by M. Garnet
Sometime or somewhere, his father had done a serious insult to the wrong person, and that person had ordered revenge. They had waited until he was in his human form. Modifiers are protected by the universe through the mother earth and cannot be killed. But when they are in their normal mode, a human form, they can be killed like anyone else. It was in that form, out with his wife and Keenan's other brother, that they were wiped out along with the spaceship they were on.
Actually, it was the tour spaceship the family was on, transferring from a trip up from a visit to a pleasure planet back to the tourist spaceship. There it was, a brilliant streak in the sky before it hit the ground, killing all on board.
Discovering the details of his family's death came after Keenan ran from the planet that had sired him and his ability. All he had at first was that his family was gone because his father was a modifier and had volunteered for projects at the request of the Elders. The Elders told him that they were sorry on that hot jungle day, but evidently, one of the projects had come back to kill his father and taken all near him.
Now he had a problem. An Elder from his home planet had tried to trick and use him once, hoping to force him to shift into a monster to kill an evil leader of a system. Could there be a trick afoot again to get him to kill a crime leader? And was the crime leader the one who had ordered the death of his father? What the fuck was wrong with this whole picture and with the information the Preacher had provided?
Keenan felt he was worth more alive than dead to the Preacher, as he was now in debt to that little male. So, he felt that the information provided by that man had to have some truth buried in it. Now he pulled up the archives of the information from the Preacher and began to scan it. This time he was taking his time and looking at the maps, letters, and notes closely.
Looking at the notes, there was one that was strange and didn't seem like it should be with the others. It looked like a star map with names that didn't match any stars he recognized. Also, it all seemed to step down in lines. That didn't make sense until he got his mind around it, and saw what he was looking at, an ancestor history.
There was a name at the top in bold, Grigor Macher. Below that were four names. They were Cosma, Delhi, Cath, and finally Imrick. They were all the same across with a line across and one up to the name Macher. So, this must be the children of Macher. But Macher's name was in bold type, and of the four below, the last in the list, Imrick was also in bold lettering.
If this were an ancestor's list, one would assume that the four names below the top name were Macher's children. By the way they were placed in the list, the first name of Cosma would be the oldest, and Imrick would be the youngest. But Imrick was also in bold letters indicating that the last child was the most important to the parent Macher.
Following the lines that ran down on the page. There were names under the four names that one could assume were the prodigy of the direct descendants of Macher.
Under Cosma were four names: Ikerd, Huss, Grage and Ewen.
Under Delhi were two names: Fedor and Elw.
Under Cath was only one name of Aman.
Under the bold lettering name of Imrick were four names: Hino, Goyi, and surprise; in bold letters was Nor.
Putting this page upon a flat-screen above over the window where he could sit back and consider what the damn thing meant. "Thea, has a real name come up for the leader of the Transformed?"
Thea had three screens up, and on two were blue backgrounds with white lines of text flowing in lines almost too fast to read. On the third were views of papers and folders in a line on one side. Obviously, she was checking important facts, and he hated to bother her, but he needed a name with all designations he had on his ancestry list. It was just a hunch.
"What is coming up on official bank papers and old titles is Macher. Just the one name with nothing else, so that is either first or last or only designation." Thea answered and continued to let her fingers flow.
"Bingo. Have either of you got the names of Imrick or Nor?"
There was silence in the cab of the bridge for a moment, then Thea answered again. "Both have been on contracts and bank records."
"Confirm, boss," Bruno mumbles from his position. "Nor is in charge of the soldiers."
"I have the fucking bastard." Keenan now felt he knew who had ordered the death of his family. It wasn't the older woman sitting at the head of Transformed. It was her grandson Nor.
Sitting back with a smile on his face Keenan smiled. He might owe the Preacher a debt, but he now was willing to pay without hesitation. But first, he needed to find and kill a hidden leader of a large group of soldiers.
"Okay, attention Thea and Bruno. I need you to stop what you're doing. I have found the fucking person who is the dangerous one running the show behind the leader of the Transformed. It seems that Macher is the old lady I met over in that great cave. But I think she is a figurehead that the family lets sit there; and, once in a while, the family meets for any big decisions."
Blowing up the screen with the ancestry list, he draws their attention to the names. "See the names in the bold letters? This note was buried in the information that bastard Preacher downloaded for me. He doesn't give away just shit garbage, but he does make you work for what you want.
Think about what we went through to get you, Thea. And before you, Bruno and I had a real ass wipe battle when we saved a young girl and got Poly. He makes you work for any project. So Macher sits where anyone can see her, but her son Imrick seems to handle all the coin or investments. I would guess the worst of the bundle of that long list of family members is that last name in bold letters, that bastard Nor. They have put him in charge of the army, and that means he is the one who killed my father."
Bruno turned away from his console and smiled. "So, we find the guy with his army and just blast away with Adamant's missiles." Bruno had a need to use the weapons that he controlled from his position.
