by SK Benton
"Ok, point taken. Next item. I'm trying to figure out the fastest way to get to the ship captains - to get them to ally with us. Any suggestions?" asked Bagatelle.
"Show them vids of the Vrol. That should sufficiently scare the crap out of them. No military man in his right mind would consider allowing anything like that anywhere near our system without first using anti-matter bombs."
"Genius. And Gabriel can do what you did and show what they look like up close too, right?"
"Actually, Luigi Bagatelle, I would make you look like one. I believe the effect would be more… penetrating."
"Max, when this is all done and over with, you're getting a huge promotion."
"Actually G, I'd prefer a huge vacation."
Bagatelle and Gabriel sat in the captain's quarters on the ADF Ronald Reagan, waiting for Captain Lars Jorgensen to arrive. When he did, he dropped his coffee on the floor out of sheer surprise. Pulling out a small sidearm he trained it on his former fellow officer.
"Luigi. Not nice to see you. Where have you been?"
"Hey Lars. Vacation. Old-Earth. Germany, actually. Oh, this is Gabe. He's kinda like family to me. And he's immortal. Don't piss him off."
Jorgensen pointed his charge pistol at Gabriel and fired off twenty rounds to no effect.
It pissed Gabriel off. Big time.
When Jorgensen woke up, he was on his bed, arms tied down. Bagatelle and Gabriel were drinking tea they had procured from Jorgensen's food dispenser.
"Hiya, Lars, old buddy! Welcome back. Told ya not to piss him off."
"Traitor. You belong in a grave."
"Nope. But we got something to show you. Gabriel, if you could please?"
The archangel merely put his index finger to Lars' forehead. One minute later the ship's captain was nearly in tears. Bagatelle released Jorgensen from his bonds, letting him sit up.
"Everything… it's all a lie. How could I have believed?"
Lars was experiencing elevated blood pressure, as he was overwhelmed by remorse. Gabriel could have calmed the man, but chose not to, preferring to let him suffer from his own guilt.
"So, they're really insects? Like, bugs?"
"They're biologically insectoid, with exoskeletons, compound eyes, and they communicate via a hive mind. Their spacecraft are not FTL-capable, but they are organic and self-repairing," Bagatelle informed his old friend.
"How long before they arrive?"
"Around four years. Johnson is planning on emigrating to Earth before they show up."
"Huh? Why would he do that? You showed me a dead planet."
"Isn't it obvious? He's leaving Azul System to the Vrol. They easily destroyed Earth, and Johnson has swung a deal with them. Lars, we need to take our worlds back, and we need your help. There are four FTL-capable ships left. We already disabled most of the draeders, and you are going with us to talk to the remaining ship captains."
"Remaining? Like, the other three?"
"No, the other two. Smith is dead."
"When? I haven't heard anything yet. What happened?"
"A short while ago. Aneurism. It was instantaneous. He was also in league with Chairman Johnson."
"Coincidence?"
"Not at all," said Gabriel.
"So, you killed him?"
"No. I just poked his brain. It failed on its own."
"Murderer! You killed an innocent man!"
Bagatelle instantly smelled fear emanating from Lars, but it wasn't fear of present company. It was fear of being discovered. Bagatelle had not yet mastered his senses, so he couldn't tell the difference, but Lars Jorgensen was hiding something. The deposed rear admiral watched as his archangel companion and his former fellow officer continued to argue - for a moment.
"No, I allowed a vampire to die. Watch your tone with me, monkey."
"Maybe you should die, bastard!"
"I think not," Gabriel growled. Then, flicking his head to the side, Gabriel made an odd clicking sound and Bagatelle watched as Lars Joergensen's skull shrunk slightly, contracting with a grotesque crackling. His eyes sickeningly drew back into their sockets and then drained of ocular fluid, which ran down his sallow cheeks, some of it leaving in perverse squirts. Grabbing his face in desperation and attempting in vain to push his emptied eyesacks back into his face, Jorgensen screamed as gray matter leaked out of his ear canals down onto the sides of his neck. Then, dropping to the ground, he was dead. It wasn't a merciful demise - it was intended to be horrifically painful, and Gabriel succeeded in that aspect.
