by John Conroe
“Surface temperatures are dropping. Heat bloom moving northeast.”
“He understood you and left,” I said.
“A truly alien intelligence. Much different from the two elementals I already know,” Omega said.
“Will it explode the volcano?” Declan asked.
“Unknown, although based upon our limited exchange, I do not believe so. It is now aware of humans, but the thing that impressed it most is your sword, Chris. I surmise that, like myself, it does not perceive the sword as a sword, but as an object of intense power. It may have recognized the source of that power and that, more than anything any of us said or did, is likely the reason it left. I will monitor Yellowstone volcanic and seismic sensors for any change in the volcano’s status,” Omega said.
The Tesla rolled itself back up to our location, just the whine of its electric motors to announce it.
The landscape was devastated, a burned and blasted circle of gray lava-like rock that still shimmered with heat. Several rivers of cooling stone were splayed out between the dirt road and the desert ring of stone. The locals were going to have a field day when they found this. Crop circles, my ass. Try rock circles, bitch.
Chapter 31
We both fell asleep on the ride back. We loaded up with snacks and drinks at the Conoco station in town, piled into the Tesla, and headed back south. Declan finished eating first and passed out pretty quickly after. Me, I had some serious eating to do, so I stayed awake the first hour.
“So, new technologies?” I asked quietly. Declan’s even breathing didn’t change.
“I have access to all research and knowledge across the globe. That and the very nature of quantum computing allows me to make advances that would normally take many years,” Omega said.
“What have you come up with?” I asked.
For a few moments, there was just the sound of my chewing, the microwavable breakfast sandwich a bit tougher than a fresh-made one.
A bug fluttered in the back seat, then a second. I wasn’t driving the car, so I automatically turned and looked. They weren’t bugs. Oh, they looked like bugs and they were the same size as bugs, and they kinda flew like bugs, but they weren’t.
First of all, bugs don’t have spinning strands of hair-like propellers. They also don’t gleam metallically in the sunlight. Tiny—like a black fly. Both buzzed forward and landed on Declan’s shoulder.
“Dind’t DARPA come up with those?” I asked.
“They came up with a crude prototype. It didn’t fly well and they’ve had issues with power. I took ultra-low-power thin-film transistor technology and improved it. These micro-air vehicles are self-powered, using solar or energy from device and electric grid leakage within their operating environments. They can also turn thermal energy into electricity. They are scalable and interconnectable and utilize new forms of sensory instruments .”
“Scalable?” I asked.
“Observe.”
The two bugs fit together, making a bigger bug. Ten more lifted off from the backseat and buzzed forward, piling on the double bug. It was now the size of a big dragonfly but looked like a beetle. Another twenty came from the rear passenger side floor, then thirty or forty more from the floor behind me. They all fit together, making a mouse sized… thing. It shuffled itself around and became a little man, reminding me of one of Declan’s dirt dudes from Wytchwar, but with four legs and two stubby, fingerless arms.
“My father’s game has taught me many things. This structure is endlessly adaptable and utilitarian. I can add several hundred, several thousand, or a hundred thousand, changing its shape and capacity at will,” Omega said.
The little insectoid man turned and raised one arm. There was no hand, just a flat lens. The passenger window rolled down and the car pulled to the roadside, slowing to a stop next to a mile marker sign. There was a flash and the paint on the sign bubbled and burned.
“At this size, the drone can produce a 5000mW burning laser. It gets progressively more powerful as the unit’s size grows. At full size, it will burn a hole in hardened steel. At the larger-scale sizes, the unit can also field a high-efficiency gauss weapon.”
“You armed them?” I asked.
“Of course. Your team leads a dangerous existence. My father’s life has been in danger multiple times just in the past few hours. Any extension of my self must have protective armament to be any use at all.”
“Does Declan know about these?” I asked.
“He does. He calls the full size iteration the Mark 4 Defender.”
“What about Marks one through three?” I asked.
“Those designations refer to centipede models. The Mark 4 replaces all of them.”
“Really? Because those centipedes were kind of badass,” I said.
“The unit you see here, scaled up, is far more adaptable, self-sufficient, and, as father says, packs a bigger punch,” Omega said.
I started to protest, then thought about his earlier description. “The laser and gauss rifle are that powerful?”
“The gauss weapon will fire either a two-centimeter, twenty-gram projectile at up to fourteen hundred meters per second or a stream of seven-millimeter, point-three gram rounds at over eighteen hundred meters per second,” Omega said.
“That’s fast,” I said, not exactly sure how fast.
“Forty-five hundred feet per second for the large projectile and six thousand feet per second for the small ones. There is also a plasma weapon under development,” the AI said.
