Ashur whined at the mention of Anne, his ears flattening against his skull.
Bethany Anne fussed his head again. “You’re thinking about Jinx and Dio, huh?”
“Always,” Ashur chuffed in reply, his inner voice sad but determined. “But we have this ship now. Bellatrix and I will find them. Anne, too.”
Bethany Anne caught the jumbled images in Ashur’s mind. Tears stung her eyes as she relived the moment they had realized Anne and the puppies were gone. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t taken the Shinigami…” Her voice trailed off, and she sighed regretfully. “They would be here now.”
“No,” Ashur denied hotly. “I don’t care what Bellatrix thinks. You are not responsible for what happened to them. Jinx knew better than to allow his human to behave recklessly. I know better than to let mine carry the blame for an accident.”
Bethany Anne shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if it was an accident. I don’t blame Bellatrix for choosing to raise Zeus and Athena in Yelena's home instead of with Alexis and Gabriel.”
“I would have preferred them to be raised with Alexis and Gabriel,” Ashur admitted. “But there’s no point in arguing with Bellatrix once her mind is made up.”
One of the squeaky toys on Ashur’s console lit up.
“We have an incoming call.” He pawed the lighted squeaky, and the screen showed Lance and Barnabas.
Bethany Anne smiled at them. “I wasn’t expecting to see you two here. Why aren’t you on High Tortuga?”
“I have Stephen taking care of High Tortuga in my absence,” Barnabas explained with a soft smile. “I decided it was time to catch up with everyone here before returning.”
Lance’s face was more serious. “I didn’t want to leave it that long before speaking to you. I’m getting a hell of a lot of pressure from the council to answer for your appearance at the mining outpost fuckup, and Harkkat is making it worse to cover his own ass.”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Leath trade secretary. “I’m on my way.” She cut the link and turned to Ashur with a smile. “You heard him. Take us around, Captain. The 3PO will have to wait.”
Ashur made the course correction to bring the Wolfstar back around to dock at the Helena. Bethany Anne and Ashur debarked and took a roamer from the charging station nearest their dock, leaving the ship in the capable hands of the crew to make their way from the docking spar to the upper concourse.
Ashur was put out by the seating arrangement in the roamer. “I don’t see why these vehicles can’t be better designed for the four-legged,” he complained. “I mean, would a wider cushion be amiss?”
Bethany Anne rolled her eyes. “You sound as whiny as Bellatrix, furball. Maybe you’ve had too much comfort, and you’re getting soft.” She sat back and made herself comfortable. “Suck it up, buttercup.”
Ashur sniffed. “You would say that. Your ass is taken care of.” Nevertheless, he did not complain again. He curled up on the narrow seat and tucked his head in for a nap. “Wake me up when we get there.”
Lance and Barnabas were waiting when they arrived on the upper concourse.
Ashur woke in an instant and was first out of the roamer, his ears pricked and his nose high to sniff out any danger. “It’s safe,” he called. “You can come out now.”
Bethany Anne strolled past him and made straight for Lance. “Good to see you again, Dad. Barnabas.” She eyed them. “This is becoming a habit, don’t you think?”
Lance returned Bethany Anne’s hug with feeling. “You can’t blame a man for being glad to spend time with his daughter.” He scrunched his nose. “Political nightmares aside.”
Barnabas chuckled dryly. “Wouldn’t you know it? It only took an intergalactic war to bring us back together.”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow, smiling at Barnabas’ dry commentary. “You know how it is,” she told him with a flourish of her hand. “Weddings, funerals, and other species’ fuckups are about the only events important enough to give everyone a reason to be away from their duty.”
“Here’s to the Leath, then,” Lance stated, his face set in solemn lines. “May they keep fucking up, because I sure as hell don’t want to attend another funeral.”
“What about a wedding?” Bethany Anne countered speculatively. “Nickie and Rickie are getting awfully attached to each other. Any chance of them getting hitched?”
