. How about that?”

  “I’ll take it. Consider me honored.”

  “It’s annoying though, isn’t it?” Robin asked.

  “What is?”

  “This whole having to prove ourselves all over again. It’s like we just finished saving everyone’s damn lives, putting our part of the world together again, and then we leave, starting over.”

  “You heard the general back there. Everyone starts over.”

  Robin nodded thoughtfully. “Ever feel like you’re always starting over, though?”

  “All the time.”

  “And what about those other FDG folks?” Robin scoffed. “Micky… Our Micky was twice that man’s size and five times as intimidating.”

  “The leather jacket with a devil patch certainly helped in that regard,” Valerie agreed, nodding. Thoughts of him led to others back home, bringing a longing to speak with Sandra to her heart. She pushed it aside, realizing those types of feelings were likely to come more than she would like, and it was best to learn to ignore them early on. Instead, she tried to focus on the here and now. “All those FDG folks get together in the ring, who do you think would win?”

  “You mean, excluding TH of course?”

  Valerie considered this, then nodded. “They all look up to him so much, they’d be too scared about hitting him and pissing him off to land a shot.”

  “I’d say give them more credit than that, but…I see the way they look at me…like I’m a child!”

  “You tell me the next person to say something, to treat you like a child even, and I’ll knock them on their ass.”

  Robin smiled. “It…it’s been mostly in the eyes.”

  “Well, if it happens. You’ve done more for Earth than most people I know. Considering the fact that I seem to know a lot of heroes nowadays, that’s saying something.” For a moment, Valerie paused, then assessed her friend. “What we talked about before though, we’re cool?”

  “You forget, I was the one who insisted we just be friends, that—”

  “God, not that!” Valerie cringed, not wanting to ever bring up that subject again. “I mean, about give and take. About fitting in with the team.”

  Robin chuckled to herself, then nodded. “We’re on the War Axe, after all. Least I can do is remember that and follow orders. Plus, I’ve been watching TH and that Char lady…I get it.”

  “You see what the others see?”

  Robin nodded, then stood and stretched. “Speaking of starting over, I feel like my body has evolved, you know what I mean?”

  “I…” Valerie frowned, looking away.

  “Almost got you there. But look at you, not even a sideways glance.”

  Valerie smiled, her eyes briefly moving across Robin’s body, and then she cringed. “Hey, I tried. You can’t tell someone not to think about a peach pie and then expect them not to imagine the tempting scent of that pie.”

  “I’m peach pie?”

  Valerie shrugged. “Just an example. Shut up. I’m going to get some training in or sleep, one of the two. You coming?”

  Robin laughed and nodded, following her.

  “I’d put my money on Garcia, of course,” Valerie commented as they walked out of there.

  “What?”

  “Out of all the FDG. You know, your question about if they all fought. He’s our boy, so of course I’d bet on him.”

  Robin scoffed. “Typical Val, always putting loyalty above practicality.”

  “Let me guess, you’d go for one of the messed up Weres?”

  “No, Val. I’d put my money on you. Don’t forget, you and I are FDG now too, right?”

  “Tricky,” Valerie replied with a laugh, but as they walked, the thought started to sink in. Their old lives really were behind them. A new beginning with the FDG and the Bad Company lay ahead. Damn, she was excited for that.

  ***

  The Werewolves stood in the corridor outside the Pod Doc space. Felicity was with them. Sue, Timmons, Shonna, and Merrit watched through the open door.

  “I think he’s going to orgasm,” Merrit said.

  “You curb that tongue of yours,” Felicity drawled without taking her eyes from her husband. After Billy Spires died of old age, his heart giving out in the middle of a Forsaken attack on their home, Felicity was determined to find a husband who she wouldn’t outlive. There had been only one choice.

  Ted.

  She’d sacrificed a lot for him. Her reward was that she wouldn’t outlive him.

  Unless he made someone angry enough to kill him, which he’d demonstrated that day that he was fully capable of doing.

  Felicity couldn’t disagree with Merrit’s original statement. Ted looked obscenely happy. He was a good-looking man, a shade over six feet tall, brown hair and yellow eyes. He always looked to be in shape, but he didn’t work out. His Werewolf nanocytes kept him fit.