"My God! Gabriel! What the Hell did you do?" screamed Bagatelle.
"I hastened a process that was already in motion," the archangel plainly stated, without any emotion.
"No! You killed him! He could have helped us!"
"Luigi. I read his heart - I tasted his soul. He had no intention of assisting us in any way. He would have betrayed you as easily as he would change his undergarments. There are evil normals, and he was among their legion. What I did, I did for this odd, newfound love I have recently discovered for mankind. Please, do not make me regret my decisions."
Bagatelle gazed at the partially disassembled fleshsack on the floor of the small room. He was horrified for a moment, but gathered his senses and realized that there was going to be a lot of death in the near future.
"Gabe, I have to trust you, don't I?"
"Yes, lest you die."
"Ok. Get rid of the body. Let's go to the next ship."
###
Max and his father Michael were standing in front of the empty Mira Flores Yacht Club in Lima, Peru, looking out over the ocean, as the younger of the two wondered which housing they were going to use to house the unfortunate families from the Exodus ships. Analyzing the area, Max started to realize it wouldn't be prudent to house the families in that location, so he put his hand on his father's shoulder, bringing him to a small coastal town in the north of the former country - the town of Pimentel.
"Where are we, Max?"
"A little surf town. It's sufficiently far enough away from any decent highways, so we can be assured that the inhabitants won't try to take off anytime soon."
"And what of the vampire family? Do you still want to transport them to Siberia?"
"Max looked out over the rising tide of the Pacific Ocean, watching as the waves started to break closer and closer to shore.
"No. They die. No more messing around."
Chapter 36 - Prep
"You will stay here and live your lives with the supplies we have provided. If you attempt to escape, your brains will melt," Max cautioned, while lying to the former occupants of refurbished Exodus barges.
"How can you be so cruel, traitor?" asked Jonas Marks, a former science division tech who was very familiar with the government's version of Max Gunnarsson.
"He is no traitor, ye of inferior flesh," Michael barked out.
"Hey, Mike, it's ok. Really - they have no idea otherwise. Look, Mr. umm….. Marks - everything you have been told is a lie, and - "
"Deceit! You're attempting to take over our world! We've been warned by Chairman Johnson! He's a good and decent man!"
Max looked at his biological father and sighed.
"Siberia?"
The Taxiarch nodded his head. Mere nanoseconds later, Jonas Marks and his wife found themselves in an abandoned, rickety shack in a very cold place. Max Gunnarsson had finally learned to stop putting up with people's crap.
Michael quickly looked at the Marks' two young children, one a boy and the other an adolescent girl, and caused them to lose consciousness before they burst out in tears. They were innocents in the grand scheme of things, and he couldn't banish them to the Siberian wastelands due to their parents' ignorance.
"Michael, how should I deal with the kids? Leave them her in the care of a family, or take them to the closest village to Krynos' castle?"
"That all depends, my son. Do you plan on returning these families once your objectives have been accomplished?"
"Um, yeah. I guess so. Honestly I never thought about it, but it would be kind of a crappy move to leave them here forever."
"Then I would keep the children here in the care of a family. As we are providing for their every need it will not be a burden upon them, and they will build a sense of community anyway."
"Ok, but they're going to freak out now that their parents are gone."
"I can implant suggestive memories into the minds of everyone. They will believe the Marks had recently died. They shall be sad, but it will give them a sense of finality."
"If you can do that, then why don't I get the parents and bring them here? You could suggest that Johnson is a bad guy and that they don't like him, couldn't you?"
"Yes, but the adult mind is already developed and harder to implant into. It is easy to eliminate the current day from memory, but years, months or even mere weeks are much more difficult and sometimes the memories come back. Worse, it can cause psychosis," responded Max's biological father.
