“My father is much more proficient than I am, but I can show you the basics once we find a practice sword for me,” Gabrielle assured Anne, then watched in amazement as Anne’s hand reached up and disappeared.
“Fudge!” Anne proclaimed with disgust, and the rest of her body went the way of her hand.
Noticing Jinx didn’t look alarmed. Gabrielle asked, “What’s going on?”
Jinx snorted in a way that Gabrielle’s implant translated as laughter. “Anne is trying to convince a small section of the Etheric to follow her so she can store things like swords there and always have them at hand. So far, the Etheric has been reluctant to comply.”
“Found it,” Anne exclaimed as she reappeared with an extra practice blade in her hand.
“How far was it, and how badly are you drained?” Jinx asked with concern.
“Just a couple of feet away this time, and not bad since it was such a short distance,” Anne promptly answered her friend.
“You should have taken me with you,” Jinx admonished.
“You’re right,” Anne admitted, going over to give Jinx a scratch behind her ears. “I was just so frustrated it wasn’t where it was supposed to be that I didn’t think.”
“I’ll be very angry with you if your not thinking gets you hurt,” Jinx advised.
“What she said,” Gabrielle chimed in, gesturing at Jinx.
Anne took a breath and then nodded. “You’re both right, and I apologize,” she declared. “I won’t promise not to do it again because, well, I’m me, after all. But I do promise I’ll do my best to remember not to make silly mistakes like that.”
Jinx gave her person a quick lick on the hand. That’s the best I can hope for.
Gabrielle started Anne on longsword basics, which the girl seemed to pick up surprisingly quickly. After switching back to a training katana, Gabrielle was not surprised that Anne was pretty much able to hold her own using the standard training combinations. Anne used the extra reach her new weapon provided to ruthless advantage.
While they were cooling down after the lesson had ended, Gabrielle asked, “Given that performance, I’m guessing Seshat found videos from Earth?”
Anne snickered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Aren’t you the one who always suggests a girl’s got to have some secrets?”
“Brat!” Gabrielle exclaimed fondly. “Same time tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tina felt a frisson of excitement as she left home. She had planned to extend her education after she left the Etheric Academy, but finding opportunities had been more difficult than she had expected. Or possibly her own brilliance had caused her to think she’d generate more interest. Tina smirked internally.
“Anne has some issues that she could use help with,” her mother had informed Tina. “Be a love and see what you can do for her.”
Tina approached the address she’d been given, surprised to see two Guardian Marines flanking the door. The sign over the door proclaimed JASS Inc. Wow, fancy, Tina thought.
“ID, Miss?” one of the guards asked as Tina approached the door.
The guard used his tablet to scan the identification Tina provided. “You’re on the list, Miss Grimes. Go on in.”
Tina entered and slowed at a door that looked like it was an office. As she was debating whether to knock, Tina heard dog toenails on the hard floor. Turning away from the door, she saw a girl who seemed to be around her own age walking her way. Tina couldn’t help but stare at the dog that walked beside the girl. That should be Jinx, but she was huge! The dog’s back was even with the waist of the girl.
“You must be Tina. Welcome! I’m Anne, and this is Jinx.” The girl seemed very upbeat, and Jinx yipped a hello at Tina.
“I know Jinx. I just can’t get over how large she is,” Tina commented as she bent to hug the dog.
“I was scared the first time I went into the Pod-doc, so Jinx went in with me. It started a tradition where when I need Pod-doc time, Jinx hops in also. I think each time someone’s in the Pod-doc, it finds more to optimize. Especially on the dogs, since it doesn’t have the same genetic diversity it has with us humans,” Anne explained.
“That makes a certain amount of sense,” Tina replied after a few seconds of considering the data that had been offered.
“Come on back.” Anne turned and headed down the hall. Jinx waited until Tina had passed and followed the two girls.
Anne waited at the door to the room that had been set up for meetings like these.
“Grab a soda or whatever you’d like and have a seat,” Anne invited as she pulled out a chair at the corner of the table for her guest.
