by C. M. Kane
Tae stood firm as she watched his anger building with each step he took toward her. She didn’t care; her own anger was a match for his any day of the week.
‘Your ship,’ he said, ‘is a ship built by the gods, for gods. As you are not a god it is now my ship, and I will be sending a new captain and crew to her within the hour. I will also be handing command of it over to someone far more suitable and, if you dare interrupt a meeting of mine again, Tae, I can assure you that you will not like the outcome. Is that understood?’
Tae’s eyes narrowed as she stared straight back up into his angry blue eyes, answering fire with fire as she began to scratch furtively at her claws.
‘What I understand is that you seem to think that you, Loki, and your pals here,’ she waved her freshly scratched hands around angrily towards the other seated gods, ‘are about to shaft me, yet again. You lot would have to be the most ungrateful bastards in the realms.’ Zeus’ eyes flared wider in anger but she continued. ‘I have saved your miserable lives repeatedly since I first had the displeasure of meeting you all. I have never asked anything in return for all that I have done. And what have I ever got for all my troubles? Threats, that’s what, followed by the attempted thievery of what’s mine.’
Zeus’ eyes glazed for a moment then filled with panic as she continued scratching the last of her nails. She turned to watch as all those in the room slowly froze, until the whole garden seemed to be filled with statues.
‘What have you done?’ Zeus roared.
Tae walked over to Tannan and took his tablet. She quickly started the download from the Olympus to Brightmoon. Everyone’s eyes were on her every movement, as their heads tried to follow her.
‘Don’t panic, it’s nothing that can hurt anyone in here. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use it but, as ever, I am continuously disappointed. Now please be quiet for a moment and listen up, for once in your lives. What I have to say is a hell of a lot more important than anything going on here right now.’
‘Tae—’ Loki began.
‘Can it, Loki. After what you just pulled on me you have nothing to say to me that I want to hear. Now, let’s get down to business. Firstly, I can’t allow you to take Brightmoon, Zeus. I won’t allow it. To cut a long story short, I can assure you she is not the same ship that Cronus built, trust me on this. You have no claim to her whatsoever, and as I am the one who found her and then rescued you once again, I believe that I am the one who should continue to keep her for the time being.’ She glanced over at Loki again with contempt and was surprised to see shame, then anger flash across his face.
‘You will never get out of here, Tae.’ Zeus said. ‘We have armed guards on every hangar entrance with instructions to apprehend you should you attempt to leave, as well as guards outside this room with the same instructions. You are trapped and, regardless of your reasons, I can assure you that you will be punished for such an attack on your gods.’
‘Gods?’ Tae smiled coolly letting her own rage at their betrayal fuel her. She stalked back up to Zeus as a noise started near the wall.
‘I think you need to remind yourselves of your own beginnings, Titan. None of you can create life, that is the job of the universe itself. All you did was manipulate the life that was already here. Probably for your own selfish purposes knowing you lot as I now do.’
She noted the look of shock in Zeus’ eyes when he realized she knew the truth of their origins. ‘I came here in good faith to give you all a message, then I will be leaving, seeing as I can’t trust any of you as yet.’ She turned away from him and looked from one seated god to the next.
‘Cassandra is dead,’ she said. ‘Just before she died she had one last vision. I don’t know how, but she took me with her to witness it.’ At her words the gods ceased their internal struggles with the Freya’s Breath that Tae had released. Adam had thought of injecting it in a gaseous form under a heavy silicone nail polish so that a scanner wouldn’t detect it. All she had to do was scratch her nails to release it. It was very powerful and fortunately she only needed a little. Adam had assured her it would work as she wanted it to; both she and Xirra had taken the antidote before they left. It would keep all those present immobile for at least half an hour, yet just as it had done to Tae, it would allow their minds to remain active, and they would still be able to talk and move their heads a little. She continued on, knowing she had all of their attention now.
