Liberation_Age of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Craig Martelle

  “What just happened?”

  Petricia shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Can you imagine Terry, Char, Nathan, and Ecaterina being related through marriage?”

  “No, I can’t, and you shouldn’t imagine such things either,” Petricia replied.

  “The eye of the cougar.” Joseph slashed a hand as if it were a paw.

  “Stop it!” Petricia chuckled. “What do you think they call you?”

  Joseph feigned being taken aback. “Whatever do you mean, my dear?”

  “Just because she’s older, it’s not cool?”

  “Not cool?”

  “At least you don’t smell like mothballs,” she said, walking for the exit. “Anymore.”

  “I never smelled like mothballs!” Joseph argued. “Wait a minute. Mothballs?”

  ***

  Cory walked into her quarters and put the IICS on the table in front of her small couch. Dokken jumped up next to her and laid down.

  “What do you think?”

  That a nap is in order, he replied, closing his eyes and wiggling his body to appropriately wedge himself into the space.

  “I miss him.”

  I know. You always will, and that is okay. If you didn’t, then what kind of impact did he make on your life? As a dog, I was born in a litter, the grandson of Ashur. I was enhanced and here I am. Where are my siblings and cousins and parents? I don’t know. We are always separated. Litters of dogs never stay together, but I will always remember them. I will know their smell no matter how old we become. In between, I will wish them the best. Ignorance or knowledge of their fate doesn’t change how I feel.

  “And it doesn’t change that they are not here.”

  It does not. Maybe you should take a nap, too. It’s been a long couple weeks.

  “I think that’s a good idea. I haven’t slept well.”

  I know. Now is a great time. Have a sip of wine and pack it in.

  Cory opened a bottle of merlot that she had and poured herself a glass. She drank it in three gulps and went into the small bedroom. She climbed under the covers, looking to the side where the second pillow was unruffled. She closed her eyes, but a thump brought her back to the moment.

  Dokken settled onto the bed, nearly pushing her onto the floor.

  “What are you doing?”

  Nap.

  “That’s what you were doing out there.”

  Yes. And now I’m doing it in here.

  “This isn’t where you sleep.”

  It is now.

  Cory wanted to argue. “Don’t bed-hog me.”

  Back at you, Dokken replied.

  “I’m not a bed-hog.”

  You are the grand master of bed-hogs.

  “WHAT?”

  Nap. The great German Shepherd turned onto his side, letting his legs dangle over the edge of the bed. She turned to face him, draping an arm over his long hair.

  She didn’t remember falling asleep.

  ***

  Felicity dragged Ted back to their quarters, where she showed her appreciation for everything Ted did for their family.

  And the universe, for that matter.

  “Dionysus, dear, I won’t be returning to the office today,” Felicity drawled.

  “Of course, Director. There is one week’s worth of work remaining before the first operational test on the Dren Cluster gate. I will keep you informed of developments. The shipyard expansion project is a day behind schedule, because the asteroid mineral extraction project is three days behind schedule.”

  “When I said I wasn’t returning to my office, I didn’t mean that you were to bring my office to me. Take your report and file it until I return to my office. In the meantime, transfer assets from Spires Harbor to Iracitus as necessary to keep the raw materials moving.”

  Ted watched his wife seamlessly navigate the moving parts of building her own empire without getting out of bed. He watched her closely as if studying the lines of her figure.

  “Like what you see?” she asked.

  “The management required for the coordination of systems has a significant number of variables. Taking those into account, one could believe that achieving a desired end result is too dependent upon non-constants. In my world, the constants make it possible to manage the variables. In your world, you only have variables.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, kicking the covers completely off. Ted reached out, but didn’t catch them in time. He looked uncomfortable as he lay there, naked. “What I do is easy compared to what you do. I work with people. All I have to do is convince them of what needs to be done and then turn them loose. You will be amazed at their ingenuity when they believe in what they’re working on.”

