Enter Into Valhalla

by Michael Anderle

  Izanami left the console she was at to glide over to Bethany Anne’s side. “The Leath have no chance against the Ooken.”

  Bethany Anne pressed her lips together. “I know. That’s why I’m going over there now.”

  Michael handed his controls to Izanami and left his seat in a hurry. “You’re not going alone.”

  Bethany Anne looked over her shoulder as she headed for the elevator. “You’re not going without armor.”

  Izanami shook her head fondly as Michael threw Bethany Anne’s decree back at her. “I had a feeling this might happen. I had armor brought up from storage. It’s waiting in your fighter Pod.”

  Leath Staging Post

  Harkkat left the command center, wishing for the millionth time since he’d arrived in-system that he’d stayed on Red Rock, where he would have been safe. He walked without direction, looking for a place to hunker down until the battle was over.

  He had sent a plea for assistance to the council, although whether they would act after learning he had gone behind their backs with this operation, he couldn’t guess.

  Harkkat indulged his bad temper, finding it preferable to the fear squirming in the pit of his stomach. The representative’s soldiers rushed around, paying no attention to the Secretary.

  It was the worst possible situation he could have found himself in.

  The staging post had none of the charm of the Federation stations he was used to. This place was little more than a series of hollowed-out caves dug into the asteroid, and now, to top it all off, they were under attack.

  Harkkat hated it all. He hated the position the representatives had forced him into, and he hated the duty—and his family matriarch—that had brought him here. Most of all, he hated that he’d had no choice but to beg for the General to step in.

  An alarm blared, indicating another breach.

  The realization of how stupid he’d been to play detective instead of employing professionals hit home when he saw the camera feeds from around the breach. He flicked through the battle reports in his holo, seeing defeat at every turn. This was the same insatiable enemy who had murdered Glureg, he was certain.

  Harkkat’s mind refused to process those tentacles. The image slid off, and he was just fine with that. He decided he would be better off back in the command center.

  The enemy would be on them soon, and Harkkat hadn’t seen much in the way of interior defenses while he’d been here. In fact, this whole operation was lacking, save for the battlecruisers the enemy had taken out with their first salvo.

  He fought against the tide of soldiers heading for the breach, emerging somewhat bruised from the crush.

  “Have you no respect?” he called after the soldiers, shaking his fist.

  He might as well have spoken Torcellan for all the effect it had.

  Harkkat cursed the ignorant soldiers under his breath as he continued on his way. There was still a fair walk ahead; he’d come farther from the center of the asteroid than he’d thought.

  The command center was just as hectic as the corridors.

  Harkkat slipped in and found an empty seat at one of the workstations in the communications area. He rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes, trying to block out the chaos so he could think his way out of the predicament he’d gotten himself into.

  He was thrown off his train of thought by a rough poke to the back of his head.

  “What makes you so special that you get to nap while we’re fighting for our lives?” the Leath responsible demanded hotly. “Pick up your overly-pampered ass and get to work!”

  Harkkat lifted his head to glare at the officer. “Do you know who I am, General?”

  The general picked up the headset from in front of Harkkat and thrust it at him. “I don’t care if you’re King Shit here on a royal visit. We’re under attack, so get to coordinating.”

  Harkkat accepted the headset miserably.

  The battle continued outside the asteroid. There were too many ships for Harkkat to keep track of. The messages came in thick and fast from the Leath ships Gating in on the representatives’ orders.

  More, an unidentified colossus appeared to be fighting in their corner.

  Harkkat was mystified as to the ship’s identity. It was like nothing he’d seen, Federation or Empire before it.

  He had little time to think about it.

  “We’ve been breached again!” came the cry from somewhere across the room. “We have unknown combatants in the ore processing chamber.”

  Harkkat surreptitiously accessed the camera feeds to catch a glimpse of the next misfortune to befall them.

  There were just two of them. Human, one male, one female.

  The shock turned Harkkat’s blood cold. No wonder General Reynolds had been so insistent they avoid this part of space! He found himself on his feet without realizing he was standing. “It cannot be,” he murmured, still not believing his eyes. “She wouldn’t dare.”

  The General who had struck Harkkat earlier sneered at him. “Why are you not at your station?”

  Harkkat cast the camera feed to the gigantic screen at the back of the room and lifted a hand to point at the black-haired, red-eyed human tearing the monstrous invaders asunder without lifting any more than a finger.

  His next words were heard by every Leath in the command center. “Because this fight is over. The Empress has arrived.”

  Empress, Queen, or Bitch-Who’d-Had-Enough, Bethany Anne strode out of the Etheric into a hot, dark chamber filled with Ooken, casting a wave of concussive energy ahead of her.

  The closest Ooken were knocked back by the impact.

  Bethany Anne cremated them with a blast of superheated air and they crumbled in her wake. She threw up a spark to light the energy pouring from her. The ground beneath her heels melted while she burned every Ooken in her immediate vicinity to ashes.

  Just like Addix had ended up.

  Michael was next to emerge. He took note of Bethany Anne’s position and headed her way at a run.

  He glanced up as he neared the door where Bethany Anne waited and thrust a finger of lightning at the ceiling.

