by J. Naomi Ay
“But I can,” Katie sneered and blasted the orderly holding Marisa. He screamed as his arm burned off. The rest of the orderlies high tailed it out of the room. “Come on,” I told Marisa and Kira. “Let's get out to the truck.”
“Now there's only you left,” Katie said to the Big Doc, training both the laser and the Glock on him. “Tell me who paid you because I'm going after them.”
“I told you,” the Big Doc replied, but he was scared now and trembling. “The Emperor paid me.”
“He lies!” Marisa yelled again. “My friends say he lies.” She wouldn’t go outside although Kira and I tried to pull her.
“Who did it, Marisa?” Katie asked. “Who do your friends say paid him?”
“Spaceforce Command,” Marisa cried. “The President of the Alliance ordered it because the Emperor would not pay the ransom and give back the planets.”
“The Emperor never pays ransoms,” Katie hissed and smashed the Big Doc again with the butt of the Glock. The Big Doc was bleeding from the mouth. He spat out a tooth. “He doesn't negotiate with terrorists and neither do I.” She put the Glock right up to his forehead. “You are a terrorist, Big Doc Weimar.” The Big Doc was shaking. He lost his bladder.
“Kira,” he pleaded. “Don't let her do this to me.”
Kira shrugged. “You were always a lousy fuck.”
I stepped forward. “Katie, please. Don't do this. You don't need to kill him.”
Katie regarded me with narrow eyes. “You're right,” she exclaimed suddenly. “This planet whatever in the hell it is called, now belongs to the Empire. I don't have to kill you.” She turned back to Big Doc. “I'm the fucking Empress, and I just wear pretty dresses and wave at the people. The Emperor gets to do all the executions. I'll let him do it. She lowered her guns and headed toward us at the door.
“No!” the Big Doc called. “Please no!”
“Don't worry, Big Doc,” Katie replied. “It'll be much better that way. You see, if I kill you, you'll get a bullet in your brain and be gone in a matter of a minute here. But the Emperor, he does things differently. See, all he has to do is think about it. He'll sit there in is office in Mishnah and think that guy, Big Doc is the ultimate asshole. I'll crush his trachea, and you know what? You'll be here talking to a patient or fucking a nurse and all of a sudden your trachea will just collapse, and you'll choke and cough and gasp for air and people will try and help you but they can't. So there. Enjoy the rest of your life, how ever short it may end up being.”
“Please Captain!” He begged as we walked out the door. “Please!”
“Sheesh,” Kira whistled through her teeth. “I see why they made you Captain.”
Outside Noka and Neniver/Zem were waiting by a laundry truck. The driver was sitting on the dock tied up in rags.
“I punched him,” Neniver said proudly.
“Good job,” Katie winked. “Can you drive?”
Neniver shook his head. “I am full of water.”
“Right,” Katie nodded. “Give me the key. We'll take you some place and get all the water drained out of you, buddy.”
We all climbed into the truck, and Katie turned over the engines. A moment later, we were heading across the fields surrounding the complex and up over the city. Katie was fiddling with the navigation computer. It looked like it was broken because all it showed was wavy lines.
“What the hell planet are we on anyway?” she mumbled.
“Maybe they’ll come after us?” Noka asked timidly.
“Not a chance,” Kira smirked. “Captain scared the Big Doc good. He's going to lock himself in his office and probably swallow a handful of his own stupid pills.”
“We need to get off this planet,” Katie said. “Anybody got any money?”
“Uh, no?” I looked from Kira to Noka. Obviously Zem and Marisa didn’t have a thing.
“Damn,” Katie sighed.
Chapter 27
Taner
“So, I'm here transitioning the hospitals on Derius IV,” Thad said.
“Did you go through the one on Derius II that you spoke of last time?” Berkan asked.
“Yes, Berk, can you let me finish my sentence?” Thad replied.
“Sorry, go ahead.” Berkan leaned back in his chair. For a moment, Thad's image grew fuzzy and then it cleared again.