  “I believe in the vibrations and magnetism within the universe. Once the equations are correct, everything falls into place. I can’t math my way through your projects.”

  He rolled to his side, facing her.

  “Our kids looked great. They are productive and successful.”

  “Productivity?” Felicity snuggled close. “That’s not how I would rate our children. As long as they’re happy, nothing else matters. I was pleased to hear that they are watching out for each other. No matter what happens, as long as they’re together, they’ll get through it. And I can talk with them, thanks to my brilliant husband. How often is too often? Well, we haven’t hit that point yet, have we?”

  Ted rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up.

  “Where are you going?” Felicity drawled.

  “The lab?” He wondered why he said it as a question. He was definitely going to the lab. Wasn’t he?

  Felicity kneeled behind him and gently pulled him back onto the bed.

  Onyx Station

  The Black Eagles screamed silently through space, one chasing the other. Yanmei yanked and banked. Aaron would race past, slow, turn, and get back into the chase. Yanmei waited for him and they’d go again.

  When Aaron led the chase, Yanmei would get weapons’ lock again and again.

  Aaron was getting discouraged. “Let’s go back in.”

  “You know what I used to do?”

  Aaron didn’t remember. He hadn’t explored her past beyond the point where she became Terry Henry’s torturer. He didn’t want to know that part of her.

  “I was a test pilot on Chinese fighter aircraft.”

  “You seemed more natural to it than I,” Aaron replied.

  “You’re doing great as a new pilot. Do you feel the freedom? Are you one with the universe? What do you say we just fly?”

  They angled away from the massive space station, the gates, and the traffic, far beyond the navigational buoys. They meandered into space at half-speed.

  “Can you feel it now?” she asked.

  Aaron smiled and closed his eyes, allowing the agile fighter to flow as a part of him. Yanmei slowed and moved in behind her mate to give him room, give him the freedom of space.

  After a quick barrel-roll, he settled into a long and gentle arc through the far reaches of the system. The ship powered across the gravity well with little grief.

  “I can,” Aaron replied softly.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Onyx Station

  The War Axe held position close to Onyx Station. The destroyer was nearly blocking the hangar bay entrance. Micky had gotten the close location approved in order to expedite the ship’s departure.

  The month was nearly up, and Terry knew that the confrontation with Ten needed to happen sooner rather than later, but he was certain that having their wits about them was key to a Bad Company victory.

  Don’t be in a hurry to your own funeral, Terry often told his people. It was the corollary to if you want it bad, you get it bad. He wanted Ten gone. The Bad Company was in a far better position to make that happen than they’d been three weeks earlier

  Terry and Char waited on the hangar deck with two shuttles ready to carry their people back to the War Axe. A station-wide announcement had gone out thi
rty minutes earlier, repeated fifteen minutes ago. The first to arrive were the weretigers, but they didn’t look ready to go.

  Aaron and Yanmei sauntered up wearing their flight suits.

  “What’s this?” Terry asked, holding his hands out, palms up. “Where’s your stuff?”

  “It’s in the Black Eagles,” Yanmei said with a twinkle in her eye.

  “What’s a Black Eagle?” Terry asked in a low voice.

  “We have saved two state-of-the-art fighters from the scrapyard. They will be a nice addition to our firepower.”

  “Then you don’t need to wait on us,” Char answered pleasantly. “We’ll see you over there.”

  Terry watched the weretigers join hands and walk away. In a dark corner of the hangar bay, he saw the dark spacecraft. “Fighters? What do we need fighters for?”

  “What don’t we need fighters for?” Char countered.

  “We’ll see,” Terry said.

  Clodagh and her warrior appeared. Arm in arm, they walked toward Terry and Char.

  “Have a good liberty?” she asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” they replied in unison, laughed as one, and continued toward the shuttle.

  “I didn’t realize they came to Onyx. I thought they snuck off and stayed aboard the Axe.”