  The Ooken that had been lining up to drop on Bethany Anne fell, stunned by the electricity flowing through its bodies.

  Bethany Anne incinerated the Ooken before it hit the floor. “Good catch,” she told Michael with a smile. “I didn’t see it up there.”

  “They’re everywhere,” Michael remarked with some distaste. “It could take us all day to clear this asteroid.”

  Bethany Anne shrugged as the Ooken around her dropped mindless to the floor. “We don’t need to clear the asteroid, just our path to the control center. Our Pods aren’t going anywhere. Just make sure there aren’t any Ooken left alive to be reprogrammed. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  They left the ore processing area behind and entered the outer corridors of the asteroid.

  The Leath within reacted to the sight of their former Empress as expected, which was to say that most of them ran.

  Those who remained either had no clue who she was or they didn’t care. They were too caught up in making sure they had a next breath to waste it complaining about treaties when their lives hung in the balance.

  Bethany Anne ignored the Leath, having more important things than petty fears to deal with.

  Michel was somewhat less gracious in the face of their ingratitude. Are you sure we can’t just blow the asteroid and be done?

  Unfortunately, no, Bethany Anne replied. I want them alive to spread the word. Everyone in the Federation needs to know exactly who stepped in to save their asses.

  Fair enough, Michael agreed. Perhaps we could speed this along?

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips. Hmmm. You’re right.

  Aren’t I always? Michael grinned.

  In your dreams, maybe, Bethany Anne teased in return. The levity of the moment passed. I need to see who is aboard this station. Or I need ADAM.

  Is ADAM available?

  No. He
can’t extract himself from the Collective at this time.

  Then we need the command center for the asteroid, Michael reasoned. Do you think they copied the interior layout when they decided to use our construction methods?

  Bethany Anne shrugged. It would be a hell of a lot easier if they did.

  Their progress into the inner asteroid was hampered by a pile of Ooken corpses blocking the route at a junction of the main corridor.

  Bethany Anne waved a hand to remove the obstacle, only to be met by a bunch of rifle barrels for her effort.

  A scarred Leath was the first to drop his weapon and step forward with a smile. “Am I glad to see you, Your Highnesses.”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “You’re the only one who is. We need to get to the command center so I can work.”

  The Leath nodded. “Take a left, then another left, then a right. Huge doors, you can’t miss them.”

  Bethany Anne made a note of the Leath’s nametag as they passed him. “Thank you, Sergeant Kirren.”

  “My pleasure, Your Highness,” the sergeant replied cheerfully. “I didn’t agree with you being forced out in the first place.”

  It was news to Bethany Anne that any Leath had regretted her exile. The thought stuck with her while she and Michael followed the directions. Maybe the reception wouldn’t be as frosty as she expected. “Not that it matters,” she murmured.

  Michael’s focus was on the huge double doors. “What doesn’t matter?”

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips, calling on her resolve to get the job done and get the fuck out of there. “Reminding myself I’m not here to stay.” She waved a hand and the doors blew open, startling the Leath inside.

  There was a moment of uproar that died immediately when Bethany Anne stalked in, eyes blazing.

  Michael remained in the doorway, making the Leath who thought of running change their minds rapidly.

  Bethany Anne scanned the rows of workstations. “You are in my world now, a world you are not equipped to leave alive without my assistance. I have little patience for a lengthy discussion. Who is in command here?”

  All eyes in the room landed on two Leath at the far left of the room.

  Bethany Anne looked at the Leath in the military uniform and the one in the robes. “Well?”

  The military Leath pointed at the robed one. “Secretary Harkkat is senior.”

  “The rest of you can go. There are Federation ships here to evacuate you back to Leath.” Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes at the robed Leath. “I recognize that name. You’re the one who instigated all this.”

  Harkkat stared at the military Leath in shock, then flung the headset he’d been wearing at him. “Oh, now it suits you. A fine general you are.” He turned back to Bethany Anne, excuses falling from his lips.

  Bethany Anne strode over and picked the Secretary up by the back of his robes. “There’s no time for this. I want Communications. Which area?”

  Harkkat pointed wordlessly at his station.

  Bethany Anne took a small cylindrical device out of a compartment in her armor and placed it on the holopad in the console. “Izanami.”

  There were a few involuntary screams from the Leath still in the room when Baba Yaga appeared on every screen.

  Bethany Anne smiled. “You know what to do.”

  Izanami inclined her head. “I do, and now I have everything you need to locate every Ooken on every ship in the Leath fleet.”

  Bethany Anne snatched the device that linked Izanami from the holopad. “Then we’re good.”

  Michael placed a hand on Bethany Anne’s elbow as she strode past and took them both into the Etheric, then out onto Bethany Anne’s Pod.

  Bethany Anne dropped into her chair with a grin. “Did you see their faces?”

  Michael chuckled as he took the co-pilot’s chair. “Priceless, and over much too quickly.” He checked Bethany Anne for the signs of fatigue even flawlessness couldn’t hide. The fire was there in her eyes, which was good enough for him. “Are you ready to take on the hive mind?”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you all Team Queen Bitch a couple hours ago?”