"Wait," Thea was letting her fingers flow over glowing buttons and bringing up moving information. "There are four so-called Armies of the Transformed. Which one is Nor with, and where are they located? The total of people committed to that organization is hard to confirm. There could be hundreds or thousands in each army group."
Now the guys looked at the lady as she pulled information from the Universal Thread to try to trace where ships had taken quantities of soldiers. Movements were often noticed if they were repeated or if there were caravans. "Boys, this is going to take me a couple of hours. I need some food and hot coffee."
The two males both got up at the same time, and Keenan motioned for Bruno to lead the way. Stooping to get through the airlock door out of the bridge, they walked down the slanted hall and went into the well-stocked galley.
Keenan grabbed a slice of cheese out of the cold box and then slid behind the table. "You go ahead and take the lady something. I want to stay here and look through the other papers sent by the Preacher. Who knows, there might be a hint as to what Nor is up to out there, with an army of the Transformed."
"Nice name; I wonder how his mom came up with it." Bruno was pouring two big mugs of coffee.
"Funny, there are no names of mothers. Hate to think of what happened to the women attached to this deadly fucking family. Let me know if Thea finds anything."
He didn't have to wait for very long.
Chapter Eighteen
With the crew of the Adamant sitting at their posts and Poly now on the bridge, they were zipping through space. It seems they had found a weird clue to the location of the main Army of the Transformed.
After watching the movement of the different Transformed soldier groups, Thea noticed that small ships were taking soldiers away. They were quietly moving loads of trained soldiers in small groups from each holding and instruction area. Tracking where these small loads were transferring was a minor repair satellite out in the middle of nowhere.
In fact, the only civilized point of interest that was near that satellite—was a plane
t that had turned its poor income into big profits by developing a very large casino.
Talking it over, the friends on the unique silver ship decided that what looked like an unimaginable effort was in place. The Transformed were planning to take over the planet of Expeca V. The idea seemed preposterous at first until they studied the movement of the soldiers that Transformed had shifted in small unnoticeable shipments, and that flagged questions.
What did you do or want with a large amount of trained and armed soldiers on an enclosed satellite? You might take a look at a planet that was a spaceship's ride of one day away. Expeca V had started out as the most newly colonized planet with a farming effort.
The planet was in one of those star systems that located it in the one special position that allowed the right amount of sunshine, and it had the exact amount of spin. It had water and landmass of the correct divisions and a gravity that was called standard. That ideal location throughout the universe was nick-named the Cinderella spot in the Universal language. This planet soon had people, once it was discovered, so it was not a young, colonized planet. No, the people living here had struggled for a long time.
Somewhere along the way, they got tired of losing their youngest and the best, who went off-world for better pay. Even building or importing the most modern machinery, it was hard work for those who were born there and grew old but still had to work to help the families and communities.
The card games started in the local bars, along with the excellent booze made from the local grain. Word spread to the ships that had to stop for repairs at the distant satellite, and soon shuttles would take the long day trip over for a little R and R. Eventually, ships, once repaired, would also drop by before completing their runs.
The bars became more prominent, and the booze production grew, and the locals got smart. They got together, everyone from all the different continents and small cities contributed funds and building materials, and they constructed their first casino. Deciding also to divide the profits, they all voted that they only needed one casino. But as it got successful, they just added onto it, and it grew in size. That meant that there needed to be hotel rooms, and at last, there was a spaceport added.
After a hundred years, Expeca V got a reputation as a fun place to visit with great liquor made locally. Now tourist ships began to put the distant planet on its list of places to visit. The farmers still worked, just not as hard. Everyone on the planet was rich, and the money was rolling in until they added their law force.
On the bridge of the Adamant, all eyes were on the large screen that had the information that Thea had gathered.
"That's a pretty gutsy move if the leader of that large troop is thinking of robbing that casino." Bruno sat back to shake his head as he looked at the numbers, showing how many soldiers were on that old metal box out in space.
"No, if that bastard Nor is leading that group, he isn't there to rob it. He means to take it over and add coin to send back to Grandma." Keenan slumped back in his seat, sliding down on his tailbone.
"Awe, come on." Thea spun around in her seat. "There would be resistance and the law. It's a big planet with a lot of people everywhere. How do you take over a whole planet?"
"How many lawmen for that casino?" Keenan needed information.
"The records show that the casino had six thousand, but not all work all the time. They work in shifts." Thea threw more information up on the screen. "There are some small sheriff groups across the planet at the small cities. But there are no reports on the numbers."
"Can you give us a reasonable estimate of how many soldiers that they already have on that satellite?" As Keenan asked his question, everyone looked over at the screen that showed a facsimile of the metal repair site.
Thea cleared her throat. "Between twenty and twenty-five thousand. There are still a couple of small ships on their way but haven't arrived yet."
