Interestingly, in both the empire and in Akkadia, words are spelled exactly as they sound in the Bellasarian written language. Silent letters are not used. They are regarded as confusing and totally useless. To the logic of the Bellasarians, if a letter isn’t going to be pronounced in a word there is no reason for it being in the word to begin with. For example, words like ‘Pneumonia’ and ‘Night’ are spelled exactly the way they sound, ‘Neumonia’ and ‘Nite’.
Eventually, the empress addressed her assembled vassals, allies and guests. For the American President, this was becoming closer and closer to what former presidents’ Hill and Torres had described in their notes and narrations of these people. The empress aside, the other women of the court and royal houses were right out of a man’s fantasies. They were all beautiful and had curves and boobs that seemed to go on forever. Most were decently and even elegantly dressed, but some, like the queens of Melmoria and the Great Forest Kingdom wore very revealing clothing that left nothing to the imagination. The men were equally impressive and several of the ladies (and one or two men) couldn’t help admiring them. Many of these people looked like youngsters in their teens and twenties, and some of them were. But many others were actually older than most of the delegates and world leaders from Earth, some of whom were in their sixties and seventies.
“Honored kin and friends, this is a most auspicious occasion and one that required all the great nations of the empire and her neighbors present. I have reopened relations with our homeworld, Earth. For the first time in two thousand years the realms are open. The Island of Bain has been returned to the Earth Realm, thus stabilizing the relation of time between our realms. There are those who, considering our bloody past history, wonder why I have done this. The reason for this is simple, the people of Earth are our kin and we have come to a point in our cultural and technological development where we can share and help the people there preserve their planet and make life easier and happier for their people.” There was a mixed murmur among the assembled mutants. “For this reason I have invited our Earth kin here,” said Beral III, gesturing to the assembled Earth leaders, “I hope we can make something truly great happen here for the good of both realms.”
President Chambers couldn’t help but to notice that not everyone was enthusiastic about this idea. Nearby, she heard a woman sneer and whisper to her companion, “Humph! The only things the monkeys from Earth will be interested in getting from us is weapons technology. And even if we share our more peaceful tech with them they will in no time be trying to turn it to evil!” Chambers and several other leaders who had heard this comment (perhaps by intention) sighed and looked at one another. The chief goal of their visit was what it had always been since the first mutant war, and that was the teleportation technology that allowed the mutants to send troops instantly to any city or country they wished, and the means in which they were able to gain control of their enemies weapons systems. Both of which everyone knew would be used for more than humane and peaceful pursuits. Mutant military technology had also been proven superior in the more conventional areas as well, and yes, there were those who wanted that also. But the problems were what they had always been.
The mutant’s well-justified feelings towards humans ranged from distrust to real hatred. Also, even though they had the weapons, they only used them against humans never other mutants. The Bellasarians looked down on such weapons as merely killing tools that lacked honor, and preferred close up combat using only their own natural gifts and very basic close up weapons like swords and the like when fighting among themselves. These ‘Honorable Weapons’ required actually closing with the enemy, skill and real courage to use. They also despised the way high tech weapons killed indiscriminately and their destructiveness. Simple weapons insured that only those on the battlefield were killed (if it came to a full blown battle) not the enemy’s families, nor would the land and wildlife suffer. The biggest problem for the humans though concerning military technology from the mutants was… what did they have to offer for it? The answer (fortunately) was nothing. Or…at least they didn’t. Beverly Chambers had a radical idea that just might work. It was the only thing that the Bellasarians had ever been concerned about, but for many reasons, the humans couldn’t or wouldn’t deliver willingly. But now, under the right circumstances, that might change.