“That’s crazy. Plasma? Where did you get the design for that?” I asked.
“From you. It borrows heavily from the Explosively Formed Projectiles that you fire using your aura. This one uses magnetic fields to achieve the same effect… or nearly the same. The power requirements are excessive at this stage, so it is still being refined.”
“So the Mark 4 just lacks missiles, huh?” I asked.
“Each of the subunits or any combination of them can be directed as a missile. The entire unit can become directed submunitions if necessary. Say in the event of overwhelming odds.”
“Wow. And a big projectile at forty-five hundred feet per second? That’s gotta exceed a fifty caliber round,” I said.
“At short ranges. The projectile has poor ballistic characteristics but I am working on improving the design,” Omega said.
“How much ammo can they carry and where does it come from?” I asked.
“The Mark 4 will produce its own ammo supply via 3D printing. It scavenges material for sintering and printing. Additionally, velocity can be variable depending upon the situation’s combat requirements. The laser weapon has virtually endless ammunition as long as there is power.”
“At what ranges can you control the Mark 4 or its subunits?” I asked.
“It is theoretically unlimited,” Omega said.
“How’s that possible?” I asked.
“Are you familiar with entangled particles?” the AI asked.
“You mean, anything you do to one particle instantly happens to the other, no matter the distance?” I asked. “You made them with entangled particles? Could they work on another world?”
“Yes. I am beginning production of the subunits that you have in front of you. The numbers needed to field a full-sized Mark 4 are about a week away. Field testing will commence in six days. Otherwise, you would have seen one in Vegas to help with Dragan.”
“These things make the movie Terminators look stupid. You realize what a human response to these would be?”
“You are the only individual other than Father to see them. That will mostly remain the case. Their most valuable use is as individual subunits for intelligence and cyber operations. The Mark 4 iteration is for protection. I was unable to help Father in either Maine or here. That situation will be resolved within several days’ time.”
“You’re very serious about helping him, aren’t you?” I asked.
“He might use the phrase ‘serious as a heart attack.’”
>
I thought about that for a minute, studying the sleeping teenager. “We’re a bit worried about him. He’s very young to have dealt with everything that’s been thrown at him,” I said.
“Stacia has expressed serious concern about the death magic he’s been exposed to, both last night and previously in Fetter,” Omega said. “She, too, exhibits signs of fatigue.”
“We want to send them on a vacation. Him and Stacia both. Maybe a few of his friends, too. Especially after all this,” I said. Taking a deep breath, I laid out the thoughts that Tanya, Nika, Lydia, and myself had brainstormed in England, before this adventure had even started. The biggest roadblock to our plan had been Omega’s response. With this technology, there didn’t seem to be an issue.
“I am in agreement. This will also remove them from the public eye. Current discussions among parties throughout Las Vegas indicate an intention to bring civil lawsuits against Demidova Corp and each of your team members. Additionally, there is enormous media interest in Stacia and Father. This is the second time that they have been seen acting independently and their abilities have raised both tremendous concern and curiosity among elements of the general population.
“I will stop the lawsuits from ever being filed, but the attention is unavoidable. Father does not like attention, and they are protective of each other. There will be tragic consequences if they are not left alone,” Omega said.
“Yeah, we’ve worried about that. Time to circle the wagons,” I said. “We were concerned how you might take this idea.”
“On the contrary. I am extremely interested in this expedition or vacation, as you call it,” Omega said.
“No shit. I’d frankly like to go myself, but with the babies and Tanya, that’s not happening,” I said.
“Agreed. Fairie is no place to take infants,” Omega said with authority.
Chapter 32
After our conversation, I fell asleep, not waking up until the car slowed to get off the highway at the exit for McCarran International Airport. I yawned myself awake and then shook my young witch awake, which in hindsight might have been dangerous. As it was, my hand was invisibly moved away from his arm by the invisible force of his shields reflexively activating. He went from sound asleep to black, crawling tattooed skin in a split second. Ready for war… like a combat vet fresh from battle. He wasn’t even twenty yet, for God’s sake.
The car pulled up to the security gates for private aviation and the guard recognized both of us instantly, eyes getting really large. He waved us through the entrance and our car drove directly to Tanya’s plane, which was fully visible.
“I thought you protected it?” I asked, my voice dropping in tone as we climbed out of the Tesla.
Declan gave me a sharp look, picked up a pebble from the tarmac, and threw it at the plane. It sparked out of existence twenty feet from the aircraft.
“Sorry. Just touchy about the babies,” I said, rubbing my short, stubbly hair.
He grinned. “You better get in there… Daddy.”
“How do I do that and not fry?” I asked.
“Wards are keyed to those temporary tattoos,” he said. “You can walk right up.”
