Liberation_Age of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Craig Martelle

  “Let’s talk with Jenelope.” Terry took Char’s hand and they walked slowly toward the stairwell. Dokken pressed against Terry’s side.

  Do you think she’ll have any of the good stuff? Dokken asked.

  “I think we’re out. We’re stuck eating bistok until we can get back to Earth and resupply.”

  Maybe you can bring some cattle out here. I like them better than bistok.

  Terry ruffled the big dog’s thick neck hair as they climbed the stairs, strolling from them in silence when they reached the mess deck. The snow was almost completely gone already.

  Char smacked her lips. With the humidity near zero, she was drying out as quickly as the ship.

  Thirsty, Dokken told them.

  “Me, too, buddy,” Terry answered through his cotton mouth.

  The door opened to the mess deck. The tables and chairs were neatly arranged, clean, and empty. The snow was gone and it was starting to warm up inside. The clang of pots and trays from within the galley signaled that Jenelope was hard at work. The low voices sounded familiar. Char leaned around the corner to look into the kitchen.

  Cory was elbow-deep in cutting up vegetables. Jenelope was at a table nearby working on a side of beef.

  “Cory?” Char wondered. “When did you come over here?”

  “Hello to you, too, Mom,” Cory said with a slow smile. Char rushed around the serving counter to hug her daughter. Jenelope waved a wooden spoon at her.

  “Wash before you touch anything in my kitchen! You’ve got dog all over you.”

  Hey! Dokken exclaimed in mock outrage. He worked his way into the kitchen.

  “Get that mongrel out of here and tell him to take his dog, too!” Jenelope bellowed.

  “My daughter…” Terry mumbled as he froze in place.

  “What are you waiting for? The vegetables won’t cut themselves up. Your hands won’t magically be washed without using the sink. And you won’t be out of here if you stand there like a Moai statue!”

  I’m not his dog, Dokken said weakly as he slunk from the kitchen. I smell beef. I want a steak. Rare, please. Eat more steak! Eat more steak!

  Cory laughed, lightly, with a small smile.

  “Well?” Jenelope asked, pointing at the vegetables with her ever-present wooden spoon.

  Cory held up her hands in surrender. “You better wash up, Mom. I’d be honored if you joined me.”

  Charumati walked to the sink, making sure not to touch anything on her way. As she was washing, Cory answered the first question. “I came over yesterday. Aaron, Yanmei, and Jenelope conspired to hand me back and forth until I had a way ahead.”

  Char finished and dried her hands on the kitchen towel at the side of the sink. She threw it over her shoulder as she returned to the prep cook’s station. Jenelope pointed to the beef.

  “Why don’t you butcher that thing so we can get some of it cooking. I already have the grill heating up. We’ll sear it, then cook it just right.” The chef raised her eyebrows and grinned mischievously.

  Eat more steak! Dokken continued.

  “Oh, hush! You’ll get your steak, but this is the last that I was saving for a special occasion.”

  I’m going to get steak! Dokken declared. Two please, obscenely thick and juicy, oh so juicy. I can smell it! I want steak!

  “For a sentient being, you’re acting an awful lot like a dog,” Jenelope said while puttering around the kitchen, moving from one stove to another, tasting and checking, dropping more spices where needed.

  “I’m with you, buddy. A big old steak. I can taste it already.” Terry took a seat at a table where he could see into the kitchen. Dokken scrambled to the top of the table and sat there, vibrating in anticipation as he watched Char start working on their dinner.

  “Get off the table!” Jenelope ordered. “Who wants to eat their dinner where your butt’s been?”

  Dokken was done listening to anything that didn’t have to do with a steak being delivered to his mouth.

  “When Ted has his ship ready, they’ll stop by and pick me up on their way to Earth,” Cory said matter-of-factly, keeping her eyes on the task at hand as she worked her way through the stack of vegetables before her.

  “Do you want us to go with you?” Char asked. Terry’s ears perked up.

  “No. You have things you need to do. It’s my responsibility to go find and talk with Sarah and Sylvia. And if everything goes as it’s supposed to, you’ll be able to talk with all of us using one of Ted’s IICS things.”