  “I have never not been Team Queen Bitch,” Michael refuted.

  Bethany Anne rolled her shoulders to loosen them, laughing at Michael’s feigned offense. “The Seven obviously haven’t figured out that I can take out their super-soldiers with a thought. I don’t intend to leave a single Ooken alive to inform them differently.”

  Michael sat back and laced his hands behind his head. “I have total faith that you can scrub every Ooken in the system simultaneously. What’s a star system when you took hold of a planet without breaking a sweat?”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “That’s not the point. This might be the fight of their lives for most of our people, but it’s as easy as shooting fish in a barrel for me. I’d hoped to keep it that way for a little longer.”

  Michael lifted his hands. “It is a shame to lose that edge, but there’s no saying that the Seven have an instant fix, even if they do work it out.”

  Bethany Anne closed her eyes and reached for the Etheric. “Let’s get this done.”

  It was almost too easy to slip into the hive mind unnoticed by following the same mental pathways she’d seen in the Ooken on Moen.

  She hated it when Michael was right.

  I heard that.

  Hear this. Bethany Anne sent him the mental equivalent of the finger and snaked her tendrils through the hive mind. Having every location paid off since she had to take care of that in ADAM’s place this time around.

  Some assistance would be fan-fucking-tastic, she threw out to ADAM and TOM.

  Bethany Anne understood why she got silence, but she had to stay focused on remaining undetected until the moment she was inside every cell of the hive mind, every nanocyte, every Ooken.

  Bethany Anne had no clue what ADAM had done to the nanocytes the last two times they’d purged a large group. She could see them working, just not how to wipe them clean of the programming that drove the Ooken to destroy.

  Given the scarcity of time, her instincts would have to be her guide.

  “You have great instincts,” Bethany Anne told herself. “You’re absolutely not going to blow your own consciousness to kingdom come.”

  24

  Michael leapt up when Bethany Anne spoke and red light poured from her eyes and mouth. “No! Why do you always act without thinking?” he roared as visions of Bethany Anne trapped inside the hive mind tormented him. “Wake up, damn you!”

  Bethany Anne opened one eye and fixed Michael with a wry smile. “Guess now you know how I feel when you go off hunting carnivores ten times your size.”

  Michael gasped in relief. “You’re snarky.”

  Bethany Anne leaned over to her Pod controls and set a course back to the Baba Yaga. “Your point?”

  Michael sat down again, his smile returning as their home grew larger on the viewscreen. “I’ve never been so glad to be offended. You realize the last thing I heard before your little light show was a prayer that you made it through with your mind intact?”

  Bethany Anne snickered. “My bad. I’m fine, and the Ooken are all dead. I pulled enough Etheric energy through them to power the Federation for a day. Turns out nanocytes don’t take kindly to being overloaded.”

  Michael indicated the viewscreen, where the defensive line stood fast despite the apparent stand-down of the enemy. “There’s a ton of salvage out there. What do we do with all that?”

  Bethany Anne lifted a shoulder, her interest in the aftermath zeroing in the face of the loss she’d suffered. “We’re done here. Send in our cleanup crews, but keep the Leath out. I want to hold my children in my arms while I tell them their aunt is dead. Then I have a funeral to arrange.”

  Devon, The Hexagon, Vid-doc Vault

  Bethany Anne tapped her foot. “It should not be this difficult for me to get to my children. What’s the reason for the extra security?”

 
; Tabitha removed the framed artwork opposite the archway and typed something into the control panel hidden behind it. “There were some complications after you left.”

  She replaced the painting and went ahead of Bethany Anne and Michael into the Vid-doc chamber. “Nothing to do with the twins, it turns out. I just slept better knowing they were completely untouchable.”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to help me out here. What kind of complications, exactly? And why is this the first we’re hearing about it?”

  Michael gave Tabitha a hard look. “Yes. Explain.”

  “We have some kind of space critter causing fuckery on the upper levels,” Tabitha clarified. “I had Eve modify the inner defenses after one of CEREBRO was damaged so that the Gate is no longer programmed to differentiate between objects.

  “Meaning?” Michael asked.

  “Meaning it’s the black hole for anything larger than a single atom that crosses under the arch unless Eve or I have disarmed the system.”

  Bethany Anne made a note to avoid spending too much time on the upper levels until the issue was resolved. “You don’t know what kind of critters they are?”

  Tabitha shook her head. “No, but seriously, anything I’ve done is overkill to make myself feel better. The vault is basically its own sandbox. It’s completely isolated. Nothing is getting in or out.”

  Bethany Anne climbed into the Vid-doc and stretched her legs out on the mat. “I’m not complaining.”

  Tabitha snickered. “You kinda are. Lie back already so I can start the program. Michael, you’re next, so get ready.”

  Bethany Anne blew a raspberry at Tabitha as the Vid-doc lid closed.

  Her vision faded to black, then she was standing with Michael on a hill overlooking a sprawling military base.

  “Mom!”

  “Dad!”

  Bethany Anne spotted Alexis and Gabriel running up the hill toward them. “They’ve grown so much,” she commented to Michael.