******
The empress, her consort and son walk back to their private quarters in the palace with mixed feelings about the meeting with the Earth humans, and with good reason. Many of the Bellasarians had no interest whatsoever in making contact with the Earthlings. They had nothing of value to offer and had proven to be greedy and treacherous time and again. The only people who actually seemed enthusiastic about reopening ties with Earth was the Akkadians, but even they still suggested further talks and ambassadors before they made any hasty decisions. The Akkadians could be a problem. They were not part of the empire. Indeed, they were the second largest power on the known planet and although they were on very amicable terms now, the bloodiest conflicts on this world had been between the empire and them. The Akkadian Republic could, if they managed to gain a teleport device, make legal independent treaties with the Earth nations. Beral smiled grimly. But they didn’t have the teleportation technology and never would. Her ancestors had seen to that, and this tradition she intended to keep during her reign as well. Akkadians were only a little better than Earthlings in her opinion and, mutants or not, could only be trusted to a certain degree. As the empress and her consort approached their own quarters, the prince parted from his parents and headed to his own chambers, stating that he would see them this evening at the private feast for the Bellasarian leaders and their vassals. The empress chuckled. It was obvious that the boy didn’t care for the stuffy manners and clothes that were required for meetings with people like the Akkadians and now these Earth people, but then again, neither did she. The platform-shoes she was wearing were annoying as hell.
As Beral III and Lord Talos entered their chamber they both suddenly stopped in their tracks at the sight of the people waiting for them inside.
“Well, that was interesting,” said the regal, honey skinned beauty standing in the middle of the room. Beside her was a seven feet tall curvaceous beauty with olive skin and a bust size almost as large as Beral’s own. Both women had snow white hair that fell well past their waists bespeaking great age although, in all other ways, they appeared to be young women in their twenties. Immediately, Beral and Talos dropped to their knees heads to the floor before the two. The honey skinned woman looked at Talos and grinned. “For certain, he’s one of yours!” she said to the big darker complexioned woman. “No doubt about it!” The giant beauty grinned and her formidable teeth came into view. “Stand up, child,” said the smaller woman to the empress, who trembling did so, along with her husband. The smaller woman examined the empress closely. Beral III had the same shaped full luscious lips as her, but little else. She looked at her Oriental features closely and smiled. “Your grandsire was that boy from the, Kang Clan, wasn’t he?”
“Y…Yes, Great Ancestor,” stammered Beral.
“Your father was from my sister’s, Lady Tina’s line, though. A boy sired by an earth mutant named ‘Akihito’ if I read the lineage right, no?” Again Beral nodded. Then the woman smiled and walked around guessing Beral’s shape even through her robes and gave the empress a playful slap on the behind. “But you got that from mine and my lord Cato’s genes,” she laughed, “along with those beautiful feline eyes.” She looked at the black giant and grinned. “You have those same eyes boy, which is the most insistent gene of ‘The Great Cat.’ But your size gives your other lineage away.”
The big darker woman examined Lord Talos closely. “Uncover your face,” she said, and the man quickly complied. The woman looked at his features and smiled. “Oh yes, you’re one of mine alright. And you have the look of my mate, too.” Then she laughed and embraced the man fondly. The other woman did t
he same with, Beral. “Um, how closely related are you two…again?” asked the big woman a little nervously after a moment.
“Quite distantly, Great Mother Gorgo,” said Beral quickly. “We are both of our great ancestor, Cato’s lineage and of your great ancestor, Cassandra’s, but as you can see…”
“Yes, yes,” said Bellasaris with a chuckle, “quite right. In any case, that is not what I came here to see you about. The Prime Minister, Landau, did inform you about our little talk not long ago, yes?” The empress swallowed and nodded. “I just need to know…why are you getting us involved with those Earth people again? They have nothing we really need and have always proven more trouble than they’re worth. Humph! Even the mutants have proven to be annoying at times, so…why?”
“I have great concern for the mutants that we left behind on Earth, Great Mother,” said Beral sadly. “I have read my great ancestor, Titus’s, biography many times, along with other Earthborn metahumans and I have been horrified. Our own early history is not pretty either where the humans are concerned. I…I just can’t help feeling that we abandoned those poor people.”
Bellasaris embraced the young woman (by her standards at least) again and kissed her on the cheek fondly. “We brought as many as we could back with us, honey,” she said, “but we needed to get our own house in order. The humans would have been a serious impediment if we tried to maintain any sort of contact with them on Earth.”