Barnabas almost choked on his laughter. “I can’t see Nickie sitting still long enough to settle down, not even if Rickie begged her to. She left without so much as a ‘see you soon’ after the rift battle, and she’s been over on the other side of the Interdiction since.”
“She needs to get her ass back here soon. I have plans that involve her.” Bethany Anne was prevented from digging into Barnabas’ news by the Collective calling for her.
Ashur’s ears twitched. “There are Collectives here?”
“Eight of them.” Bethany Anne sent her apology into the mindspace and received understanding in return from the Conduit. “Normally I’d visit the Collectives as soon as I arrived, but we have more urgent things to do right now.”
“There’s an issue with communication?” Barnabas inquired.
Bethany Anne nodded. “They’re limited to contact with people who have mental communication abilities.”
Barnabas smiled, his eyes unfocused as he tuned into the call in the mindspace. “Interesting. I would like to get to know these beings before I leave.”
Ashur’s tail beat a hurricane, the thwapping on the floor sounding like someone slamming cane on a bed over and over. “I want to go visit them. I miss the Collectives I know from Devon.”
Bethany Anne frowned. “I thought you were helping Eve? You know, with communication with them?”
Ashur rolled his eyes. “I was…until last week when Demon claimed the sublevels as her territory. I can’t go down there without that male of hers getting catty with me.” He snorted with temper. “I don’t know why Eve allows those cats in her lab. It’s not like they’re useful. All Demon does is lounge around and eat, and that male is a complete pain in the butt.”
Bethany Anne patted Ashur’s neck in sympathy. “This argument is as old as cats and dogs. Don’t let them bother you.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Ashur grumbled. “You don’t have to deal with being persecuted by those felines.”
“Why don’t we visit the Collectives together?” Barnabas offered. He glanced at Bethany Anne and Lance. “You don’t need me for this meeting, do you?”
“No,” Lance answered. “I can catch you up on the discussion on the way back to High Tortuga.”
“Go ahead,” Bethany Anne told Ashur. “Just be back before I’m ready to leave.”
Bethany Anne watched Ashur and Barnabas leave, then threaded her arm through her father’s. “Do you want to do this over food?”
Lance smiled and squeezed Bethany Anne’s arm. “Sounds good. I missed breakfast today. What are you thinking?”
Bethany Anne winked. “That we order takeout to the Wolfstar and avoid the concourse altogether. You’re going to love this ship.”
Bethany Anne met the delivery girl at the foot of the ramp and took their brunch back to the one part of the ship that was made exclusively for humans. She entered her quarters, gratefully inhaling the aromas of all her favorite breakfast foods that were coming from the takeout bag.
Lance looked up in surprise when she came into the living area. “That was fast.”
Bethany Anne lifted the bag onto the table and started to unpack the containers she pulled from within. “I hope you’re hungry. There’s enough to feed four here.”
Lance rubbed his stomach as he got to his feet. “Unless there’s a whole cow in there, I think we’re good.”
“I ordered breakfast,” she told him.
“Even better,” Lance enthused, looking around the room. “Where are the plates?”
Bethany Anne pointed to a cupboard on the kitchen side of the roo
m. “Everything is in there, and silverware is in the drawer to the right. Do you want a Coke?”
Lance paused before opening the cupboard and shook his head. “With breakfast?” His eyes crinkled in amusement at Bethany Anne’s pained look. “I know you can’t go one minute without a caffeine kick, but no, thanks. Juice is fine for me.”
“Got it.” Bethany Anne collected a couple of glasses and poured their drinks while Lance set out their plates and served the meal.
Bethany Anne smiled as she took her seat opposite Lance. “It’s good to get some time with you, Dad.” She picked up her knife and fork. “I only wish it was happening under better circumstances.”
Lance waved his fork at Bethany Anne’s plate. “Eat up. There’s never a good time when you have as much responsibility as we do. You take what you can get, and you make the most of it while you have the chance.”
“True. I couldn’t believe how big Kevin had gotten when you all arrived for the gala.” Bethany Anne cut her eggs and speared a pale nugget with her fork. “Speaking of children, Michael and I both appreciated your input to the twins’ training.”