“What do you have for me?” Tina asked, her enthusiasm about starting a new project evident in her tone.
“Just a sec,” Anne suggested. Going to the door, she looked out. “Abby, I’ll be out for a few minutes. Keep the room clear, would you?”
Abigail frowned, then pointed up. “You mean, out out?”
Anne giggled. “Not sure it’s up, but yes, that type of out.”
“I don’t like it, but I’m pretty useless there, so I’ll keep your landing site clear,” Abby promised with a disgruntled look.
“Thanks.” Anne smiled at her guard, then shut the door and walked over to Tina. Placing one hand on Jinx’ back and the other on Tina’s shoulder, she shifted the three of them into the Etheric.
“What the fuck?” Tina shrieked when she found herself surrounded by mist.
“Welcome to the Etheric,” Anne declared brightly.
“Oh, wow! Uncle John has mentioned it, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so creepy.” Tina looked around in cautious fascination.
Anne dug a piece of metal out of her pocket. “Watch.” Anne used her chin to motion to the metal in her hand while her other hand dug into her pocket again. “I brought you here because Bethany Anne won’t let me experiment on the Meredith Reynolds anymore.”
Tina watched as Anne placed a small red stone on the piece of metal. Despite her experiences at the Etheric Academy, Tina couldn’t stop her mouth from gaping open when there was a red flash of light and the stone melted through the metal Anne was holding.
“Are you all right?” Tina’s concern was evident in her voice.
“Thanks, I’m fine,” Anne assured her as she bent down to pick up the tiny ruby she had used for the demonstration. “It heats and cuts through this so quickly, the edges don’t have time to get hot. There’s video to show you when we get back, but I thought a live demonstration would be best.”
Tina worked hard to repress a shiver as she asked, “Can we go back, then?”
“Sure.” Anne’s reply was cheerful as she put the metal and the ruby back in her pocket. She placed a hand on Jinx, then held out a hand to Tina. “For now, at least, it requires physical contact to move someone.”
“For now?” Tina asked as she grasped Anne’s hand.
“Who knows what we’ll find as we explore this dimension further?” Anne replied just before the three of them returned to the meeting room at JASS Inc.
“We’re back, Abby.” Anne opened the door a small distance to inform her guard.
Anne joined Tina at the table and queued the video of the experiment that had trashed her old apartment. “Here are the videos of the early experiments. You can see what we’re up against.”
After watching the videos, Tina asked, “So what are the issues?”
“Well, I’d like to be able to do something with the energy, like make a weapon,” Anne began her explanation. “But how can I make a weapon out of something I can’t mount in a device? It has burned through everything I’ve put it up against so far.”
“Crap!” Tina exclaimed, nodding in understanding. “That does make it difficult to use.”
Tina watched with some fascination as both Anne and Jinx turned toward the door, where there was a knock a few seconds later.
“Come on in, Stevie,” Anne declared.
Anne made t
he introductions. “Tina Grimes, this is Stephanie Kasyanov, who as you can see will give you dirty looks if you call her Stephanie since she prefers to be called ‘Stevie.’ Stevie is our mechanical genius, sort of like William on Team BMW.”
“Stevie, Tina has offered to help me on the research side of things,” Anne finished.
Stevie looked at the young woman and noted the family resemblance to John Grimes. “Welcome aboard,” she said, holding out her hand to the girl.
“Thanks, nice to meet you,” Tina proclaimed, rising to shake the offered hand.
“Well, that takes care of the introductions,” Anne stated. “Now let’s talk about what needs to be done next.”
Bethany Anne checked her refrigerator and sighed when she observed she was out of Coke. She hadn’t been able to sleep and had gotten into the office extremely early, and she’d already downed the three Cokes that had been chilled. Figuring she could grab a twelve-pack from the supply room, then indulge in a cold one from Cheryl Lynn’s fridge, Bethany Anne stepped out of her office.
