Etheric Adventures Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by S. R. Russell

Jean raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Follow me,” she said, and led her two guests into her facility. On the way to a secure room, she picked up one of the ten-inch by ten-inch by two-inch pieces of titanium her group used for penetration testing.

  Jean led them to what looked like a small machine shop. She waved them through the door, then closed and locked it behind them. “This is as secure as it gets around here. Whatcha got?”

  Anne looked around and found a clamp, she motioned to Jean to give her the titanium plate. Anne clamped the plate to a bench with half of it hanging over the edge, then brought the ruby shard from her pocket and placed it on the overhanging section. She figured this way she wouldn’t have to worry about it burning through Jean’s workbench.

  Jean hovered close by, watching Anne’s preparations.

  “You’ll want to move farther away,” Jinx warned.

  Jean looked at the workbench, then down at Jinx and raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

  “No fresh whiskers off my muzzle,” Jinx chuffed as she and Anne stepped away from the bench.

  Jean looked at where the two of them had moved and then back at the bench. With a shrug, she went to stand beside Anne.

  Jean watched the girl and the dog, curious about what was going on. Several seconds went by, then a bright red light and a strange sizzling sound drew her attention back to the workbench.

  “Gott Verdammt!” Jean exclaimed, using the swear phrase that had been adopted by the Etheric Empire. The small red gem she’d seen Anne place on the titanium wasn’t in sight, although there was now a nice neat hole in the metal where the gem had rested. She looked at Anne with raised eyebrows.

  “It should be cool in a couple seconds,” Anne advised her. “It burns so quickly that it really doesn’t have time to heat up the surrounding material.

  “What the hell is it?” Jean asked, then looked at Jinx. “Oh, and thanks for the warning,” she earnestly told the dog.

  Jinx nodded in response, and Anne explained what they’d been testing for. “And then we hit on this. It’s a manmade industrial ruby. Add enough Etheric energy, and…” Anne nodded to the piece of titanium.

  Jean carefully held her hand over the metal, and when she could not detect any heat she moved closer and looked into the hole. “I assume there’s a hole in a table back at your place?”

  Jinx snorted. “And about ten inches deep into the floor.”

  “We weren’t expecting a reaction like that, and I was so surprised at what was happening that it took me a couple seconds to cut the power flow.” Anne looked chagrined as she confessed to the older woman.

  “She had to get a skewer from the mess and put some glue on the end of it to get the ruby out of the floor,” Jinx happily informed Jean.

  Jean undid the clamp and inverted the piece of titanium over the workbench. After a rap with her knuckle, the ruby dropped out. Jean took the clamp, the ruby shard, and the metal slab and imitated Anne’s setup.

  “Can you repeat that while I’m watching?” Jean looked questioningly at Anne.

  “Sure thing. Three, two, one.” Anne pointed at the ruby.

  Jean watched the ruby closely. About a second after Anne pointed it flared red and started to quickly burn into the titanium. Once the ruby had disappeared into the metal Jean sensed Anne relax, and the glow disappeared. Jean left everything where it was and dragged a couple office chairs over to the bench. Waving Anne to one, she sat on the other.

  “What do you want from me?” she asked the young woman.

  “Well, it isn’t the answer to Jinx’ armor I was trying for, but I was wondering if we could build some sort of weapon.” Anne looked at Jean. “I’m thinking something like those laser energy swords in the science fiction movies.”

  “That’s an interesting idea,” Jean admitted, “but again, what do you want from me?”

  “Bethany Anne said I could come to you for help.” Anne looked confused.

  Jean nodded. “She told me the same thing. The problem is, I’m clueless as to how to help. If you’d brought me a system and said, ‘Can we build a weapon from this?’ I could possibly help you.” She held up a hand to stop Anne from speaking.

  “The honest truth is, I don’t have a clue how this works. The only Etheric energy stuff I work with was provided by TOM. I can’t see, manipulate, or even measure Etheric energy.” Jean nodded to Anne to let her know she had finished.

  “What do I do, then?” Anne was almost in tears with frustration.