Thinking back, when he had first met Draagh, Bagatelle and Jennie, the old mage had the other two hypnotized, and Max had asked if Draagh could make Jennie nice (because she only wished to kill him at the time). Draagh claimed he could not, and what Michael just told him further corroborated the Primulus' story.
"Ok, Mike. Give everyone a memory and we'll work the kids into the group."
###
"Hello, is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me? I think we have a problem," Alicia Vasquez thought out while holding her finger down on her comm device. To her surprise, her mind was flooded with responses from near-everyone with a comm.
"I don't know if this is a good thing or bad. But Johnson has disappeared off the map. There's an incredible buzz on all government channels, and a lot of confusion, but no one - and I mean no one, knows where he went."
"That could be a very good thing, or it could be a very bad thing. Right now it's good, because we're porting the families out of the barges and over to Old-Earth," responded Max.
"Where are you taking them? Lima, Peru?" she asked.
"No, but close - just under 800 kilometers north. The town was called Pimentel. It's on the beach, clean, and far enough away from the Pan Americana Highway that they'll stay put until we retrieve them later. Now that we're all on the comm, G, how are you and Gabriel doing? Have you got all of the ship captains on board with us?"
Everyone waited for Bagatelle to respond, with the silence seeming like a mini-eternity. Then, after roughly thirty seconds he finally blurted out, "We have two cooperative captains, but will have four ships. I'll take the Revolution and I'm assigning the command of the Ronald Reagan to someone trusted."
"So you were unable to successfully convince two of the captains to join us?" asked Jennie.
"One was a vampire and the other was a Johnson sympathizer. Even after revealing the truth to the normal he attempted to deceive us," answered Gabriel.
"Hey, we can send them to Siberia," said Max.
"That will not be possible," responded Gabriel
"Gabe killed them," said Bagatelle.
"Oh great. So, G, who are you thinking of putting on the Reagan?"
"You, Max - who else?"
"Are we getting promotions? I want a promotion!" Jennie called out, only half-joking.
###
That evening, the entire team was to gather in the main dining hall, as Krynos had called for a dinner celebration. Being a lycan king, he needed no excuse to call for a party, but liked to have a reason at the very least. His reason this time - to bestow promotions, and to call for all troops to assist in the defense of Azul System. Even though Krynos had no authority over Azul military, he was an excellent figurehead for handing out medals and such. In most cases, a small group would join him in the high table, but there were way too many people involved to sit at his personal table.
Alfie, the castle's master carpenter, was commissioned to expand the space of the stage, and, along with his now journeyman assistant, created a secondary level, where most would sit - still above the rest of the lycans of the Rhönen Dominion. In all, it was an impressive addition and would facilitate many of the great crowd who would assist in the upcoming battles. As the hour of the festivities neared, Max saw his Hollywood friends in a hallway, both heading for the main dining hall.
"Girls, I know Krynos is going to ask me to sit up at his table, but I want you two to be up there. I can stay at the mid table with Jen and Liliana," said Max
"Um, yeah, it's ok Maxie. No worries. I'm not into being up that high ‘n stuff," Jessica responded comically.
"Oh, it's not for the reasons you think. You've never been to one of Krynos' parties. It's totally unsafe down near the floor. Can be downright deadly, actually. I can keep a shield around my family, and you'll be much safer up above. Plus, it's really cool sitting up there. Trust me."
"Totally… unsafe? What do you mean, Max?" asked Pandy, with a touch of fear in her voice.
"Let's just say that things start to fly around. Well, and people too. It's a load of fun, though."
Liliana approached her father and his two friends, skipping along without a care in the world. She wasn't wearing a party dress, as she so often would wear to official functions, but this time was dressed down in an attractive battle suit of scaly, emerald green leather.
"Pandy! We are to attend a party now! I am so excited! Shall we sit together?"
"Um, hey sweety. Nice outfit! Actually, Max said I have to sit up with King Krynos. Apparently it can get dangerous down below. What kind of leather is that?"