"Well, that answers one question." Bruno's voice sounded low and disgusted. "So, what now, boss?"
"We don't do anything too fucking stupid. That means we can't go to the satellite. So, what do you all say about playing some cards? Everyone gets dressed pretty and make sure you have as many weapons on you as you can carry.
Poly, you will stay and protect the ship and keep it ready in case we have to leave in a hurry."
"Yes, Captain." Poly bobbed and waited as the rest left to go to their cabins. Poly would take the ship to the planet and land at the casino's spaceport. That would give the team time to get ready for war.
The sexy beautiful Thea had her hair washed and hanging down her back to draw attention to her ass, which was shown off in the tight one-piece suit she wore. This time the suit was a dark red, so deep in color, it was almost black. She brushed color on her cheeks and exposed shoulders and had two beautiful hair posts in her hair. She also put on her highest heels that also made eyes look at her long-toned legs. One would never know that there were seven sharp thin pointed knives hidden on her exposed body. They were often more deadly than guns or weapons.
As for Bruno, he dressed up to surprise everyone. He had on a dark business suit that had matching pants with a jacket that went to the knees and with no collar. It was the latest style. He wore a dark shiny shirt underneath with what was called an old-fashioned ascot. It was black in color, so his pale skin was accented, but he was satisfied, as the dress boots had built-in weapons. The pockets of the jacket held weapons that didn't make any sag and hid the shoulder holster he wore underneath. He checked his chin and bald head to make sure there wasn't any stubble.
No one was impressed with what Keenan wore as he went as himself. His heavy boots were topped with his usual black pants and the favorite gun on his hip. He put on his leather jacket without a shirt underneath but closed it partway up to add a couple of items in the pockets. One was a grenade, and the other was a smoke bomb. He smiled as he thought that one never knew what would be needed in a fight.
On this planet, the comfort of every visitor was a prime concern. When they stepped through the final airlock and went down a ramp, there was a long fancy vehicle waiting for them. A driver had the doors open and asked if they had luggage and needed to check into one of the hotels before going to the casino.
He also asked which door of the casino they preferred to enter. There was one for the main check-in area. Another doorway was for the entertainment section, an entrance for any special type of gambling, or several entryways for general use.
"We are here to gamble." Keenan smiled and handed the man a large coin. The word coin had taken to mean all money in the Universal language. It stood for small metal change, paper funds issued on different planets, and records of wealth kept by banks and accountants.
"Ah!" The man smiled and disappeared the tip. "I know just the entrance you will like. Please get in and help yourselves to the Champaign. It is local, and we've been told it is very acceptable."
The back of the extended vehicle was one big round set of seats, and the bottle of Campaign was already open. Looking out through the one-way windows, they could see several other vehicles like theirs. The other units were either picking up or delivering guests as the spaceport was very busy.
It was late afternoon with the sun making long shadows across the driveways, and after they left the spaceport, they saw the buildings. Nothing was too tall, maybe four or five levels above ground, and the rest sprawled out.
"This is a planet with a low population count, so they have plenty of room to spread out and use the land." Keenan looked out as he accepted a glass that Thea handed him.
"Sir," it was Poly using the new comm and speaking to all of them. "The records show that there is still some farming on this planet. That is where the grain and grapes come from. Also, there is quite a fishing industry happening on the seas."
"Poly, you are speaking very well. You have improved and sound great. Thanks for the information. Be careful that you don't talk to us when others are around. You need to use the inside ear comm when we
are in the casino." Keenan sipped his bubbly wine and nodded.
"Thank you, Captain."
Finally, it dawned on them that the wall on the other side of the car was outside the casino. They were traveling on a very well-maintained highway, past the huge construction that went on for miles. There were a lot of vehicles on this wide highway, but about a third of them were the fancy long ones like the three were riding in as guests.
At last, they turned off the highway and were driven under a fancy covering with lots of blinking lights. When their vehicle came to a stop, a couple of people in fancy uniforms stepped forward to open the doors from the outside.
"Welcome to Casino Expeca V. If you ever need anything, ask the first person you see, in the colors of the casino, dressed in pink and blue. Welcome."
So, with a few steps, they were into another world. All casinos were the same, no matter where you went, and this one was the same. With plenty of light and music and the noise of the machines, there was a particular smell in the air and no clocks. Handsome people, both male and female, in skimpy pink and blue outfits were there to serve your every whim.
Here was where the three split up. Each had special ideas of what to do while they waited for an unusual move to be set up by the leader of the Transformed. Keenan knew, and the others agreed that there would be some time while the Transformed came in as small groups to pretend to be gamblers. They would infiltrate and study the law protector's shifts. They would need to make sure they had placed themselves carefully in places that the casino could protect and get away to break that down. It would take them days to set up their attack.
In the meantime, the three from Adamant would watch and study and think of ways to break the attack before it happened.