  Jean reached over and took one of the young woman’s hands in her own. “If it was me?” She waited for Anne’s nod. “I’d want my own R&D group. A group of nutty people whose job was to come up with crazy ideas, hoping to find something that works. Remember that what you have here isn’t what you were trying to produce.”

  Jinx stood and placed her head on Anne’s leg. “That sounds like a good idea.” She tried to project positive feelings at her person.

  “How would I do something like that?” Anne wondered.

  “I’m guessing your work is going to be top secret, if it isn’t already. That means going to Bethany Anne and explaining that I don’t know how to help you and you are looking to form your own R&D group. I’ll message her and explain why I can’t be any help.”

  Jean took a deep breath, then blew it out and continued, “Then I’d suggest going to William of Team BMW and asking him if he’s heard of anyone who’d be a good fit. He’s a wizard at what he does. I’d be surprised if he didn’t have an ear to the ground, so to speak, about prospective people. Then, once your team is going, my team and I could make time for a brainstorming session or two if you need ideas.”

  Jean was relieved to see a more positive expression on Anne’s face. “No promises on results, however.” Jean shrugged. “Might be a case of ‘garbage in, garbage out,’ but we’ll help you if we can.”

  Seshat, would you please contact ADAM and ask for a meeting with Bethany Anne?

  >>Certainly. Standby. ADAM says that Bethany Anne can meet with you tomorrow for fifteen minutes at sixteen thirty, local Meredith Reynolds time.<<

  That would be great. Thank you, and thank ADAM for me too, please.

  >>You are welcome, and done.<<

  Chapter Five

  We probably need to get to school early today, Jinx suggested to Anne during breakfast the next morning.

  Why’s that? Anne smiled at her ability to carry on a conversation with a mouthful of pancakes. She could almost hear a mental snort from her four-footed partner when Jinx deliberately took another mouthful of kibble before answering.

  I know there is that saying about asking forgiveness instead of permission, but in this case, since we don’t want any issues with leaving school early to make our appointment with Bethany Anne, we should probably talk to the principal this morning.

  Anne’s hand stopped halfway between her plate and her mouth, syrup dripping off the piece of pancake on her fork. Crap, thanks! I hadn’t thought of that. She swiped her forkful of food through the syrup on her plate to reload the sweet coating and quickly transferred the dripping yumminess to her mouth.

  Well I did, which is why I’m suggesting an early departure.

  Anne looked down at Jinx, then at the pancake left on her plate. She set the plate on the floor and ran her fingernails down Jinx’ back when her friend came over to finish the sticky food. Thanks! You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.

  Jinx settled for a wag of her tail in reply as she concentrated on directing the plate against a solid surface so it would quit moving while she finished licking it clean.

  “What can I do for you young ladies today?” the principal asked as his secretary led Jinx and Anne to his office.

  Despite his polite greeting Jinx had noticed on past occasions that the principal seemed uncomfortable talking to her, so she left it to Anne to answer the man.

  “We have an appointment with the Empress at sixteen thirty today. We’d like permission to skip our last class to ensure we
arrive on time,” Anne informed him.

  The principal looked at Anne and Jinx and asked, “Do you have any proof of this?”

  As if Bethany Anne wrote us a note. Anne’s mental tone was biting. Seshat?

  >>Working on it, Anne.<<

  Wait, you can hear the conversation?

  >>Yes. Along with the cameras you each have, I’m also tied into your implants so I can receive audio from your surroundings. I thought you knew that.<<

  Anne noted the concern in her EI’s voice. I might have just forgotten. You’re dealing with an organic here! It’s not important, it just surprised me for some reason.

  >>You are certain you don’t mind? ADAM will be joining the conversation.<<

  I don’t mind. I didn’t remember it being an option, but it will make things much easier now that we don’t have to remember conversations to update you later.

  “Anne and Jinx have a sixteen thirty appointment with Bethany Anne today,” a male voice said from the office speakers.

  “Wait, who is this? How are you doing this?” The principal was on his feet, looking around the room.

