by C. M. Kane
‘Don’t let it trouble you, Tae. I will contact hangar one jumper bay for you immediately and have them ready a small craft for you to use at your earliest convenience.’ Thor smiled at her gently.
‘Oh thank you, Lord Thor, I am in your debt.’ She bowed low then turned to Baste. ‘My lady, you are both far too kind.’ The pair smiled at her as she turned and hurried from the room. While she was walking swiftly to her next destination she silently thanked her mother for all the lessons on flattery. At first she thought she might have been laying it on a bit too thick, but both gods seemed to merely see it as their due, so she’d went with it. It turned out she was becoming quite an accomplished liar. A wide smile stayed on her face as she continued on.
She went straight to her next destination, the galley, where she asked for four crates full of water and rip-meals. The rip meals would be invaluable to her, they were easy to store and easy to cook. Rip the bag open, wait seven seconds and she’d have a hot nutritious meal ready to eat.
She knew the discovery of her breach was imminent and that her time was short, so she asked the head food tech in charge if they had anyone who could help her bring the crates to the jumper bay with her. He smiled and ordered a young trainee boy, Damon, to help her. They loaded up her supplies and set off. So far so good, she thought. The young food tech followed her to the hangar with a small loader and her crates. She wasn’t going hungry this time, not with all the food she was packing. Three and a half crates of rip-meals and half a crate of water would last quite a while.
As soon as she entered the hangar she went to the office and found the warrior in charge, an attractive wolven with short, chestnut hair. Tae gave her name and asked which jumper she would be using. The woman escorted her over to a small sleek training vehicle that was standing ready for use. Tae thanked her profusely, giving her what she thought was her most charming smile. As soon as she was left on her own again she hurried back over to Damon and the crates and led them to the jumper she had been assigned.
Damon helped her to load the crates as quickly as possible, and then with a cheeky smile he wished her well and left.
Well, it’s now or never. Tae took a deep breath, entered the jumper and sat, pressing the button for the seat belting system immediately. It strapped her in securely. Just like in the simulator she went through a quick pre-flight instrumentation check, after turning on the small crafts artificial gravity unit and making sure the inertial dampeners were working she started the engines. She didn’t have time to program the jumper to fly on autopilot, she had to do this by herself. Tae carefully lifted off and moved to the hangar doors, making sure she kept the jumper’s speed and height correct. If she hurried she would draw attention to herself or, worse, make a terrible blunder and crash into something. She entered the outer hatch and stopped. The main doors closed behind her putting her in the depressurizing room. Her heart rate accelerated as the outer door to a short tunnel opened once all the oxygen from the hangar had been removed from the waiting area back into the ship. Pressing down lightly on the accelerator button she continued on through two more open emergency doors, and then suddenly, she was free. Free, and floating in open space.
I’ve made it off the ship, she thought in elation. ‘So, no music hey Radnor. Well up yours you giant arsehole.’ She settled her hand on her battered old com-watch and called up what she wanted; putting it on hold so it was ready. She quickly moved the jumper away from the Olympus toward where she now knew Earths portal was located, all thanks to the Olympus’s flight history she’d stolen earlier. When she was close she deployed the portal device and waited until the emitters were fully extended from her small craft. She then punched in a series of numbers, one of two addresses she’d memorized before she had left the Olympus, after hacking into their mainframe.
A voice immediately sounded over the com-panel. ‘Jumper Shalia, we have you on tracking. Do you have a set flight path?’
Tae flicked on communications. ‘You bet I do, sweetheart.’
She grinned to herself at what she was about to do then sent them the song she’d just downloaded. ‘This song is a personal message from me to Commander Radnor and Lord Loki. Please make sure they get it.’
And as Katy Perry started to sing Roar, she pressed her thumb down on the acceleration button, just as she tapped in the last number of the sequence into the portal activation unit. The jumper shot forward like a bullet as she listened to the humming of the device as it powered up. A shimmering opening to the realm of Thall appeared in front of her, and the jumper skipped straight through, leaving the Olympus, Radnor and Loki behind.
Tae didn’t stop to think on what she was doing, every fiber of her being was now urging her forward. She had never gone through a portal before but had been told of the effect, she was prepared – or so she thought.
Once again Brohan had been right; no amount of explaining could fully prepare her for what had just happened. In the millisecond it took to transfer from one place to another it felt as if every atom in her body had been pulled apart and crushed to a pulp at the same time. She took a deep breath trying to fit her mind around what had just happened. Instinctively she knew the portal process must have been unpleasant, but it was over so quick that whatever happened didn’t seem to have time to register on her body in any way, except for a vaguely unpleasant feeling in her mind that it had been there. It made her feel wary and unsettled, like she’d just woken up from a graphic nightmare. Still there was no way around it, it was the quickest most convenient way to travel the distances required.
She shook herself and looked at the navigation screen, then swung her little jumper back toward where the portal had been. After punching in the second set of numbers it appeared on the screen again almost immediately. Her mind felt incredibly sharp, it was if now that she was heading in the right direction, her nanites were going into overdrive to help her get there as quickly as possible. That started to ring warning bells somewhere in her head, but they were quickly overshadowed by a feeling of rightness in what she was doing.