"Oh, it can become quite dangerous! Yes, I must agree with my father. Plus, the king's table offers an excellent view of the proceedings. But no worries - we can join in the dancing while behind a protective shield. And this is dragon hide," she casually added with great pride.
"Um, seriously? There are dragons?"
"Not anymore, silly. But grandfather Draagh took me dragon watching in the past once. They were quite impressive in their time."
"Gotta love that magic," quipped Jessica.
The main dining hall was packed to capacity, with many on foot, holding their plates in their hands as they enjoyed the evening meal. Krynos sat at the high table, accompanied by Donus, Michael, Gabriel, Jessica and Pandy. The two girls hadn't thought of sitting at Krynos' table as an honor - that is, until they were actually there. Everyone who entered would first approach the high table and then bow. Pandy thought it was incredibly cool. Jessica was totally uncomfortable. Neither Michael nor Gabriel really cared.
At the secondary tier, Max sat with his mother, Janice, Jennie, Liliana, Draagh and Bagatelle. As everyone plowed through their multicourse meal, the soothing tunes of the Beatles played in the background. Krynos had recently come to enjoy music of the 20th century, especially that of the so-called British Invasion.
"This music is annoying," said Jennie.
"I rather like it," Michael countered from the high table, as he tapped his toes. "It reminds me of my home of so many years."
"Friends! Rhönenians! Countrymen! I welcome all to this festival. Now that we have consumed our evening meal, let us begin to imbibe in our most excellent reserves of honey mead. I have been informed that Commander Max Gunnarsson shall provide a sampling of the famous Malbec fruit drink in the near future. But until that moment arrives our honey mead shall suffice."
The king paused momentarily and then continued, "I have some announcements to make. First of all, we have had a tremendous amount of my soldiers volunteer to travel to past-future and fight for Commander Gunnarsson's home world's right to exist. I now say we make a drive to offer lycanhood to any able-bodied normal who wishes to join in our efforts. Aside from this, he who volunteers shall also be joined by his family in our bloodline. Now gone are the days of only allowing a single male from a normal family to join our ranks. Our numbers diminish, and it is our solemn duty to repopulate these lands with our kind."
Cheers erupted from the hall, as soldiers stom
ped their feet in appreciation, and clapped while throwing things, a few of which flew over Krynos' table, nearly hitting the girls in the head.
"Lili! You were right!" Pandy called out to her little friend in the table below. Liliana looked up, bright-eyed, and smiled as she nodded sincerely.
"Enough!" Krynos called out. "We are not yet ready to destroy Alfie's good works. I have yet to make more announcements."
The hall fell silent while everyone waited for Krynos' next speech.
"We have fought many battles together, and we have survived. And although our brothers and sisters from Azul, and an alternate Earth of the past, have rank in this world, they require promotions. In their world, as in ours, rank gives order, and this order needs to be addressed. So, as I have been kindly asked to confer the first promotion in rank to the highest of their world, I ask Rear Admiral Luigi Bagatelle to approach the high table."
As everyone cheered and applauded, Bagatelle sat stunned. It wasn't that he was surprised about the fact that Krynos was going to confer a higher rank upon him (which he already knew), but that the lycan king actually got his last name right for the very first time. He stood and got up in front of Krynos.
"My king. I thank you for many things. However, I thank you most for your manner in addressing me," Bagatelle stated.
Krynos merely looked at him and gave the Azulian a kind wink.
"Luigi Bagatelle, you came here as a refugee. Shunned by your own world, betrayed by your leadership, you took a low position and strove to be the best you could be. Dear Luigi, I see you now as a peer - as a brother, and I wish to fight by your side to protect your worlds. In this land your rank was that of ensign. On your world it was nearly as high as one could get in what is called a navy. We have no navy here, as we have no ships that neither float upon water, nor soar through the skies, but we do honor those of like mind and ability. Rear Admiral Luigi Bagatelle, in the absence of a superior officer of your military, I hereby assume the responsibility - and the pleasure of bestowing upon you the commission of the rank of Admiral of the Navy, Azul Military."