“But it was always said that we would come back for our kin once we were solidly on our feet, Great Ancestor,” replied Beral. “Now is the time. The American President is even a woman now. That is most auspicious, no?”
“No,” growled Gorgo. “If she were a ‘Mutant’ president that would be auspicious! But, woman or no, she is still a human! Never trust a human!”
“We don’t, Great Ancestor,” said Talos in a deep voice, “but we may get what we want now by giving the monkeys harmless toys to play with.”
Bellasaris laughed. “There is no such thing as harmless toys where humans are concerned, my son! Whatever you give them in exchange for, I assume…mutants? They will immediately try to find ways to use them in military applications. Their own history has proved this time and again. The airplane had barely been used once before some fool in a uniform had figure out how to mount a machinegun on it and soon it was being used to drop bombs on people and eventually…cities. They haven’t changed.” Bellasaris watched as Beral and Talos thought this over. “My lord Talos,” smiled Bellasaris, “have you studied human mythology from Earth?”
“Why yes, Great One,” replied the, High Lord.
“Are you familiar with, Norse Mythology?” said Bellasaris.
“Not as well as the Greek I’m afraid,” smiled Talos. Bellasaris chuckled. The boy’s very name came from Greek Myth. “Talos: The Man of Bronze”.
“You are familiar with, Odin, the Norse King of the gods, yes?” Talos nodded. “Well, Odin was known to disguise himself and travel the nine worlds in search of knowledge. Often he appeared as an old one eyed man in a broad hat or hood, carrying a cane. Sometimes his son, Thor, and the god of mischief or fire, Loki, would accompany him, but as often as not, he was alone. Well, on one of his travels, he entered a land where all the thralls worked with dull tools. Evidently, no one had ever seen a whetstone before in this country, so the work was very hard. Odin was moved to pity and determined to make their lives easier. Using his own whetstone he sharpened the thrall’s tools to serviceable conditions with the foreseen results. Naturally, the thralls all had to have the whetstone, which Odin playfully kept out of their reach. However, in the commotion, the frenzied slaves, unused to sharp tools, killed one another trying to get the whetstone and the well-meaning, but now remorseful Odin, learned a valuable lesson.” The moral of this tale was becoming clear to Beral and her husband. “I will watch you closely to see what unfolds, since you’ve already started this thing, but remember this; the humans must never get the teleportation technology or any military weaponry. We, both Humans and Metahumans, are an aggressive species born of the same common ancestry, even though many do not openly admit to this. We mutants of Bellasaria have embraced our need to fight, but have foresworn weapons of slaughter, and have chosen to fight in ways that limit the loss of life…they have not. The Earthlings will destroy themselves if you give them what they want, my children, both mutant and human, and, if given the chance…us as well.”
“Yes, Great Ancestor,” replied Beral.
Bellasaris nodded, satisfied that her descendant understood the danger and turned to leave, but then stopped and turned again. “Oh, by the way, are you going to invite the Akkadians and the Earth people to the feast tonight?”
“No,” replied Beral, “a formal dinner will be held for them and all of us tomorrow. I will feast and wine our own people tonight…and in our ways.”
“No, invite them too,” said Bellasaris.
Beral sighed. “Yes, Great Ancestor. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to wear these cumbersome robes again tonight, but… I will inform the other queens, kings and their kin to dress and behave as not to offend the…”
“No, you will do no such thing,” said Bellasaris. “They will be comfortable and free to enjoy themselves.”
“But, Great Bellasaris,” stammered the empress, “if…well, you know how the Akkadians are. And the Earth humans are just as stuffy and prudish. In fact, more so! They will become offended if the people let themselves go and enjoy themselves the way we customarily do.”
Bellasaris looked at Beral and shook her head. “Do you and yours obey their ways and follow their customs in their lands?” Beral nodded. “Then the Akkadians and Earthlings can kiss my ass!! They cherish their customs and concepts of morality so much? Then they can keep them…in their OWN land!!”