‘I found myself floating in space. I looked out and saw twin moons ahead of me, it was then I realized we were above Salernis. There was a disturbance and a portal opened up between the moons. Orion and Khopesh class ships started to pour through.’ She returned to stare into Zeus’ questioning eyes.
‘I felt Cassandra’s horror and shared it, because I knew who those ships belonged to.’ She could see the beginnings of concern enter Zeus’ eyes as she continued. ‘They were titans,’ she said, letting her fear show for the first time. She turned and looked to the other assembled gods. ‘They’re coming.’
‘That’s impossible,’ said Zeus in shock.
The buzzing noise stopped and a glowing round light appeared in the side of the wall of the Garden. A thick metal tube began to inch forward until it finally dropped to the ground with a deafening crash, right beside where Vesh and two of his men stood frozen. A small tunnel now connected the Olympus to who-ever had created the hole in the hull.
‘Trust me, Zeus, they’re coming. I asked her how long we have but she didn’t know, she couldn’t see any further because she was on the verge of death. She only said that it would be soon, no longer than six months.’
She turned and looked at Zeus then back to Loki and the others before pointing to the captured traitors and their aides.
‘Do you really want to kill these people knowing they may be the difference between the realm’s survival and its destruction? Are your vanity and egos so bloated that you would do that? You all have a choice to make; it’s just not the one you thought you would be making today. Either put away your petty differences and work together, or let everything you have built be destroyed by your own colossal egos!’
She walked back and stared into Zeus’ eyes before taking his face in her hands and leaning into him as if she were about to kiss him. ‘Instead of roaming around the galaxy trying to nail anything that that has a heartbeat, why not find out why there is dissatisfaction within your ranks in the first place? Listen to each other for a change, make yourself more accessible to your people.’
She let go and turned away. ‘In the meantime I will be trying to work out a way to help, if I can, from the one clue that Cassandra left me.’
‘Clue?’ Loki asked.
Tae ignored him and turned back to stare at Zeus a moment. He was looking at her with anger and frustration. ‘Zeus,’ she said, loud enough for all to hear, ‘everyone knows you have the ability to be a great leader … Prove it. Become the man who defied his forbears to lead his people to safety. They need you, we all do.’
After a moment where they held gazes she walked over to Loki and looked at him for a long moment before shaking her head and sighing with disappointment. She started towards the hole in the wall but turned back.
‘Oh and Ares? I wouldn’t worry about being King of anything, because you’re definitely outranked by your emperor over there.’ She pointed to Loki. ‘By the way, if you’re wondering how Hera has known your every move, you might want to check your pal Solaths right wrist. It’s been implanted with a small device he’s been using to contact Hera. If he hasn’t had a chance to get rid of it that is. That’s how she knew where you were, and that Zeus was arriving. He was there when I told you, if you remember. Cassandra told me Hera promised him command of the Kydomois in return for betraying you. I’ll just leave him to your tender mercies then, shall I?’ She raised an eyebrow at him.
Ares’ eyes stilled, he ceased looking around and stared directly at Tae.
She could see a cold rage building in them and knew he was now just bi
ding his time until he was free. She shivered and looked up at Solath with pity; she’d sure as hell hate to be in his shoes when the Freya’s Breath wore off. As it was he looked as though he had just shit himself. She turned her gaze back to Ares one last time.
‘You’re welcome,’ she said, giving him a half smile.
As she walked past Hera’s captains she looked down at Thanatos who was eyeing her curiously. ‘If you get another chance don’t screw it up again, okay?’
He smiled at her in amusement. ‘For you, I’ll definitely try not to.’
Tae grinned at him and pointed. ‘You, I might like.’ She laughed then continued to the hole in the wall, before stopping directly in front of Vesh. She cocked her head to the side and looked at him thoughtfully. A wonderful idea popped into her head, it was the perfect way to show that loser Loki how totally indifferent she was to him – and settle an itch of her own at the same time.