She pushed away her feelings and began to concentrate on what she was doing again. Next stop Cassandra’s swamp.
Chapter 17
‘What?’ Officers turned to stare in consternation at Tannan’s shout; apart from the recent close encounter with the insurgents their commander was usually calm in any situation.
‘I’m sorry Elite Commander, we had orders directly from Lord Thor that the woman was to be given the use of a jumper for training,’ came an apologetic reply. ‘Of course, we saw her loading crates into it with the help of a kitchen hand, but we thought nothing of it as the order had come from Lord Thor himself,’ said the clearly rattled hangar commander. ‘Once Lieutenant Rames cleared the Olympus she started to head directly for the portal, Communications asked if she had a flight path and, well, we’ve sent you what happened after that.’
Tannan was gob smacked. What the hell is Tae up to now? He glared at the communications com-panel in frustration then immediately contacted the kitchen to find out what she took with her. When they reported back a sinking feeling began to form in Tannan’s gut; he knew this wasn’t going to be good. He contacted Radnor.
‘Yes?’ came the cool voice of the vampire.
‘Did you issue Lieutenant Rames with any orders to finish her flight training recently?’ Tannan asked.
‘Yes, but not immediately,’ Radnor said. ‘I gave her the day off; the only other thing we discussed was her behavior.’
Tannan frowned as the sinking feeling in his gut intensified. ‘Oh?’ he said. ‘And what was that then?’
Radnor replied immediately. ‘I issued her a stern warning. I have been expecting her back with an apology for her reaction to my commands.’
Tannan grimaced and closed his eyes. ‘And what exactly were those commands, Elite Commander?’ He could hear the beginnings of worry enter Radnor’s voice.
‘Merely that she stop throwing herself at gods and wolven as its unseem
ly, and that she cease downloading those silly music vids from the terran museum, of course.’
‘And what exactly was her reply to these orders?’ asked Tannan now rubbing his forehead at the beginnings of a headache.
Radnor laughed. ‘She told me to tell Lord Loki she quit,’ he paused, ‘and then she told me to hand him a personal message, she grinned and waved at me. Why, what’s going on?’
‘Well, it seems you better go do as she says, because your girl has just tricked Lord Thor into letting her borrow one of our jumpers. She then visited the kitchens and loaded it up with supplies. She’s just taken off through the portal to Thall, but only after hacking into the mainframe of the Olympus to find its coordinates. I have our best tech running a search now to find out what else she may have accessed.’
Radnor was quiet for a moment. ‘I will contact Lord Loki immediately and inform him of these developments.’
‘Oh, and Elite Commander,’ Tannan said with a smile of devilish delight, ‘you better pass on her extra message to both yourself and your lord in full, when you explain what happened.’
‘Extra message?’
‘Yes.’ Tannan downloaded the music vid Tae had sent. He made sure he turned the com to full volume so Radnor got the full force of the headache he had just given him. Satisfied he’d made his point he then contacted Lord Zeus and told him all that had happened. He was surprised when Zeus started laughing.
‘Waving and grinning.’ Zeus snorted. ‘It seems our clever Loki may have finally bitten off more than he can chew with that one; serves him right for stealing her from me, the prick.’
He sobered. ‘Are we ready to move yet?’
Tannan nodded. ‘Almost, my lord. Lord Vulcan’s crews have just finished pulling the Fenris into orbit, they are about to start moving her to the portal to take her to Velchonos as we speak. Lord Vulcan also wishes to know if he should accompany you on your quest to rescue Lord Ares.’
Silence greeted Tannan for a moment as Zeus thought his question over.
‘No,’ Zeus said eventually. ‘I want them to start on the Fenris as soon as possible. From the sound of it the Kydomois is going to need major repairs soon, too. I am sending Isis and Baste to track down those whom we consider are loyal to us to have them sweep their ships of any thalien they consider untrustworthy. That will leave us the Olympus, Atlantis, Cerberus, Asgard and the Idris; more than enough to take care of a half dozen Khopesh class destroyers, and Apollo and Thalia, if they should be there.’
Tannan nodded. ‘Yes, my lord. And what about Lieutenant Rames?’
Zeus was silent again for a moment. ‘Try to find out where she’s gone, we’ll pick her up again after we finish with this. I think I might throw her in my brig for a while. If Loki can’t control her, then she’ll just have to come over into my employ. Besides, it’s not as if she can get into too much trouble while were gone.’
‘Very good, my lord. When do we move?’
‘Within two or three hours,’ he said. ‘I want the Fenris safely through the portal before we begin. I’ll be on the bridge shortly after I finish up here.’
Tannan heard a female’s giggle in the background and smiled to himself. ‘Yes, my lord.’
*****
Radnor’s day had just taken a particularly nasty turn. He had thought his young lieutenant had been merely having a hormone induced temper tantrum. Her race was, after all, known to be weak, as well as highly emotional, especially the female of the species. He was, however, beginning to change his mind.