  “We’d like that,” was all Char could say. Terry got up and headed for the drink station to fill a soup bowl for Dokken and a glass for Char. He delivered Dokken’s first, holding it before the dog so he could keep his eyes on his future meal. He lapped wildly, splashing half the water onto Terry Henry.

  “What the hell?” Terry put the bowl on the table. Dokken twisted his head so he could drink while still watching the kitchen. Terry tried to slink in to hand Char the glass.

  “Wash your hands!” Jenelope shouted.

  Terry downed the glass and hurried to the sink. After washing, he snagged a clean glass and filled it for Char. Two more glasses each and they were finally able to get back to work, Terry watching while Char and Cory sliced and diced.

  Suddenly, Dokken found himself next to Char, his tail creating its own breeze because he was wagging it so hard.

  “Can’t you control that?” Terry asked.

  Control what? Dokken replied, licking his dog lips.

  “I love your dog,” Cory said softly. Terry waited for it, but Dokken didn’t say it. The shaggy German Shepherd looked at her.

  Can I come to Earth with you? he asked.

  “Of course. I’d like that,” Cory replied.

  “Me too,” Terry agreed.

  “Me three,” Char added.

  “One extra big steak for you, now get out of my kitchen, you filthy mongrels.”

  Terry kneeled to give Dokken a hug.

  I thought I was getting two steaks, Dokken complained. Terry snickered.

  “How about we take what we get and like it?”

  Sheri’s Pride, Spires Harbor

  “I’m not sure about this,” Shonna whispered, meant only for Merrit’s ears, but the others heard.

  “You wouldn’t believe the change,” Sue explained. “Sometimes, Timmons is a genius.”

  “Sometimes? I’m surprised you admit to it that often.” Timmons laughed at his own joke, wrapping his arm around Sue’s waist. She did the same to him as they prepared to enter Sheri’s Pride.

  Shonna and Merrit followed them in. The corridors were mostly empty as the majority of the work force was spread throughout the burgeoning construction project.

  Sue let go of Timmons and walked in front as they approached two Harborians. The humans stepped aside and bowed their heads in deference.

  “Carry on,” she told them casually as she walked past. They nodded, but assumed the position a second time when Shonna appeared before them.

  “What she said,” Shonna told them. The two men hurried on their way.

  “Did you use a bistok prod on them?” Merrit wondered.

  “Werewolf,” Sue replied.

  “They think all women can turn into werewolves if they are provoked. They have the fear of the Were.” Timmons grinned mischievously.

  “Probably not a bad thing for them, as well as others we could name,” Shonna said, looking pointedly at Timmons and Merrit.

  “We have the appropriate level of fear, have no doubt about that!” Timmons waved his hand in the air, the one that had grown back after Char excised it to establish her dominance.

  “You were being a dick,” Sue reminded him.

  “And I paid for it. I’d like to think I’m better now.”

  Sue blushed. “Just a little,” she admitted. “Where are we going anyway?”

  “The command center. There’s no longer a bridge since this ship will never fly again.” Timmons held his hand over the pad and summone
d the elevator. The doors opened immediately.

  “Why doesn’t the War Axe have an elevator for passengers?” Shonna asked as she strutted onto the elevator. “I could get used to this.”

  “Warships. Can’t be bogged down with personal convenience and trash like that!” Timmons declared as the elevator moved smoothly upward. It slowed and the doors opened.

  “Wasn’t this a warship?” Shonna asked.

  “Even a derelict entity like Ten knew that humans needed their creature comforts.”

  The bridge was in the middle of a reconfiguration with plastic sheeting covering an opening into the adjacent room. The set terminals had been replaced by interactive workstations, akin to what the ship looked like before Ten changed it to accommodate a single AI in control of everything. Half of the workstations were filled. When the staff saw the women, they stood and bowed their heads.

  “Can I get you a seat?” one of the men said as he tentatively moved from what would have once been the captain’s chair.