“I was on Derius II about ten days ago and went through the mental hospital my dad mentioned. I looked around but couldn't meet any of the patients. I got the feeling the guy running the place was trying to hide something. Either that or he was just embarrassed about the deplorable conditions of the place.”
“But you didn't find her,” Berkan said and frowned at me. I swore under my breath and leaned back in my chair, crossing a leg over a knee. My chest ached a little, so I reached in my desk and extracted an antacid. I tossed it in my mouth and tried to ignore the pain.
“I saw a woman that looked familiar to me,” Thad continued. “Not Katie of course but maybe somebody from her ship or SdK. Anyway, a few days ago I came here and like I said, I've been working on transitioning the properties that we bought and what do you know? I got a call.”
“A call?” I asked. “From who?”
“Katie.”
“Katie.” Berkan rolled his eyes at Thad. “You know, Thad, sometimes you are really annoying.”
“It was Katie,” Thad laughed and got fuzzy again. “She called my cell. She remembered the number. I was looking at my caller ID thinking who the hell is calling me collect from Derius II, from a public phone no less. So I picked it up, and she said, 'Thad, can you send me a spaceplane?'”
“Do you realize how many women ring the Palace on a daily basis claiming to be Katie?” I asked Thad. “Too many to count.”
“So what did you say?” Berkan asked skeptically.
“I said 'Who the hell is this?' and she said, 'Thad, this is Katie de Kudisha.'”
“Sure.” Berkan rolled his eyes again.
“Uh huh,” I agreed and pulled a bottle of gin out from my desk drawer. I opened the cap and drank straight from the top, offering it next to Berkan who did likewise.
“So I said, prove it,” Thad continued. “Tell me the secret password. I was kind of joking because there really isn't a secret password, but I figured if it was really Katie, she ought to know something that nobody else knows, and she'll know I know it too or something like that.”
“So what did she say?” I asked.
“Well, actually she said 'Go to hell, Thad, but first send me a fucking spaceplane'”.
“And you said?” Berkan prompted.
“I said Katie never used such colorful language. You sound more like Ron.”
“And then?”
“She says, 'After eight years in a fucking insane asylum, I'm going to use whatever language I damn well feel like.'”
“And you said?” Berkan and I both urged.
“Close. But that's not the secret password. Then she sighed and said, ‘Okay, the password is Blood Oranges.’” Thad laughed heartily.
“Blood Oranges,” Berkan asked. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It's a joke, Berk. Neither of you guys have a sense of humor anymore. Anyway, once I heard that I knew it was her although I pretty much figured it was her when she first told me to go to hell.”
Berkan and I looked at each other. Berkan closed his eyes. I swallowed two more antacids.
“You're sure about this, Thad?” Berkan said.
“Hundred percent,” Thad replied. “Only Katie would say something random like that.”
“So then what did you do?” I demanded.
“I asked her to tell me something else that only Katie would know. She told me my mother's old cell number when she used to be Ron's admin.”
“Anybody could have researched that.” Berkan took another swig from the bottle.
“But not the Blood Oranges,” Thad insisted. “Anyway, that's neither here nor there because it was her. I asked where she was and tol
d her I would be there as quickly as I could. She was in a small town on the southern continent of Derius II. She was with a bunch of people. Turns out she had been in that mental hospital and I just missed her even though she said she saw me. Two of the people she was with were patients. One was the Talasian pilot who crashed in the spaceplane with her. She wanted him and this other gal with worms checked in to a SdK facility right away. The other three were nurses and friends of hers. In fact, one of them I remember was on her ship that time that Akan came, and then Katie sliced him, and he shot her and…”
“Did you get her?” I demanded.
“Yeah, Akan hit her arm and she fainted and then I picked her up, and she was all covered in Akan’s guts and man, that was gross.”
“Not then! Now, from Derius II!”
“Oh, yeah, well,” Thad continued. “I headed over there immediately, it only took me about eight hours, but by the time I got there, she was gone.”
“What?” Berkan and I both screamed.
