Teeth & Claws_A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure

by Michael-Scott Earle

  Kasta moved to give me a hug after Eve, and the android surprised me by planting a kiss on my lips. Then she giggled and stepped away as Zea rolled her eyes.

  I embraced Paula last, but as we pulled away from each other, I cupped her chin with my left hand, pulled her face up, and kissed her on the mouth. Our tongues made contact briefly, and she let out a light moan of relief. When I pulled away, her face was red, and her blue eyes stared into mine with an intense fire.

  “Be strong,” I said as I turned to the four women that I loved.

  They nodded at me, gave each other nervous smiles, and then climbed into the pod.

  “We will watch your first few minutes through the observer drone,” Madalena said as she checked each woman’s safety harness.

  “That’s fine,” Zea said. “We’ll be fine. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Yep,” Paula said as she cleared her throat.

  “It will be,” Eve said as she turned to me. “I will see you in a few weeks, my love.”

  “See you all in a few weeks,” I said as I gave the four women one last look. Then Madalena stepped out of the pod, closed the hatch, and moved over to the control terminal.

  A few technicians were sitting at terminals in the room, but they made way for the Prime Valkyrie, and then Madalena hit a button on the computer that began the ejection process for the pod.

  The white egg-like ship lowered into the ejection tunnel from the bay where it had previously sat for a few meters, then its engine engaged and the small vessel slid away from us as the safety hatch closed.

  My heart seemed to drop with it.

  “How soon until we have a visual?” I asked Madalena.

  “Fifteen minutes,” she said as she handed me a data tablet. “This is your schedule for the day. We have ten minutes to watch them. Then you wanted to meet with your mother and sister, and then speak with Yu before we engaged the warpdrive for Idonan space.”

  “Yeah,” I said as I looked at the schedule. I was a bit frustrated that I couldn’t spend more time watching Eve, Zea, Paula, and Kasta go through their rite, but I knew it would be pointless. I was powerless to help them, and I had to stay on task.

  “They are capable women,” Sivaha said as she yawned and covered her pretty mouth with the palm of her hand. “All Nordar that wish to be in the military must complete the rite. They will not have a problem with it.”

  “I know,” I said. “I still worry.”

  “Of course,” she replied with a shrug of her slender shoulders. “But worrying doesn’t help.” Sivaha was wearing a strapless black summer dress that rose high up on her perfect legs. After she finished speaking, she took one of the seats next to Madalena, crossed her legs slowly, and then fixed her brown eyes on me with a smoldering look. “If you are looking for someone to help, I have something I need your assistance with back in your bedroom on Persephone.”

  “Ha,” I chuckled as I turned to Madalena. “What did you learn from the assassins last night?”

  “Not much more,” she said with a frown. “I had the survivors moved into a cell on Persephone so that we can give them back to the Waymund, as you wished.”

  “They will deny it,” Sivaha sighed as she looked at her manicure. “Better off just killing them. Let Hel judge their sins.”

  “It might come to that,” I said.

  “The guards performed another inspection of all warriors stationed on the Odin Geirr,” Madalena continued. “Twenty warriors have been identified as possible moles, but since they have not been awarded aegis armor, it is hard to know their exact affiliations. I have moved them to ships and job roles that will ensure they have little leverage if they are traitors.”

  “How many warriors are stationed on this fortress?” I asked.

  “One hundred and eighty thousand,” Madalena said.

  “Shit,” I said as my mind spun for a few seconds. “So only twenty of them? Can you be sure?”

  “Having a group of spies infiltrate another clan is no small matter,” Sivaha said as she re-crossed her legs. “I had ten men on this vessel, and only two hundred or so spread throughout the entire Vaish navy. Information comes in slowly and sporadically since it has to be passed to other trade ships. Orchestrating an assassination attempt like this would be something many years in the making. I’m not surprised they intended to kill the Prime Valkyrie’s father and then adjusted the plans for you.”

  “You have spies in my navy?” I raised one of my eyebrows at Sivaha.

  “Well, not anymore,” she said with a dry laugh. “Now they are your people. But that was how I found out about your rise to power so quickly. I got lucky and one of my units managed to submit their report almost immediately after King Tanal was overthrown.”

  “Do you have any other spies in the other clans?” I asked.

  “Of course.” Sivaha winked at me and then turned her eyes to Madalena. “I’m sure the Vaish do as well. Crows are notorious for having eyes and ears everywhere.”

  “Husband, you have been privy to all the information that we have gathered from our units at the other clans. There was not much to report besides rough navy vessel numbers and system locations.” Madalena nodded down at the datapad in my hand.

  “I’ve gone over it,” I replied as I turned back to Sivaha.

  “I’ve given Madalena all I know,” the silver-haired woman shrugged. “I like your plan. Idonan is the least aggressive of the clans. Once they see the size of your…” Sivaha’s brown eyes drifted down to the crotch of my tight flight suit “... magnificent armada, they will join.”

  “We should not expect things to be so easy,” Madalena warned.

  “Perhaps not with Waymund, since they have just demonstrated their unscrupulous tactics, but Idonan will be easy.”