  “Well done, Brice, and no, we won’t be here long. Where’s Tim?”

  “He’s escorting a group to Keeg Station on a liberty call.”

  “I’ll be damned. Who determined that the Harborians could be loosed into the wild?”

  “The director personally approved it.”

  “I think it’s a good thing,” Sue suggested before she draped an arm over Brice’s shoulders. “When do you get to go and see that Rowan of yours?”

  “I’m in charge, so I have to make sure all the others go first. We talk every night using the video communication.”

  “Young love,” Sue sighed. Timmons held his hands up and shook his head.

  “I can’t remember being young.”

  Sue and Shonna rolled their eyes in unison. Merrit thought it best not to express his opinion.

  “Let me show you what we’ve set up for the mining operation,” Brice interjected. Timmons winked at Merrit, who blew out the breath he’d been holding.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Keeg Station

  “Put your backs into it!” Joseph shouted. Ted and Ankh looked sideways at him. The maintenance bots were moving the last of the gravitic shield emitters into place on the outside of the captured frigate.

  “They don’t have backs,” Ted told Joseph. Bundin emitted a low rumble. It was how the Podders laughed.

  Once the hardware was in place, Ted took the box that contained Plato into the ship. Ankh followed with a small toolbox. Joseph, Petricia, and Bundin waited outside.

  “What is the ship called?” Petricia asked.

  Joseph had a long and storied history on planet Earth. Ship names were not something that he took lightly.

  “I was thinking something expansive, like Chariot of the Gods,” Joseph said, spreading his arms wide.

  “Chariot. Ramses was an Egyptian pharaoh, was he not?” Petricia asked.

  “He was.”

  “Ramses’ Chariot?”

  Joseph nodded vigorously, finally putting his arms down. “I love that, Petricia! A testament and honor to our dearly departed.”

  “I suppose that means something important, beside the man who always treated me well. I like Ramses’ Chariot, too.”

  “Do you know what a chariot is?” Joseph asked.

  “It looks like a Harborian frigate, heavily modified to be one of the greatest ships ever flown within the universe,” Bundin replied matter-of-factly.

  “I’ll take it. Let’s check on the stores. I think, all of a sudden, Ted will announce that the ship is ready to go and give us two minutes to get on board and settled.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time,” Petricia replied, casting a glance toward their luggage to the side of the ship. “Just in case.”

  “Do I need to get my stuff?” Bundin asked.

  “Do you have any stuff?”

  “I don’t, but if I did, now would be a good time to get it.”

  Joseph nodded and slapped his friend’s shell. Bundin’s blue stalk-head weaved in a circle.

  “Well?” Ted yelled from an open hatch. “I’ve been calling. We’re ready to go, so let’s go.”

  Joseph and Petricia jogged to their luggage while Bundin ambled to the hatch and squeezed through.

  “You need to make these more Podder friendly,” he told Ted.

  “Maybe you can evolve into a box turtle and then you’d fit without a problem,” Ted suggested.

  Bundin stopped. “Interesting,” he said before continuing. Joseph and Petricia toted their bags in behind the Podder.

  “We know the way to our quarters,” he said and took a sharp left when Bundin walked straight ahead. The billeting on the frigate was tight, with room for only a few dozen, and the doorways were too narrow for him to fit through. He’d been assigned to the cargo storage area as a place he could rest while being out of the way.

  The galley was small, the bridge small, the engineering space small. Everything was small on board the frigate, except for the energy mounts used for the EMP weapon. Ted had kept those in place after he reverse-engineered the technology to confirm what they already had in R2D2’s laboratory.

  Joseph and Petricia looked at the bunkbeds in their quarters with disdain. “If this ship flies like I think it will, we won’t be in space all that much.” Joseph tried to sound confident and consoling, but Petricia wasn’t buying it.

  “Bunkbeds?” She rolled her eyes and stretched her neck from side to side. “The indignity of it all.”

  “You don’t have to go, if you don’t want. I doubt we’ll be gone that long.” Joseph didn’t sound convincing. They hadn’t been apart in a long, long time.