“She took off. The rest of the group was there, but Katie ran off into the forest and said she's not coming back.”
“Ah shit,” Berkan muttered.
I took another swig from the bottle and then wiped my lips with the back of my hand. “Is she crazy?”
“Well, technically? Or are you just asking in the same sense like, is Ron crazy?”
“He's definitely crazy,” Berkan replied. “In whatever sense you can you think of.”
“Well, she did just escape from a mental asylum,” Thad remarked.
“Other than that,” I muttered. “Do you have any idea of why Katie ran off assuming she's not crazy?”
“Her nurse friend handed me this note that Katie wrote.” Thad took out a piece of paper and unfolded it slowly. He flattened it carefully on the table in front of him. He cleared his throat several times. Berkan and I both took another swig of the gin.
“To Whom it May Concern,” Thad read. Then he laughed. “Just kidding.”
“To All of you Asshole Rehnorian Men,” Thad continued. “Not kidding here, guys. That’s actually how it starts.” He held up the paper although the vid pic was too blurry to read.
“Just read it,” I sighed.
“After eight years of not knowing my name, after you let my sit there and rot, I’m not about to come back and let you lock me in the tower. I’ll come back when I’m damn good and ready and as far as I’m concerned, that may be never. Senya can go to hell again. He obviously didn’t learn from the last few times he was there.”
“She's pretty mad, I think,” Thad stated. “The angry kind of mad, not the insane kind of mad. She didn’t even bother to sign it ‘Love, Katie.’”
“Oh, Blessed Saint,” Berkan moaned.
“Have we got any troops in the area?” I asked and made a move to ring the Imperial Guard Command. “It's our planet now. We can scour it with a toothbrush to find her if need be.”
“Let's check with the mad Emperor first,” Berkan muttered. “And he's the insane kind of mad, not the angry kind.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, you never know with him, Taner. If she's going to fight coming back, maybe he won't want her to. He can be bloody stubborn, too.”
“That he can,” I agreed. “But I can't believe, after all this time, he would let her run around in the forest.”
“If nobody knows who she is, and she's safe there, maybe it'll be good for her,” Thad suggested. “After all, she was locked up for a long time. Maybe she needs to run around for a bit.”
“Alright,” I decided. “We'll tell the mad Emperor what has happened and then if he wants her we'll go get her, and if he doesn't, we'll send a unit of her guards to at least follow her around while she's running around in the forest. It would be a crying shame if after all this time she ended up getting eaten by bear or something.”
“More likely she'll eat the bear first,” Thad chuckled. “Caroline, the nurse, said she's got both a laser and a Glock on her, so the entire forest had better watch out.”
“I've got a better idea,” Berkan suggested. “Why don't we send the mad Emperor into the forest? Let the two of them blast each other to their hearts' content.”
“I can see it now,” Thad laughed. “Katie on her laser and Ron pointing his finger and the whole forest burns down around them while the two of them are busy screaming at each other over who did what to whom.”
“Thank you, Thad,” I said. “You can laugh about this all you want but now Berkan, and I are going to go present this to HIM.” I took a long swig on the bottle to strengthen my fortitude.
“I don't want to go tell him,” Berkan mumbled.
“Fortify yourself, Lord Korelesk.” I handed him the bottle. “It's your duty.”
“This isn't what I signed up for.” Berkan took a long swig, as well.
“This isn't what any of us signed up for,” I declared. “Be glad you are far away on a spaceplane, Thad. If Rehnor explodes in the next few minutes, you'll know why.”
“Oh, I'm very happy to be out here,” Thad replied heartily. “No thunder, lightning or tornadoes in space and I'm probably too far away for him to kill me with his mind control. But hey, say hi to him for me, guys.”
“Go to hell, Thad,” Berkan replied.
“What is it now?”
Neither Berkan nor I spoke up. Berkan looked like he was suffering from terrible heartburn. I thought I was, too. Either that, or I was having another heart attack.
“Speak!”
“Yes, Sir,” Berkan mumbled. “On Derius II…” He stopped. The silver light flashed in his face.