  “They did. They came here right before we left for the test range,” Char replied.

  A few more warriors jogged by, saluting as they passed.

  “By my count, we need four more.” Terry checked in with Smedley.

  Only four. You are correct Colonel Walton, and their transport ship from Yol has just arrived. They will be on the next shuttle.

  Terry and Char didn’t have long to wait. A small pod with the Federation seal slowly maneuvered into the hangar bay. Once it settled, the Black Eagles moved in behind it, through the open area, pointed their noses, and dashed into space.

  The shuttle door opened and the passengers disembarked. Aliens and humans alike hurried toward the interior of Onyx Station. Five people peeled away from the crowd and walked toward Terry and Char.

  “There’s our people. Let’s hit the road,” Terry said without waiting. Char grabbed his arm and shook her head, pointing with her eyes at the group.

  “Hey, Colonel, Major,” a young man called Eldis said in greeting. Terry tipped his chin in reply as he looked at the green woman attached to the warrior’s arm.

  “Meet my wife, Xianna,” the man said.

  “You were on liberty for a week and now you’re married?” Terry asked, louder than he intended. Eldis’s face fell. The woman started to cry. “She can’t come. This is a warship.”

  “Of course she can come,” Char said. “Welcome to the Bad Company spouses’ club, Xianna.”

  She blinked through the tears and quietly said, “Thank you.”

  “What happened?” Terry continued.

  The other three warriors tried to slink away, but he stopped them with a wave of his hand.

  “We were at this club on Yol, and she was dancing, and we hit it off,” Eldis said with a timid smile.

  Terry stood with his mouth open. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper. “You married a stripper?”

  “It’s not like that at all,” the warrior replied, sticking his chest out and moving between his wife and Terry Henry. She started to cry again.

  “You are the first of our people to come to space and find love!” Char said, squeezing past Eldis to give Xianna a hug. “Go ahead and get on the shuttle. We’ll get this sorted. It will be fine. There is more work at Keeg than people. Xianna, you are a welcome addition. We promise to do our best to bring your warrior home to you after each mission.”

  “You hear that?” Eldis asked. The green woman nodded. “We have a home of our own.”

  Char shooed the bunch away.

  “That’s everyone,” she said matter-of-factly and started to walk away.

  “What if she’s a terrorist?” Terry said.

  Char turned and made sure Terry was watching before she rolled her eyes.

  “Keeg is a closed station. Bad Company only.”

  “Not for much longer,” Char replied.

  “She can’t come on board the War Axe,” Terry said.

  “Of course she can. We’re going straight back to Keeg Station. She’ll be on board the War Axe for all of two hours. What is your issue, TH?”

  Terry looked into the distance. “Loss.” Before his eyes, he saw the scenes of his early Marine Corps days replayed vividly. Marines meeting women and getting married on a single liberty. They brought them back to the station, and then the Marine deployed, leaving his young wife behind.

  “She doesn’t know anyone on Keeg. We’re going to bring her to the station, introduce her to Felicity, and then leave her behind while we go to war. Who knows when we’ll be home? It’s not fair to her.”

  “Who are you to make that decision for them? You were pretty shitty to her. I bet she’s a nice girl, who is only trying to make her way in this universe. If she’s a terrorist, Joseph will find out. Once she gets chipped, Smedley or Dionysus can keep an eye on her.”

  “Isn’t that too much big brother?” Terry thought for a moment before it struck him. “Are they watching us?”

  “You know they are.”

  “I’m not sure I like that. Why did I not think of this before?”

  “Because it simply is. We have to trust the AIs. They are loyal and have a code of ethics that I would say rivals yours. And yes, this is me saying that AIs are ethical, when we’re about to go confront Ten, an example of what happens when an AI goes bad. Regardless, you didn’t think of it because you trust General Smedley Butler.”

  “I do trust him.” Terry rubbed his chin. “I don’t want to see Eldis hurt.”