Cheryl Lynn was very happy. As soon as Anne’s friend Gina had mentioned that there was a company producing stuffed dog toys, along with action figures of her boss and the Bitches, Cheryl Lynn had placed an order. She’d gotten the call last night that her order had arrived, so she had detoured by the store on the way to work to pick up the Ashur stuffed toy and the Scott action figure.
Checking her tablet, she noted that she’d have at least thirty minutes before Bethany Anne showed up. She had put the one-quarter-size Ashur on her desk and was just unboxing the Scott action figure when she heard the door to Bethany Anne’s office open.
Bethany Anne heard Cheryl Lynn’s gasped curse, along with her heartbeat rising like crazy. She watched with amused curiosity as Cheryl Lynn opened a drawer in her desk and hastily placed something in it before slamming it shut.
“What the devil…” Bethany Anne began, then sputtered to a stop when she noticed the small Ashur sitting on Cheryl Lynn’s desk.
Cheryl Lynn grabbed the Ashur toy and tried to hide it behind her back as Bethany Anne demonstrated one of the episodes of creative cursing she was famous for. The heels of Bethany Anne’s shoes sounded like gunshots as her boss crossed the space between them and held out her hand.
Cheryl Lynn swallowed her fear and shook her head at Bethany Anne. “Y-you don’t know how hard these are to get,” she finally squeaked.
To give herself a few seconds to calm down, Bethany Anne raided a Coke from Cheryl Lynn’s fridge as she’d planned. After a couple of swallows, she felt her irritation ease. She set the Coke down, wiped her hands on the thighs of her slacks, and once again held out her hand.
As Cheryl Lynn slowly brought the stuffed animal out from behind her back, Bethany Anne nodded at the drawer. “And in there?”
“Queen Bitches action figure Scott,” Cheryl Lynn whispered, her face red with embarrassment.
Bethany Anne snorted, then asked, “Who’s responsible for this?”
Even with her enhanced hearing, Bethany Anne could barely make out the whispered, “Anne.”
“Anne? My little researcher Anne?”
Feeling sorry for Anne but happy that he and TOM were not going to have to try to hide their involvement, ADAM answered, “If you’ll look at the monitor?” He ran the footage of Jinx rescuing the toddler.
“After this happened, little Joey was dog-crazy. When Anne found out there were no stuffed dogs of any kind, she had Seshat find manufacturing facilities on Yoll that could produce good-quality stuffed animals. As is normal for Anne, she held open and honest discussions with Seshat when she explained about stuffed toys and action figures and doll sets,” ADAM explained to a fascinated Cheryl Lynn and a mortified Bethany Anne. “When Seshat checked, she found there were no instances of stuffed animals, action figures, or doll sets on Yoll. She filed intellectual property rights on all those categories, so JASS Inc. now holds licensing rights to all such merchandise. I imagine there will be a brown spot on Anne’s underwear once she finds out how rich she has become,” ADAM finished with a chuckle.
Clutching the soft Ashur toy to her chest, Bethany Anne slid down the wall to sit on the floor.
“Why couldn’t it have been someone I could pound on?” she lamented.
Chapter Fourteen
“This is Pehl-eck, and I’m with human reporter Giannini Oviedo. We’re here on the human space station Meredith Reynolds. Welcome, Giannini.”
Giannini Oviedo, a reporter who had a fairly extensive history with now-Empress Bethany Anne, smiled at her Yollin counterpart. “Maybe I should be welcoming you, Pehl-eck, but you’re correct, we’re here on the Meredith Reynolds to hear from the Empress.”
Pehl-eck was a minor Yollin celebrity and had been somewhat surprised when the human had the courage to call her on her hubris. Luckily for her, their cameras were diverted as John Grimes and Eric Escobar entered the meeting room.
“And look,” the Yollin reporter enthused, “here come two of the Empress’ personal armsmen.”
Giannini quietly blew out a breath to soothe the emotional edges the Yollin reporter had ruffled and set her face in her professional expression. “This means we should see the Empress shortly, Pehl-eck.”