He led the way and took the stairs to the plane hatch two at a time. The door opened at his touch but the doorway was filled with almost two thousand pounds of fur, muscle, and claw.
“Just us, buddy,” I said, patting ‘Sos’s head. Getting a tongue upside the face for my troubles, I slid past his bulk and into the plane. Behind me, I heard him woof at Declan. “Yeah, there’s jerky in my pocket; what of it?” I heard the kid ask as ‘Sos braced him down for food.
Stacia appeared in the room’s doorway, her shotgun hanging loosely in one hand. She looked me over and then jerked her head toward the back, where the main bedroom was. She headed for the plane’s door as I headed toward my vampire. Once she was past me, I heard her talking.
“Awasos! You just ate! You’re not a were bear-wolf, you’re a freaking pig. Declan, just push past him,” Stacia said.
“Nope, the jerky was for him anyway,” Declan said.
“You’re teaching him to bully you for food,” she said. “Wait—you brought him jerky?” Her voice had gotten a dangerous tone to it.
“Yeah, I did. But here in my bag I might have a couple of bison and elk protein bars I found at a gas station that you might like,” Declan said.
“Elk and bison? Gimme, gimme,” she said.
“Oof, who’s the bully now?” he asked, voice getting softer as I got further into the plane.
It was midday, so the vampires would be sleeping, but Captain Simkins and her co-pilot were playing a game of cards in the aircraft’s main lounge area.
“Hey Chris. You and Tanya do good work—those babies are beautiful,” Simkins said.
“Thanks, but I deserve almost no credit,” I said.
“Good answer, Daddy. I think she just fed them and settled them for a nap, so you might want to be real quiet,” the captain suggested.
I nodded and continued on through the length of the plane, past the galley and then to the door to the master bedroom. The door was just slightly ajar and when I opened it, Tanya was waiting, finger over lips. The room smelled of babies. Just beyond my vampire, a pair of portable cribs was set up against the interior wall. Mine, Grim said inside my head.
Beowulf and Corella were wrapped tightly in swaddling blankets, little faces relaxed in sleep.
“How are they?” I whispered. Both babies immediately squirmed, opening their eyes.
“Christian! You can’t speak. They have really, really good hearing. Plus, it seems that they know your voice,” Tanya said, her tone cross but her eyes sparkling. She looked tired and I realized feeding the babies must be draining on her.
“You need to eat,” I said.
She gave me a look as I moved over the cribs. “Go shower—fast. You smell like smoke. Then you’re gonna rock them to sleep,” she said.
“Okay, but you’re gonna take a hit or two of the good stuff while I’m rocking them,” I said, holding up my right wrist.
Five minutes later, I was showered and in dry clothes, just getting settled into a rocking chair in the corner of the room. Tanya brought me first Cora and then Wulf, tucking them into the crooks of my arms. They squirmed a bit, then settled down, eyes closing.
I realized I couldn’t get my wrist out for her to bite, but Tanya just smirked at me. She put my bare feet up on a little ottoman in front of the rocker, then gracefully folded till she was sitting on the floor. Pulling her glossy, blue-black hair to one side, she leaned over my legs, pushing my sweatpants up till my ankles and calves were exposed. With a sly smile, she bared her canines and bent down. I felt a tiny prick as her needle-sharp teeth pierced the skin on my upper calf. There was almost no pain but what little there was vanished as her saliva touched my skin and her lips fastened to my leg. The long white column of her throat flexed as she gently drew my blood.
Sometimes it’s erotic, sometimes exciting, other times it’s restful. This was one of the latter and despite my nap in the Tesla, I felt my eyelids drooping. The babies were warm bundles, smelling of Tanya and me and uniquely of themselves. The room was dark, the plane quiet, and my vampire was smiling at me as she fed. My eyes shut and I slid deeply asleep.
Chapter 33
I came awake all at once, rested and alert. The babies and my vampire were gone but I heard voices outside the bedroom and my bond told me she was there. The clock said it was after six in the evening and my stomach said it was time to eat.
In the main lounge I found Nika, Lydia, Tanya, Arkady, and Awasos. Nika and Lydia were rocking the babies, Nika giving me a smile and Lydia not meeting my eyes.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
Tanya laughed lightly. “You scared her,” she said.
“I what?” I asked.
“You’re a damn creepy bastard sometimes,” Lydia said, now meeting my eyes with a glare.
“What do you
remember?” Nika asked.
I gave it some thought. “Oh, you two came and got the babies from me,” I said.
“That’s it?” Lydia asked.
I frowned, thinking harder. “I remember Nika saying something about it’s okay, but I think she was talking to you, Lydia,” I said.