  “He’s an adult and getting married is his decision, not yours.”

  “I care about them as if they were my own children. Seeing Ramses…” Terry choked up and coughed to clear his throat. He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

  “They think that you are trying to control them. I know what you want, but you have to let go.”

  Terry took Char’s hand and watched the familiar sparkle in her purple eyes. “How many times over the years have I said that I don’t deserve you?”

  “Clearly not enough. Now you better go apologize to Eldis and Xianna. I’ll contact Smedley to let the crew know that we’re throwing a party. And we should probably include Clodagh and Alant.”

  “I thought his name was Cole.”

  “It is. Alant Cole.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Terry replied, sighing on his way to eat crow and welcome the new addition to the Bad Company family.

  ***

  Terry was last off the shuttle. He needed to collect his thoughts. Char waited for him on the ramp. The hangar bay was busy, not with moving equipment, but with a variety of hardware. The first four atmospheric combat support drones were stowed near the shuttle pods. In the back of the bay, empty canisters waited to be filled and deployed. Mech suits stood empty, staged in menacing rows. And the two fighters that Aaron and Yanmei had called Black Eagles were parked in the middle. A maintenance bot was securing them to the deck. The returnees streamed from the bay on their way into the ship.

  “Ten?” Char asked.

  “Fucking Ten,” Terry said. He walked slowly through the bay, examining the equipment as he passed. “I like the extra firepower. Manned fighters, combat drones, mechs, and warriors. How can we lose? And that is what scares me the most. Because I can’t see how Ten can match up, not with slave labor as his army. They can’t fight us.”

  “They can’t fight us, but Ten can. He can fight us from within. Joseph’s telepathy makes him vulnerable. All the rest of us too, if he figured how to tap our chips. Ted can shut them off again, and where will that leave us? Auburn, Kimber, Kaeden? Who dies next?”

  “No one, because we’re going to Home World. We’re going to look at the situation and then we’re going to implement a plan with
backups on top of backups. If nothing else, we eradicate all life on the surface.”

  “A pogrom won’t remove Ten from power. Only cutting the power.”

  “Good thing we have Ted, Plato, Smedley, and Ankh. Four minds are better than one.” Char smiled and playfully pushed TH. “That’s what’s chapping your ass. It’ll be them and not you who kicks a digital ass. You’re mad that you don’t get to go toe to toe with spinning electrons? That’s where Ted is at home, but someone still has to manage the battle.”

  “What if he tells me to blow up the engine again?”

  “We’ll have to cross that bridge if we come to it. I might keep my powered armored suit on if we’re going anywhere near stuff that needs to be blown up.”

  “Maybe I’ll wear one, too.”

  “Colonel Walton to the bridge,” Micky said over the broadcast.

  “I guess we’re needed upstairs.”

  “Guess so,” Char replied.

  Terry laughed at the expression on her face. Matter of fact. No nonsense. Ready for the next mission.

  “Maybe we’ll review requests for proposals while we’re under way. Find the next mission so we have something to look forward to.” They started walking toward the hatch. Terry looked at the equipment surrounding him.

  “I wonder how Kaeden and Marcie are doing.”

  “Probably up to their knees in shit. The Belzonian Army becomes the Federation’s planetary combined arms combat team? I did some casual reading on the Belzonians. Those people are whacked!”

  “Oh?” Char raised an eyebrow noncommittally.

  “You don’t care, do you?”

  “Not in the least,” she replied. “Marcie and Kaeden will take care of it. I have no doubt.”

  “When will we hear from them?”

  “When they’re ready to talk about what they accomplished. I expect that it will be a while.”

  “Damn, Char. Filled with knowledge and wisdom, putting me to shame. But you know what I have?”

  “A bar.”

  “Damn straight. The best fucking bar in the universe! Well, a franchise of the best fucking bar. No finger-licking jizz worms allowed!”

  “We have to talk about your newfound love of cursing.”