Lance chuckled at the reminder of his experience of being rebuilt as a character in the twins’ gameworld. “It’s been a while since I put on my General’s hat. Inhabiting that alien avatar was an experience I don’t care to repeat too often, even if it was just for the end of the scenario.” He waved a hand in front of his face. “I couldn’t see around that damned horn, for one thing.”
Bethany Anne’s mouth turned up at the corner. “I don’t know. I could watch it again.” Her smile turned to laughter at the look on Lance’s face. “Take it easy. They’ve progressed to the next stage of their training. ‘General Kispin’ is no more.”
Lance raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that. Now, down to business. Harkkat decided the only way to get out of the shitstorm he was in was to throw himself on the mercy of the delegates and squeal like a stuck Yollin.”
Bethany Anne paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. “I had hoped the Leath would keep their big mouths shut, seeing as they were in my space illegally when the Ooken attacked. Whatever in the fuck happened to gratitude, I don’t know.”
Lance grinned. “You can’t expect to get away with saving the day on camera, and without your disguise, no less.”
Bethany Anne rolled her eyes and groaned. “No more disguises. I’m beyond done with them. Baba Yaga is the name of my ship, nothing more. What sparked Harkkat’s attack of conscience? He got away clean after the attack, as far as I saw.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Lance told Bethany Anne with a heavy sigh. “The inflow of displaced people into the Federation has garnered the attention of the council. Especially added to the news of your reappearance.”
“Let me guess: chaos.” Bethany Anne pressed her lips together in thought when Lance nodded to confirm her suspicions. “You think he did it to destabilize the Federation?”
Lance shook his head in disgust. “Harkkat’s not that smart. He did it to save his own ass, and it worked.”
“How so?” Bethany Anne asked. “He’s in jail, right?”
Lance’s face said it all. “If I'd been the sole arbiter of his case, the self-centered dumbass would be getting broken in by his new cellmate as we speak. However, the slippery bastard silver-tongued the other two councilors, and he’s been given the task of leading a delegation.”
Bethany Anne frowned and put her knife and fork down. “Why are you looking so nervous?”
Lance looked everywhere except at his daughter. “The purpose of the delegation is to locate you and sue for breach of the treaty.”
Bethany Anne’s eyes flashed red, and she slammed a hand on the table. “I didn’t fucking break the treaty!”
“Oh, they know,” Lance assured her. “It’s entirely political. What else can I do but play my role? The question is, are you going to play yours?”
Bethany Anne felt a flash of guilt before she remembered that Lance had agreed to be chained by bureaucracy ad aeternitatem. “Fuck that. I’d rather dive naked into a vat of hungry Ookens than deal with a single fucking politician. Are you here officially?” Her eyes narrowed at her father’s nod of acquiescence. “What, they sent you so I wouldn’t kill the messenger?”
Lance raised an eyebrow at the dent she left in the metal. “I hardly think that level of caution was uncalled for. I volunteered in the name of keeping the dramatics to a minimum.”
Bethany Anne knew when her father was handling her. “I’m not the one being dramatic, Dad. Maybe I should have let the Ookens have the asteroid. Then the council might get a fucking clue about the gravity of the situation the Federation is rushing headlong into. They don’t appear to understand that the only thing between them and a death that sucks bistok balls is my good fucking nature.”
She closed her eyes and centered herself again. “Harkkat isn’t leaving us with any options. He has to go.”
Lance nodded. “I agree. Unfortunately, he belongs to a rather powerful family. His removal would be problematic, to say the least. Backlash from Leath aside, you know the Noel-ni, the Oggs, and the Yaree will kiss Leath ass come voting. Exile requires a unanimous decision.”
Bethany Anne’s lip curled. “I do recall, yes. However, I don’t give a shit. Neither do I care who Harkkat's family is. If he can’t be removed openly, there’s only one way to get rid of him before his selfishness screws us all.”
Lance narrowed his eyes. “Assassination is a risky move.”