“Ach, fuck,” the Emperor said and held his head, his eyes reflecting in the high polish of his desk.
“Is the bloody guard looking for her?” he mumbled.
“Yes, Sir,” Berkan glanced at me and nodded. I smiled at him and silently urged him to continue so I wouldn’t have to. “They are looking. It's a heavily forested area, and we do not have a huge presence there yet. They have asked for cooperation from the local police forces.”
“When we next get her in our possession, we will have her implanted with a fucking tracking chip and then I will chain her to her bedpost.”
“That might be why she is choosing to run around the bloody forest,” I suggested quickly.
“I don't give a damn what she wants!” he snapped at me then turned his silver gaze back on Berkan.
“Her companions, the other ladies are currently en route with Thad,” Berkan stuttered. “If Your Imperial Majesty wishes to speak with them, we can arrange for an audience as soon as they arrive. The Human one claims to be an acquaintance of yours. She said she served aboard the Discovery with a Dr. Jerry for many years. She said you used to bring her chocolate truffles.” Berkan’s voice grew quiet.
His Imperial Majesty nodded and swore again under his breath. He turned in his chair away from us, facing the French doors and the sea. Berkan glanced quickly at me, his face relieved. We had delivered the news, and we were still alive.
“I will speak to the ladies.”
“Yes, Sir. Very good, Sir,” Berkan whispered.
“We will find her, Sir,” I ventured.
“I am certain you will,” he replied. “And what then? Drag her back her so she can run away again at the first opportunity? I've changed my mind. I don't want her brought back. Call off the guards.”
Berkan closed his eyes.
“Are you certain, Sir?” I tried not to moan.
“Yes.”
“Why don't you go find her yourself, Sir?” Berkan suggested. “Maybe you by yourself can convince her to come home?”
He shook his head. “I can't fucking walk let alone traipse around a forest.”
“Perhaps it will not be a long time until she is ready to return,” I offered. “Perhaps she is already growing tired of it.”
“Perhaps.” He waved his hand, which meant we were dismissed.
“I think I hate him,” Berkan said when we were
once again out in the hall.
“I know I hate him,” I replied. “I've hated him since he was twelve.”
“I'm serious, Taner,” Berkan mumbled. “I hate him. I hate being here. Next time he tries to kill himself, I want him to succeed so we can all go home and forget about this place.”
“You're tired. You're not thinking straight.”
“Of course I'm tired,” he snapped. “I've been getting less than three hours of sleep a night. What the fuck does he think he's doing? Putting us through hell for the last ten years over that woman and now that she's found, he doesn't give a damn?”
“He gives a damn. He gives too damn much,” I said and headed toward my rooms. “Bloody fool should have taken twenty wives like he was supposed to.”
“But he only loved this one,” Berkan spat mockingly. “This one has always had his balls in her hand and right now she's giving them a nice tight twist.”
“That's why I never got married,” I declared and disappeared behind my door into my nice, quiet, solitary rooms.
Chapter 28
Tilia
I was alone. My Siria and my Fruph died in the spaceplane accident that took my Katie. The Little Prince no longer needed a nurse and my Weeph and my Reesh were no longer my mates. They lived on the starships and fought for the Empire, and I had not seen either one of them in many years.
I left the Palace and returned to Andorus, to my mother and fathers. I had plenty of money and the Emperor had given me more still. I didn’t know what I would do with such money, and my fathers were anxious that I should give it to them.
I did not like their slovenly ways. After living so long in the Great Palace and serving my Katie in her home and her ship, I liked too much fine clothes and fine places and food that would melt on your tongue and make you want more.
I left my mother’s house after staying only one day and found for myself a flat in the city. It was not far from the old palace where Prime Minister Mrufe once stood on the balconies and tossed pennies to the children. I walked the streets of my city for many days and nights and thought about my money and what I might do with it. One night in my wanderings, I came upon a man who was gathering the wrappers from the ground as he walked. He put them in great bags and carried these over his shoulders.