  “My name is ADAM. Besides Meredith, who else do you think could hack into your system to access the internal communications? Also, how many people do you think would be stupid enough to try and fake an appointment with Bethany Anne? I can assure you that once she found out about it, that sort of behavior would not go without repercussions. Sort of the same way she doesn’t like jerkwads who waste her time,” ADAM finished ominously.

  “Er…umm… Right.” The principal hooked a finger in the neck of his shirt as if something were choking him.

  Anne could feel Jinx’ amusement. I can’t imagine his reaction if he knew you could go all Darth Vader on his ass. Anne looked down to see Jinx’ sides quivering with suppressed laughter.

  Where did you see that movie?

  Matrix and Dio were watching it at Yelena’s one day. That’s what you want to do with the ruby, right? Make one of those light sword thingies?

  Yes, now hush so I can pay attention to the principal.

  She focused again on the principal, who was speaking as he looked at his computer screen. “I’ll inform the teacher of your last class that you will be absent with permission.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Anne said as she rose from her seat. “We’d better get going or we’ll be late for homeroom.”

  “Quite. You girls have a good day,” said the principal as they exited his office.

  With the important appointment looming at the end of the day, time dragged by at glacial speed. When her penultimate class finally finished, Anne had to restrain herself from heading out of school at vampire speed.

  Jinx was just as anxious, and quivered with suppressed energy as they left the school.

  After a thirteen-minute ride Anne and Jinx exited the tram, and four minutes later they entered the offices where their meeting with Bethany Anne was to take place. Cheryl Lynn looked up from her desk when the two of them came in.

  “Anne, sweetie, how are things going with your mother?” Cheryl Lynn asked as she rose from her chair and walked around her desk to offer Anne a hug.

  Anne accepted the hug, then took a step back. “She’s doing a lot better. The last few times I’ve visited, Mom reminded me of how she used to be when we lived on Earth. There only seem to be two problems still.”

  Cheryl Lynn looked into her face. The young woman had always been so polite any time she had dealt with her. “What problems?”

  “Mom really doesn’t like dogs, and Jinx and I are together. F’ing-dot-period!” Anne had been looking down at her feet, but when she looked up she noticed the universal expression on Cheryl Lynn’s face. Disapproving mother. “Sorry, that was crude and maybe a little harsh, but Mom still doesn’t seem to understand or accept what Jinx and I mean to each other. And she still won’t get an implant.” Anne chuckled. “I’m sure it’s so she doesn’t have to acknowledge that Jinx can talk. The other thing that’s an issue is that I’ve been away from my parents long enough that I have no interest at all in moving back in with them.”

  Any further comment from Cheryl Lynn was curtailed by the voice of Bethany Anne. “Everything okay?”

  Cheryl Lynn saw the leader of the Etheric Empire standing in the doorway of her office. “Sure thing,” she answered. “Why?”

  Bethany Anne shrugged. “ADAM told me that Anne has been here for several minutes already, and you usually shove people at me trying to keep me on schedule.”

  “Annnnd just how often do you stay on time once your day starts?” Cheryl Lynn turned the disapproving mother-face on Bethany Anne.

  “Don’t give me that look or that line of bullshit!” Bethany Anne waved her finger at Cheryl Lynn. “If you’d let me shove those idiots who won’t shut up and stick to their allotted time into the Etheric, I’d have no trouble staying on schedule.”

  Cheryl Lynn sighed. “Heads of government can’t just make annoying people disappear.”

  “Wanna put money on that?” Bethany Anne raised one eyebrow and let a hint of fang show in her smile.

  “No!” Cheryl Lynn crossed her arms. “Someone has to keep you from going overboard, and accepting a wager like that would just give you an incentive.”

  Bethany Anne stuck out her tongue at Cheryl Lynn. “Too right!”

  Cheryl Lynn just shook her head, then looked at Anne and Jinx. They had been turning their heads back and forth like spectators at a tennis match as they watched the two women tease each other. “Why don’t you two head into the office and I’ll try to get the Empress to join you before her next appointment shows up.”

  “Ha!” Bethany Anne barked. “When was the last time you checked my calendar?”