‘What the hell,’ she said softly. Stepping forward she grasped Vesh’s face gently, then kissed him. This time Vesh was ready for what she was about to do, like everyone else he was paralyzed, but he could still use his mouth and move his head with a little effort, so he decided on the spur of the moment to kiss her right back. She opened her mouth and pressed it lightly, almost hesitantly, against his. When he responded her body plastered itself against him, seemingly of its own accord.
Just one kiss, Tae thought hazily as she felt his mouth moving against hers, just one real kiss before I leave. She eventually managed to pull away from him, but before she did, she lightly pricked his bottom lip with a fang and injected it with her pleasure chemicals. She pulled away and looked at him with undisguised desire while she got her ragged breathing back under control.
‘Why do I never have enough time to do what I want?’
She turned and climbed into the short tunnel that was now formed in the wall. A short time after Tae had left Wet permasteel appeared, plugging the hole. It hardened immediately preventing explosive decompression as the hull of the ship was resealed.
The gods then heard a jumper detach as they continued to stand like statues, each one of them consumed with thoughts of what Tae had told them. Tannan and Radnor were the first to start bellowing for help. In the meantime Thanatos was looking mischievously over at Poseidon and Hades.
‘I see now I chose the wrong woman to follow. That little terran is quite extraordinary, to think she escaped a trap that the emperor over there constructed.’ He laughed, seemingly delighted at the unfolding events.
*****
Loki sat in impotent rage, having just been forced to endure Tae’s and Vesh’s display. He was absently listening to Thanatos dribbling on and quickly added him to his list of arseholes that needed to die soon, right up there - just behind Vesh. She’d done it to him again, he thought in frustration. He dragged his gaze from Thanatos and Vesh to stare at the patch in the wall.
You won’t escape me this easily, he thought. His mind filled with a mixture of anger, admiration and jealousy. Once he and the others had dealt with the impending incursion of the Titans he’d be free to find her. His chin went up a notch and his eyes narrowed as a wicked smile curled the corners of his mouth.
And when I do, you won’t escape me again
The End
Well, you made it! I really do hope you liked it. Please don’t forget some stars and a friendly review at Amazon. Trust me when I say it goes a long way to keeping me enthusiastic, not to mention that Amazon will only consider promoting books with a lot of reviews, so even a short – I liked it – is good. Now that we have my pleading and groveling out of the way let me start by thanking you, the reader, for having trusted me to keep you - hopefully – entertained for a small part of your life. Writing has proven to be great fun for me, editing on the other hand, is the queen of the Harpies. So please accept my apologies if I’ve messed something up.
Speaking of Harpies, guess who Tae meets in the future? Once again I have enclosed a chapter for you to have a quick read of, but let me just say that, if you think Tae had her hands full in this book, you should see what’s in store for her in the next one. Titans, Harpies and Minotaur are going to be the least of her troubles once Loki sticks his nose into her affairs. I’ve enclosed Chapter two for you in the last book of the series - Defender of the Gods. It is still subject to change at this time as I have just finished the first draft, but I think it’s just a little bit of fun. Enjoy –and try to think of exactly what Tae sent at the end of the chapter. Oh, I’m hoping the book will be ready to publish December/January, depending on how much I can make myself sit here working.
Carol Kane
Ps: Once again just a quick reminder, I also have a Facebook page where you will find out when the next book in the trilogy will be released. So feel free to drop by and like the page, here’s the address
https://www.facebook.com/CMKane-1642858532691088/
Chapter 2
Xirra was waiting patiently for Tae to climb through the hole she had melted in the side of the Olympus.
As soon as she was through she set the permasteel to fill it to stop decompression, when it had hardened she returned to her pilot’s seat strapped in and turned to Tae.
‘We have a small problem’ she said as she started the jumper disengaged from the Olympus and lifted straight upwards.
Tae looked at her expectantly, just as voice came over the com system.