After watching the vids of his now, ex lieutenant, he could see why the gods were intrigued by her. The escarpment scene alone was not only particularly amusing, it showed daring and courage. This woman was not only clever, but she was clearly exceedingly dangerous when cornered. This was obviously due to her vampire blood he reasoned.
She was a total enigma to Radnor, she seemed to be a fearless, ruthless, compassionate, and sexually promiscuous virgin with a wicked sense of humor. For all he knew she had probably taken his orders as some kind of challenge.
Damn it. He had misjudged her, and now he was going to have to tell Lord Loki that he had just chased off his new favorite toy, the same one that had just saved his life. Twice! He wondered briefly if it were too late to take the sleeper back down to Terra and re-bury himself under the volcano.
Loki was asleep when his com-panel sounded; he awoke with a start stretching and smiling lazily in contentment. He had just had a great deal of fun with two of the most delicious nymphs and was feeling incredibly relaxed. Adding significantly to his mood was the fact he was about to go to war with Hera, the bitch who had, in all likelihood, trapped him under that volcano in the first place. His ship was on its way to Velchonos, the planet Vulcan had made his home base, to be repaired; and he was on his way to rebuilding his life, things were definitely looking up.
He yawned, leant over, and tapped the com-panel’s display ‘Yes?’
‘Lord Loki, I am sorry to interrupt you but I have some important news to report.’
‘Mmmmm,’ Loki mumbled distractedly. Eyeing one of the sleeping nymph’s naked breasts that was within reach of his hand.
‘It’s about Lieutenant Rames,’ said Radnor. ‘I’m afraid she has quit your service, my lord.’
Loki froze, his hand hovering mid air. ‘What did you just say?’ All thought of the nymph disappeared immediately. ‘Exactly how, and why, would she quit my service?’
His temper built rapidly as he snatched his hand back. ‘I just gave her a position on my staff, and the last I saw of her she was hugging me in gratitude. What in all the seven hells could have happened between then and now?’
The two nymphs woke up at his shouting and looked at him with their large green eyes. Eyes that Loki now thought looked as though they were mocking him in some way.
He gritted his teeth in irritation. ‘Out.’ They both jumped off of the bed and left immediately. ‘Well, Radnor,’ he said after they had departed, ‘do you have an explanation?’
‘I’m afraid it might have been something I said, my lord. I told her she needed to learn some decorum befitting her new position, and that she had to put a stop to all this random hugging and kissing.’
‘Kissing? Who in Hades’ name did she kiss?’
‘Commander Vesh, my lord, while they were in the mess hall a few hours ago.’
Loki felt his claws lengthen and a strange feeling enter his mouth. Rage swept through him at the thought of Tae kissing the commander.
‘I insisted, rather forcefully I’m afraid, that she would be held to a much higher accounting for her actions in her new position, and that she should behave in a manner more befitting a servant of a god. I also forbade her to download anymore of those childish music vids from the Terran museum, or else there would be dire consequences. When she asked me what those consequences might be, I intimated that it could result in the termination of her service to you, or of her life. After that she leant over and told me to tell you she quit. Then she asked me to give you a personal message.’
Loki frowned, knowing he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. ‘What was it?’ he asked.
Radnor cleared his throat a little. ‘She grinned and waved, my lord.’
Loki sat open mouthed as Radnor hurried on with his explanation. ‘I assumed she was having a temper tantrum, what with all the hormones she has been learning to deal with, so I let her go while I studied her files and vids. I fully expected her to return and apologize for her appalling behavior.’ He paused. ‘She didn’t.’
‘Radnor, I happen to like her appalling behavior, we all do. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted her on my personal staff in the first place, that appalling behavior means she’s being honest. Although I happen to agree with you about putting a stop to her kissing that idiot Vesh, that does need to be stopped. But, I personally don’t give a damn if she downloads the entire history of that stupid damn planet she comes from. You will go find her, apologize, and get he
r back in my service before she finds another god. Do you understand?’
Then I’ll see to her personally, Loki thought. Grin and wave at me will you, Tae? Kiss another male while I await you? The girl needed a damn good spanking. He stilled as the sudden thought took hold of his imagination, it cheered him considerably. Perhaps if I put her over my knee … He smiled, looking around for the nymphs before he remembered he had dismissed them both. And that is another thing she needed punishment for, he thought, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Radnor having decided to just get it over with finished his report in a rush, before finally adding. ‘When communications questioned her she sent this.’ He forwarded the song. Loki was enraged all over again, all thoughts of spankings gone … nearly.
What the hell had Radnor done? Why didn’t the fool just let her have her stupid music, it hurt no-one. What did he want her to do, become like him? Loki knew Tae was right when she said he needed her. He needed to learn to laugh again, he wanted some happiness, and he sure as hell wasn’t happy now.
He closed his eyes and sighed to himself. He’d forgotten just how taciturn Radnor could be at times. Although Radnor was a brilliant strategist like most of his race, he was about as amusing as watching a vampire sleep. That was something that Loki was very familiar with, due to being trapped in the sleepers opposite two of his own Vampire commanders.