Two German Shepherd dogs entered the room and flanked the podium.
“I recognize Ashur.” Pehl-eck looked at Giannini. “Do you know which of the puppies the other dog is?”
“Yes, Pehl-eck. That is Jinx. She’s companion to Anne.” Giannini kept her smile’s wattage on low, not letting her pleasure of getting one up on Pehl-eck show on camera.
Pehl-eck clicked her mandibles. “Anne who?”
“Anne Nacht.” Giannini worked hard to keep her smug feeling from coming through in her voice.
Pehl-eck was not used to feeling out of control of a situation. “Anne Nacht, as in Bethany Anne Nacht and Gabrielle Nacht?”
“That’s correct.” Giannini looked away from Pehl-eck. “And look, there’s the Empress.
The cameras zoomed in on the Empress as she entered the briefing room, then pulled back to include two young women following her.
“Who are the young humans?” Pehl-eck asked Giannini as the camera focused briefly on the two young women following the Empress.
“The shorter one is Jinx’ companion Anne. I’m not sure who the other girl is,” Giannini was forced to admit.
Bethany Anne stepped up to the podium and looked at the two reporters and the camera crew.
“I’m sure by now most people know about the asteroid that has been brought into a synchronous orbit with this station. The asteroid has been designated as 3PO,” Bethany Anne related clearly to her audience.
“It has been brought close to the Meredith Reynolds to be turned into a manufacturing facility.”
“Are you going to be making those new stuffed animals and the toys that have become so popular?” Pehl-eck asked.
Anne winced at the question. She hadn’t thought her little project would have come to the attention of the media.
Let’s skip the planned answer and go with this. Make it work. Bethany Anne’s delight was evident in the order.
Me? was all the shocked Anne could manage to respond.
When were you planning on telling me about your little venture? Bethany Anne asked, just before she responded to the reporter.
“Let me introduce Anne Nacht, the CEO of that company, and let her explain.”
I was under the impression that you would not like the attention, Anne protested as she shuffled forward to replace Bethany Anne at the podium.
Anne remembered the advice Jinx had given her about needing to be an Alpha. She did her best imitation of her mother and stood tall as she addressed the reporters.
“We already have contracts to manufacture those goods on Yoll, and we have every intention of honoring our contracts. However, the success of those products has given rise to the idea that more items that fall into the toy and entertainment category f
rom Earth might receive an equally enthusiastic reception,” Anne informed the reporter.
“What other items are you thinking about?” Giannini wanted to know.
“We will first need to complete 3PO. At this particular time, it hasn’t had a stability study done, to allow us to identify how much usable space will be available,” Anne responded with a smile. “Once that is done, I expect we’ll do market studies to determine what sorts of items appeal to the non-human populations.”
“Why was it chosen, then?” Pehl-eck queried, wanting to maintain the edge on her human competition.
“There were two contributing factors,” Anne expounded, more comfortable with a question she knew the answer to. “First is the size. It’s big enough for us to use without being large enough to make mining it where it was located profitable. The second point is that there appear to be enough valuable geological materials that we should be able to sell what we extract during construction to pay for setting up our operation.”
Bethany Anne stepped forward. “Thank you, Anne.” Looking at the cameras, the Empress continued, “I want to make one thing perfectly clear. With 3PO inside the interdiction area of the Meredith Reynolds, one of our first priorities will be to arm the asteroid so there are no gaps in our defensive fire. Any unauthorized attempts to approach 3PO will meet the same response and results as approaching the Meredith Reynolds.”
As Bethany Anne led the way from the room, she resumed her conversation with Anne. I guess you’re right, although I was a little hurt.
Hurt, Majesty? Anne wondered.
Well, I didn’t get a nice stuffed Ashur toy. Bethany Anne worked very hard to make herself sound emotionally distressed.
Etheric Adventures Boxed Set: Books 1-3 Page 33