“Y…Yes, Great Bellasaris!” said Beral. “Well, even if I must dress not to offend their standards, that shouldn’t…”
“What are you talking about now, child?!” said Bellasaris in irritation. “I said you need not try to please these aliens and tight-asses!”
“No, Great One!” said Beral quickly. “It is for the honor of our family! You and the others have bodies that…well…It would not do our house justice in the eyes of the Earthlings if they saw my fat…”
“Take off those ridiculous clothes,” snapped Bellasaris, and the self-conscious Beral reluctantly did so. She stepped out of her robes and stood naked before her two elder kinswomen. Gorgo let out a whistle. Bellasarian women are not easily impressed, but the girl’s body was remarkable. “I don’t know who put the idea in your silly head that there was anything wrong with your body, but she, and it could only have been a woman, was lying through her jealous teeth. Do you have a problem with your wife’s body?” asked Bellasaris, of Talos.
Talos’s mouth opened in a wide grin and said, “No.”
“You will not wear those things!” snapped Bellasaris, pointing at the discarded robes. “You will wear what you like and remind these fools why the women of our clan are desired by men from here to the silver sea…even to the realm of Earth! Do you understand?”
“Y…Yes, honored ancestor!” said Beral III quickly.
Bellasaris then smiled and put her hand to Beral’s face. “And have fun yourself…Empress.” After a little further telepathic instructions that excluded Gorgo and Talos, Bellasaris turned again, leaving the empress and her husband both perplexed, but for different reasons.
Using a hand held dimensional device, Bellasaris and Gorgo opened a portal and departed back through to what Prime Minister Landau described as ‘The Hidden City of The Elders’. Gorgo looked at Bellasaris and grinned. “You know, you were once a little too accommodating to the monkeys and the mutant prudes of Earth too once. Don’t be too hard on the girl.”
“Yes, that is true,” said Bellasaris. “But on Earth I had to placate the humans and our potential allies for ou
r own survival. Beral is not so bound. The humans of Earth can eat shit for all I care and the Akkadians too. Where is Cato? I’m going to that party, and I’ll want to, how do those Earth people say, ‘Get-My-Groove-On’ before the night is over. (Heh!) And I won’t be the only one. Did you see the way that little girl from the Forest Kingdom was looking at Prince Tabba?”
“You know she’s my son Harold’s descendant,” said Gorgo.
Bellasaris chuckled. “And he is descended from your son, Marius, and my daughter, Beral I, as well. But there has been plenty of new blood in between. They are very distant cousins. Yes, it will be alright for them to mate.”
“If the boy is willing,” said Gorgo. “He didn’t seem interested to me. And she seemed very angry with him for ignoring her.”
Bellasaris looked at Gorgo and shook her head. That she, a feral mutant herself, hadn’t picked up what had occurred was quite amusing. “Dear sister, didn’t you notice the girl’s reaction when the boy growled at her? I mean her first reaction…just for a few seconds. I saw it! Oh, he turned her on! Is she pissed that he was indifferent to her…seemingly? Yes. But that one is a pisser! She’ll have her way. And I’ll see to it! I’ve already given Beral III mental instructions to see to it that her son not only continues to wear his face covering, but his formal clothes as well at the party tonight.”
Gorgo made a face, “Why?!”
“You’ll see,” said Bellasaris with a giggle. “The empress was a little taken aback as well, especially after what I had told her. But she agreed to trust me on this one. That little girl will be dying to know what his face looks like and what’s under all those ridiculous clothes. I predict she’ll be tearing those things off of him before the night is out. Hah! And if the boy is as attractive of face and form as his father, and I assure you he is, it won’t stop there.” Bellasaris grinned evilly. She knew the prudish humans and Akkadians would be absolutely speechless, horrified. In fact, incensed! “With a little luck, they’ll bond and formal marriage negotiations will begin as soon as the great summit is concluded.”
The Mutant World Page 3