  Cheryl Lynn looked shocked, then suspicious. She hurried around her desk, dropped into her chair, and activated her display. “Gott Verdammt! I assume ADAM is responsible for this,” Cheryl Lynn shouted at Bethany Anne’s back.

  “He only did what I asked him to do.” Bethany Anne stopped at the door to her office and turned back to Cheryl Lynn. “The briefing I received about this meeting suggested this was going to require a lot more time than was originally scheduled. Lock up and head home, CL. I’ll get us out of here when we’re finished.” With a wave at the front office, Bethany Anne closed the door behind her and looked at her two visitors.

  “Jean Dukes tells me you have something interesting to show me.” Bethany Anne remained standing near the door, not certain what form this demonstration would take.

  Almost as if she had read Bethany Anne’s mind, Anne pulled her tablet and the piece of ruby out of her backpack. “Do you want a live demo, or the recorded ones?” she asked the Empress.

  “The live demo will leave a hole in something,” Jinx added with a snort of amusement.

  “In that case, let’s start with the recorded ones,” Bethany Anne suggested as she walked around her desk to take her seat.

  >>I can’t get a signal to your tablet in the Empress’ office,<< Seshat informed Anne over their Etheric link.

  “Is it okay if Seshat sends ADAM the files so he can show them for you?” Anne nervously asked Bethany Anne.

  “Oh, the office’s security measures… Sure, that would be fine,” Bethany Anne agreed as she spun her chair a few degrees to allow her to reach a mini fridge. “Coke?” she offered as she reached in to grab one of the bottles for herself.

  “That would be great, thanks!” Anne enthusiastically accepted the ice-cold bottle from Bethany Anne. She opened it carefully, took a swallow, and sighed in enjoyment.

  I take it Seshat is the name of her EI? Bethany Anne quizzed ADAM as she took a swallow of her own Coke.

  >>Correct. Here are the videos of Anne’s research.<<

  Not only was she happy about this being her last meeting of the day, but Bethany Anne was very pleased that her impulsive act of giving Anne a position as a researcher might be paying off.

  Jean had been tight-lipped about Anne’s discovery. S
he had looked out from the screen and held up a finger.

  “She’s got something scary.”

  A second finger had joined the first.

  “She’s going to need help moving forward.”

  With a third finger now in the air, Jean shook her head.

  “I don’t have a clue how she’s making it work, and even fewer ideas how to help her move forward.”

  Bethany Anne looked at the woman who had been one of her first recruits. She had never imagined that hiring Jean would have paid off so well. Some of Jean’s inventions in her service were legendary.

  “What are you telling me?” Bethany Anne was reasonably sure she knew what Jean was going to say, but she needed to hear her say the words.

  “She’s going to need her own R&D team. I’d imagine they are going to need to be a younger group—people who have mental flexibility.”

  “Is that a nice way of saying they aren’t stuck in a rut?” Bethany Anne chuckled.

  “Why did you recruit Anne?” Jean had asked.

  “Even though her idea wasn’t feasible, at the time she came up with an out-of-the-box solution for a situation,” Bethany Anne confessed.

  Jean nodded. “She’s going to need people who can do that. People who don’t have that little voice in the back of their head telling them all the reasons why something won’t work. People who are willing to say, ‘Fuck it, it doesn’t make sense but let’s try this.’”

  Bethany Anne waited briefly when she saw Ashur come in. He trotted over, lifted his front paws onto her thigh, and chuffed a greeting at Jean.

  “Same to you,” Jean said, holding her hand to the camera and flexing her fingers like she was scratching the dog’s back.

  Bethany Anne waited for Jean and Ashur to finish their greeting, then asked, “You’ve always been a ‘Fuck it’ sort of person, so how come you don’t want to do this?”

  “I could,” Jean had agreed, “but it could take months to get results. Do you want me off my other projects for months?”

  Bethany Anne shook her head sharply twice. “I’m already worried we’ll come across an enemy whose tech is far enough ahead of ours that we’ll get our asses handed to us.” Bethany Anne had just voiced one of her constant concerns.