‘Unknown jumper, this is your last warning, you will power down your engines to thrusters only and move to Hanger bay one, failure to comply with our orders will see us fire upon you!’
Tae’s breath left her in a whoosh. ‘Shit!’ she looked over at Xirra who was watching her expectantly.
‘I think it’s time to see exactly what this jumper can do don’t you?’
Xirra smiled and nodded. ‘I was hoping you’d say that’
With that she opened a line to the three jumpers that were now surrounding them and, with the same playful smile, answered them with a cheeky. ‘Now where’s the fun in that? C’mon boys, catch us if you can.’
With that she pressed her thumb down on the acceleration button, but instead of trying to get through the jumpers as they would have expected, she dived; straight back down at the Olympus.
Tae just hung onto her seat and prayed Xirra was as good a pilot as Adam had assured her she was.
Her maneuver bought them a little breathing space before the surrounding jumpers took up the chase. What followed took Tae’s breath away. Xirra was not only good, she was brilliant!
She proceeded to weave their jumper in and out of the massive pulse cannon array of the Olympus, always keeping her speed at what Tae thought of as - suicidal. This allowed them to gain precious time on their pursuers as well as stopping the Olympus itself from firing upon them, they were simply to close for their big guns, and their smaller ones couldn’t lock onto them long enough to fire safely without damaging either their larger weapons or the pursuing jumpers. Unfortunately it didn’t stop the gun controllers from starting to move the guns around as they were flying towards them in an effort to force them upwards again. Xirra simply let out a whoop and continued on at her breakneck speed.
Tae’s head was spinning, she was feeling a mixture of exhilaration, nausea, and mild terror, as Xirra sped around sensor arrays, probe ports, and the smaller guns that were attached at intervals to the ship. By the time they reached the edge of the battleship and started into clear space Tae thought she might be ready to heave, her stomach was so knotted.
‘Now comes the testing time’ said Xirra frowning.
Tae shuddered, that wasn’t testing? She realized what she meant when the com panel sprang to life again.
‘This is the Olympus; you will turn your jumper around and surrender to our forces or be destroyed.’
Tae looked at the com display facing them; they were now heading outside of the Force field of the Olympus travelling at the approximate top speed of a normal jumper.
‘U
mmmm shouldn’t we be going a little faster’ said Tae glancing at Xirra with concern.
‘Xirra shook her head. ‘Not yet, I want to draw them out as long as possible, they don’t know about our improved speed and maneuverability. If I can put off using it as long as possible I’m hoping they won’t be able to reprogram their pulse cannons firing controls before we can escape to the other surrendered ships. Then they’d have to risk hitting one of them if they want to hit us. We’re just lucky they didn’t change the coding to get safely through the force field or it would have been a very short chase. I do love an idiot. I talked to Adam before we left and we came up with this contingency plan, just in case something like this happened. He’s positioned Brightmoon above and to the back of the other fleet. As soon as we enter the outer space doors the Brightmoon will head at top speed to the portal.’
Tae’s eyes widened in surprise, ‘Then let’s go home’ she laughed.
Xirra’s eyes had never left the display screen. She saw the pursuing jumpers break off the chase, followed soon after by one of the Olympus’ pulse guns target, then lock onto their jumper.
Xirra pressed down hard on the accelerator button while firing the starboard thrusters at full burn. Their jumper leapt forward and to port, causing the shot from the targeting gun to miss then by a very short twenty or so meters.
Tae gulped as she heard Xirra start laughing maniacally, she glanced over at her friend to see a look of wild delight and concentration on her face; she actually seemed to be enjoying herself!
Another shot from the Olympus missed them by a slightly closer margin. Tae regretted this immediately, as the near miss encouraged Xirra to put their jumper through a series of zigzagging and rolling maneuvers, as Tae tried desperately to hold onto the contents of her now roiling stomach. All while expecting a quick death.