  “Who’s going to watch your back? If I remember right, Earth was a dangerous place, even on the best of days.”

  “I can take care of myself, but I have to admit, selfishly so, that I like you by my side, even if you’re in a different bunk.”

  “I’ll see what we can do about that,” she replied. Frowning at their quarters, they left their gear behind and headed for the bridge. They stopped when they heard a commotion by the hatch that was open to the hangar bay.

  “Felicity!” Joseph exclaimed and meandered down the corridor toward where she stood, blocking the hatch.

  “Good morning, Joseph,” she replied pleasantly before shouting, “I know you’re in there!”

  Joseph froze where he was. Ted pushed by, his face screwed up as he avoided looking at his wife.

  “You weren’t going to leave without saying good-bye, were you?” Felicity drawled sweetly.

  Ted continued to look at the deck.

  That’s exactly what you were going to do, wasn’t it? Joseph thought, trying not to laugh. Petricia took his hand and led him away before he could say anything out loud.

  Felicity gave Ted a hug and quick kiss before walking away. Ted remained in the hatch, watching her leave.

  Joseph had stopped. “Show’s over,” he whispered.

  Ted raised his hand and waved, but she didn’t see it.

  “He really loves her.”

  “More than you’ll ever know,” Petricia said as she pulled her husband close.

  Ted turned toward them. His expression was soft, but changed instantly to a scowl. “What are you looking at? Plato, open the hangar bay doors. We’re leaving.”

  ***

  Kimber and Auburn shook their heads as they looked at the new recruits. “This is the hand we’re dealt?” Kim said, hands clasped tightly behind her back as she walked from one end of the single line of bodies. Most stood loosely, some looked around. A couple showed a modicum of military bearing.

  “And your sorry asses are going to be elite Bad Company warriors?” Kimber told them. “I don’t know if we can get there from here, not with this mob. What have we come to?”

  Auburn dutifully shook his head and groaned as if being slowly boiled to death.

  “And what the hell are you?” Kimber growled at the Yollin.

  “Kimber, it’s me, K’Thrall f
rom the War Axe.”

  “What did you call her?” Auburn shouted as he moved close to touch noses with the warship’s former systems specialist.

  “I called her by her name. Is that not her name? I shall call her something else, just tell me. I admit, you humans are confusing as fuck.”

  Auburn snorted and turned away. Kimber kept a straight face. K’Thrall was right. They hadn’t told them what to call her. She rubbed her temples before turning her attention back to the recruits.

  “You will call me Major Kimber or ma’am. You will call him Major Auburn or sir. You will always say ‘yes, sir’ or ‘yes, ma’am.’ Unless the answer is no. Do your dumb asses understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” a smattering of voices said.

  Kimber threw up her hands. “These are the elite? After the sounds of combat, I don’t hear so good any more. You need to speak up. I said, do your dumb asses understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” came the chorus. Kimber avoided looked at K’Thrall, who was shaking his head.

  “Major Kimber, I think you’re lying. Your enhancements from the Pod-doc would enable you to hear, even me when I talk like this.” The Yollin’s mandibles clicked as he whispered without moving his mouth.

  “Auburn! Why don’t you teach Mister K’Thrall about pushups?”

  “Get out here, you sorry case of ringworm.” Auburn snapped his fingers and pointed.

  “I knew you could hear me. Do we really have to yell?” the Yollin continued to whisper.

  “Yes! You have to yell. Now shut up and get into the pit!” Kimber screamed, spittle flying from her face. The four-legged Yollin shrugged and trotted to where Auburn was pointing. The cargo storage area had been cleared for new recruit indoctrination and the pit was a white-taped square on a rough deck.

  K’Thrall leaned close to Auburn. “This appears to be another mistruth. How much of what I believe about the Bad Company is the truth and how much will turn out to be a lie?”

  Auburn smiled. “Bear with me. Ignore this next bit, and then get into the pushup position.” Auburn put his hands on his hips and spread his feet wide. “You worthless piece of dog shit! You will drop and start pushing the ground until I get tired!”