  His Asperger’s set him apart.

  And she loved him for that. The others tolerated him, and they begrudgingly admitted that Ted was the genius of the group, even though they were all intelligent. No one approached Ted’s level.

  Not even Terry Henry Walton with his eidetic memory.

  “Are we going to just stand here?” Felicity asked. The others shrugged. They had nowhere to be.

  Marcie appeared with Kae by her side. She didn’t acknowledge the others as she passed.

  “Aunts, Uncles,” Kaeden told them before adding, “Mother-in-law,” for Felicity.

  “Uncle Ted,” Marcie said as she walked in on the latest group waiting for their chip implants and the basic modifications that the nanocytes would provide. The door opened and a naked warrior stepped out, quickly diving behind the privacy curtain when he saw the colonel standing there.

  But she hadn’t been looking at him. “Uncle Ted. I can’t feel the etheric and I need to. I’m empty without it.”

  She pounded on his shoulder to get his attention. He dropped the holo screens and she explained again. He held up one finger and went back to his screens.

  Marcie snarled and growled, but Kae held her back. “Give him time,” he pleaded.

  The next warrior climbed into the pod, but the door remained open. The young woman lay there, exposed to the world. She tried to cover up with her hands, but failed. Kae moved the privacy curtain to block the open Pod Doc.

  “Get in,” Ted told Marcie. She stepped behind the screen, dropped her clothes, and waved at the other woman to get out. She hurried from the pod and Marcie got in. The door closed, and Ted disappeared into his data.

  Both groups watched and waited.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Day 2 aboard the War Axe

  Terry had the FDG standing in formation on the hangar deck. All hands were getting used to their new capabilities. The tac teams stood behind the two platoons with the newest members from the UnknownWorld, Valerie and Robin.

  Marcie wore a smile as she looked down at her husband. Kae couldn’t ignore it. “Damn that Ted!” he declared.

  “Why? Because I’m bigger now? Or because he gave me my sight back?”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Kaeden said. “I
know it was worth the price, but look at you!”

  She stood back and smiled. “Yes. Look at me,” she said softly as she struck a pose. She flexed to put her new power on display.

  “Magnificent,” Kae said, smiling to himself, still sore from Marcie’s display of her new strength in the privacy of their quarters the previous evening.

  “Holy shit, Marcie,” Kim said, shaking her head and chuckling quietly. “It’s hard to get used to, after all these years.”

  Marcie winked. She was reveling in the change. She’d been the strongest and fastest of them all. That was before.

  She couldn’t wait to spar with Terry Henry Walton. Maybe she wouldn’t finish flat on her back, gasping for air, as she had nearly every other time. She ended up face-first the rest of the time.

  Terry and Char made their entrance with Dokken trotting alongside. Terry rested his hand lightly on the dog’s head. Lieutenant Kurtz executed an about-face and saluted.

  “I’m glad to see you, Kurtz. Well done on getting everyone here from the rec room. Don’t you hate it when the word changes?” Terry joked.

  “We do as we’re told, except when we don’t,” the lieutenant replied, as was his custom.

  “Oorah, Lieutenant. Take your place.” Terry returned Kurtz’s salute and the man marched smartly around Terry and Char, taking his position at Char’s left.

  “At ease!” Terry barked. The warriors snapped to parade rest before relaxing, loosening their shoulders and stretching in place.

  “What a glorious day! We awaken not to a sunrise, but a sunset. Earth is a speck receding into the distance behind us. Soon, we’ll gate from our solar system to Yollin space where we will access a gate that will take us to the Paladin System where we’ll find Onyx Station. Once there, we’ll be determining our future.”

  Terry paced back and forth in front of the platoons, stopping often to nod at one person or another. He was greeted by eager and determined looks.

  “Between now and then, we’ve got an absolute shit-pot of work to do. You’ll be happy to work out because that will be your reprieve from the grind. We have to learn about new peoples, new cultures, new technology, including a little something that Major Kaeden will set up for us for tomorrow. A hand-held railgun, a weapon that takes a small projectile and accelerates it to an insane speed. When it hits, the target vaporizes because of the release of kinetic energy! What’s kinetic energy? That’s all part of your lessons.