  “That is why we are going there first,” I said. Then I pointed at the monitor where Madalena sat. “Are we good to get a visual on them yet?”

  “Five more minutes,” Madalena said after she sat up and glanced at the display. “They are about to land.”

  “Alright,” I replied as I began to pace around the floor a bit.

  Sivaha and Madalena watched me for a few moments, and then the silver-haired woman cleared her throat.

  “They will be fine. You do not need to worry.”

  “I’d worry if it was you two. I don’t like putting any of my friends at risk.”

  “Friends?” Sivaha asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Lovers, wives, you know what I mean.”

  “Of course,” she said as she smirked at me. “Will you take the blonde sisters as wives?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “The tone of your question makes me think that you want me to take them,” I said as I looked at her.

  “I am indifferent,” Sivaha said with a shrug. “Well, I should say that I like them. Especially the Kasta one. She is funny.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “However, I can keep you satisfied in our bed every night,” Sivaha said, “so you do not require another woman.”

  “Ahem,” Madalena cleared her throat.

  “Ahh, well, the Prime Valkyrie and I can both keep you satisfied,” Sivaha said as she tilted her head slightly to the brunette woman. “I know men get bored easily. Especially kings. They want a taste of all different types of women.”

  “It’s not quite like that,” I said. “I love them.”

  “I know,” Sivaha said. “I can feel your passion for Eve and Zea. Your feelings haven’t developed for the twins. Perhaps they will. They are under the assumption that they will submit to you once they finish their rite. Then you might as well marry them. My question was more to clarify if that was what you want.”

  “I’ll figure it out after the rite,” I said. “I need to focus on the next two steps.”

  “The observer drone is now online,” Madalena said, and then she pressed a few buttons on the terminal in front of her.

&
nbsp; The screens on the wall filled with white, and it took my brain half a moment to realize that I was looking at the snowy side of a mountain.

  The pod was lodged in some snow, and I saw footprints leading away from the landing site, down the snowy slope, and down into the distance.

  “It will start tracking them,” Madalena said as the drone began to lift higher into the air. The drone’s lens soon focused on the location of the four women about half a mile down the slope, and it began to float to them.

  “See?” Sivaha said. “They are fine.”

  “Yeah,” I sighed with relief. The four women were walking in pairs, with Eve and Paula in the front and Zea and Kasta in the rear. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the two blonde women in the rear wore big smiles on their faces and I saw Paula roll her eyes.

  “They will have another five miles of walking before they hit the tree line,” Madalena said. “As long as they make it deeper into the forest by nightfall, and get cover from the wind, they should be fine.”

  “Wind?” I asked.

  “There is a small snow storm coming,” Madalena toggled one of the screens, and I could see the observer’s location and a purple blob moving from the east.

  “That looks pretty fucking big,” I said as I looked at the mass.

  “They will be fine,” Madalena said, but I could sense a bit of trepidation from her.

  “Husband,” Sivaha said before I could reply to Madalena. “There is nothing more you can do for them. If they want to be Nordar, they should stand on their own. The four of them are capable women. They need to be if they wish to serve you.”

  “Agreed,” Madalena said as she nodded at Sivaha. “We have a deadline. Our hyperdrives must be engaged at the exact moment of our scheduled departure so we will arrive in Idonan space with the rest of the fleet. You said you wished to see your mother, sister, and Yu. Should we go now?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I looked at the screen for a moment longer. I’d drive myself crazy staring at it for the next week if left to my own devices, but I had a mission.

  I had to save the galaxy from the SAVO and to do that, I needed to unite the Nordar Blood Overlord Clans.

  “Let’s go say goodbye to my sister and mother,” I said, and my two wives nodded, gave one last look at the screens, and then stood.

  Then we left the observation room.

  “When was the last time you spoke to your sister and mother?” Sivaha asked as she wrapped her arm around mine.

  “A few days ago,” I said as the three of us sat in the hovercraft.

  “You don’t want to take them with us?” she asked as she brushed some of her silver hair back from her beautiful face.

  “Naw,” I answered. “My mom has worked her entire life, I want her to be able to relax, and my sister--”

  “Has not come to her senses,” Madalena growled, and Sivaha raised an eyebrow with surprise.

  “She’s still hung up with Yu?” Sivaha asked.

  “Yeah,” I sighed, and I could feel the anger pour from Madalena. Sivaha must have felt it too since she looked at the Prime Valkyrie and frowned.

  “How can we fix her?” Sivaha asked.

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “It is like she is brainwashed.”

  “What does Eve say?”

  “She said that my sister has memories of Yu being kind to her.” I shrugged. “Hanekawa has these feelings for him. They are real for her.”

  “Perhaps it is just youth,” Sivaha said as she gave my bicep a squeeze. “Younger women can be smitten with a man sometimes and then ignore all reason.”

  “You and Madalena both look young,” I said as I smirked at her.

  “The Prime Valkyrie and I were born the same year,” she replied as she winked at me, “but I know you aren’t asking our age.

  “I am your husband,” I chuckled. “If anyone should know your age, it should be me.”

  “We are both young enough to be smitten with you,” Madalena said.

  “Ha!” Sivaha laughed. “The Prime Valkyrie does have a sense of humor after all. I love it.”