Bethany Anne snickered without humor. “I was talking about having him assigned to Devon, where he can’t so much as sneeze without CEREBRO recording it. If I’m being dragged back into this circus, the only role I’m willing to play is ringmaster.” She tapped her lip. “I hope Harkkat likes paperwork.”
Lance pushed his empty plate to the side and sat back with his hands laced over his stomach. “You say that like I don’t know you. I can’t say I hate the idea of getting Harkkat’s bloated ego out of my way. His theatrics are diverting the council from the real issue at hand.”
Bethany Anne shrugged. “Let the punishment fit the dumbshit who earned it.” She tapped her nails on the table. “We need the council focusing on the Seven. I’ve been thinking about how to better protect the Federation’s borders from the Ookens.”
Lance shook his head. “You’re talking about multiple star systems in numerous galaxies, spread across three dimensions and millions of light years. It’s not like you can drop a BYPS over it like you did with Earth.”
“Can’t I?” Bethany Anne’s mouth twitched. “That sounds like a challenge to me.”
Lance paled. “Bethany Anne. Think of the cost alone, never mind the logistics of covering that much of space. How do you expect CEREBRO to be effective if they’re spread so thin?”
“All very good questions,” Bethany Anne agreed. “That I will find the answer to, or one of my people will. I have Team BMW back in my pocket and don’t forget, it was Tina who solved the problem and got the original system working.”
Lance made a mental note to send his apologies to Bobcat, Marcus, William, and Tina.
At some point when he wasn’t anywhere near them. “What about the short-term?” he continued. “The Ooken are pressing at the outer edges now. Our people out there can’t wait for you to intervene personally.”
Bethany Anne ceased her tapping. “They don’t have to. I’ve been working on something since Nickie almost died.” She opened her internal HUD and sent Lance the project files. “As soon as Eve was done writing the children’s gameworld, I had her get back to work on this.”
Lance’s eyes flicked rapidly as he skimmed the pages. He came to something that made him stop and read it again, then a third time. “This is a big move. Enhancing the already enhanced doesn’t always go to plan. Look at what happened with Terry Henry’s crew when their nanocytes were updated. There was an incident report.”
Bethany Anne accessed the report to remind hersel
f of the contents. Lance waited the couple of seconds it took for Bethany Anne to switch into a much faster mode, find, and read the contents, then to return her focus to him.
“Yeah, I saw this. I still don’t want basic advancements out there, but there had to be a compromise. We have the ability to tweak any part of the genome we can isolate, which is all of it when it comes to humans. Stronger skin isn’t a huge change, considering the enhancements most of them already have. I don’t see that it’s moral to ask anyone to face the Ookens unless I give them some protection against being flayed alive by the teeth in their tentacles. I need everyone able to fight, not bleed.”
Lance continued to read, keeping a lid on his reaction until he was finished. Then he sat there for a moment, thinking it through. “So, you’re talking about a minor adjustment. And you’re planning to come into the Federation? That’s going to stir up a shitstorm.”
Bethany Anne nodded her agreement. “Nevertheless, it’s how it’s going to work. Experience tells me greed wins out over fear of reprisal more times than not. There’s no fucking way I’m going to risk the ship carrying the upgraded tech going ‘missing.’” Her smile returned with the memory of her stepping-down ceremony. “I did promise I would be watching, and that I would be back if anyone fucked with the Federation.”
“I recall your words being a little sweeter at the time.” Lance watched Bethany Anne’s expression shift from thoughtful to determined in a blink. “I should know better than to hope that look means you’re not about to raise hell. What are you planning?”
Bethany Anne put her hand on her chest and gave her father an innocent look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve changed my mind about the council’s delegation. Tell them to stay where they are. I will meet with them at Red Rock to discuss any concerns they have about breaches of the treaty.”
“This isn’t what you wanted,” Lance argued, his forehead wrinkling with concern. “The whole point of stepping down was so you weren’t restricted by political bullshit again.” He sighed. “It’s not good for you.”
The Valkyrie Returns (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 7) Page 6