  “Your sister will come around,” Madalena said to me. “It will just take time. It is good she is with your mother, and that your mother is on your side. That will eventually persuade her.”

  “I think you should just kill Yu,” Sivaha said. “Once he is dead, your sister will forget about him.”

  “Hmm,” I said as I thought through the queen’s words. I wondered if she was projecting her own situation a bit on my scenario. I had killed her husband, but she seemed to have forgotten about him. For half a moment I wondered if she would forget about me if I died, but then I realized the thought was foolish. We were bound together by her submission so I could sense her love for me, and that binding also meant she would probably die when I did.

  “I disagree,” Madalena said.

  “Of course you do,” Sivaha sighed, “You are no fun.”

  “He may still be of use to us. He seems to know our enemy.”

  “Yet he isn’t forward with the information,” Sivaha said with a shrug. “Perhaps if we took off a finger or two his tongue would loosen.”

  “I’m not going to do that,” I said. “Yu’s been sitting in the cell since we got here. He hasn’t seen my sister or talked to anyone. We’ve been giving him shit food, stale water, and a bucket to shit in. You break prisoners with small creature comforts and appeals to their vanity.”

  “Well, I hope that works,” Sivaha said. “And if it doesn’t I’m fine to just put a bullet through his cranium.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I chuckled and smiled at her.

  We didn’t speak for the next few minutes as the hovercraft worked through the inner guts of the city in the space fortress. We eventually reached the castle again, and then my guards checked the surroundings for half a minute before they let us get off the transport.

  “Do you wish to meet with them alone?” Madalena asked as we walked to my glass-looking castle.

  “No,” I answered. “I’d like you both to be there. My sister and mom like you.”

  My wives nodded at my words but didn’t say anything more. After a few minutes of walking with the guards, we reached the area of the castle that had been set aside for my mother and sister. Guards patrolled the main passages to this wing, and there were instructions not to let either of my two family members leave, but the castle was luxurious, and both my sister and mother had enjoyed daily spa visits.

  “They are expecting you in this room,” Madalena said as the guards led us to a plush sitting room with a central fire pit, a row of plush leather couches, and tables of dried meats, pickled vegetables, bread rolls, and carafes of wine.

  Sivaha slid onto a couch and began to fix herself a small plate of food, but before I could join her, the guards brought in my mother and sister.

  “Hey,” I said as I moved to greet the two women. “How has your stay been?”

  “Wonderful,” my mother said with a sigh as she returned my hug. “I still feel strange having all these people attend to me every day.”

  “The hot springs are beyond incredible,” my sister said as she gave me a hug. I was a bit surprised by her display of affection since we had done nothing but argue about Yu every time we spoke.

  “I’m going to be leaving the Odin Geirr for a few weeks,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Hanekawa said with a chuckle, “you already told us.”

  “Just reminding you,” I laughed. “I wanted to see you both for a bit before I left.”

  “Where are you going again?” Hanekawa asked as she sat next to Sivaha on the couch.

  “We are visiting another clan,” I answered.

  “Why?” she asked as she began to grab some food.

  “We need help fighting against the SAVO,” I replied.

  “Have you talked to Calvin?” my sister asked. “He’ll help you. His mission was to defeat them and save the galaxy.”

  I closed my eyes and too
k a deep breath to control my anger, but before I could answer, Madalena spoke.

  “We have spoken with Calvin, and he is helping us.”

  “Really?” Hanekawa seemed surprised by the Prime Valkyrie’s answer, and both of my wives exchanged a quick glance with each other.

  “Yes,” Madalena said. “There is still some bitterness though, but we are making progress.”

  “Bitterness?” she asked.

  “Your hero tortured Adam,” Sivaha said before she took a sip of white wine.

  “He didn’t though,” Hanekawa said after she rolled her eyes. “He told me he didn’t.”

  “It is unfortunate that he lied to you,” Sivaha said.

  “He would never lie to me,” Hanekawa said, and I had to grab a glass of wine and force some down my throat to keep from screaming. I knew the conversation would go this way. It had been this way every time we spoke, but I still wanted to see her before I left.

  “Believing that Yu did not lie to you, and never tortured Adam, is the equivalent of thinking that your brother, Eve, Zea, Paula, Kasta, Sivaha, and I are lying to you.” Madalena frowned as she spoke, and Hanekawa’s eyes narrowed.

  “So, you are all ganging up on me?” she huffed.

  “You need to be slapped until all the idiot thoughts splash out of your ears,” Sivaha hissed.

  “I’d like to see you try,” my sister growled, and the tension in the room quadrupled.

  “Hey,” I said as I moved to the couch and gestured for the two women to sit apart.

  Sivaha raised an eyebrow at my sister and gave her an unconcerned look, as the other woman huffed, stood, and then sat so that I could take the spot on the couch between them.

  “Sister,” Madalena said to Hanekawa. “Your brother, my husband, is an amazing man. Our people have been fractured for countless generations, and he just united two of the clans. He has been chosen by Odin to complete this task and then confront the Draugr. You choose not to believe that Yu performed experiments on him, but that belief is incorrect.”