“She going to be okay, Lyra?” Sonya asked as I did my best to bandage the wound.
“As long as infection doesn’t set in, yes.” I answered optimistically.
“Good because it will be dawn in a few hours. We may need to leave her here or be discovered.”
“Nice of you to show so much concern, Sonya. I’ll be ready to move as soon as the room stops spinning and the three of you become one again.” Chantell croaked out as she regained consciousness.
“Here. Drink some more water, my lady.” I urged, pushing my canteen at her face.
“Yeah, thanks, honey.” She accepted, taking a gulp.
“Better. But why did you guys come after us?”
“How about you tell us what happened that the stubborn and bad-assed Chantell Denison took one in the shoulder?” Kate countered.
“Hey, Wrench. Nice to see you, too.”
“Answer the damn question, Shan.” Kate prompted rudely.
“Racism has spanned the eons here, Katie.” Chantell said flatly. “Fourteen hundred years and sadly the bigots still exist… Hey. You did a pretty good job on my shoulder, Kitten.”
“Racism? Is that some sort of discrimination?” Greer asked.
“It was a distinctly ‘Earth’ form, Kitty. I thought I shared that a few years back.”
“Lt. Niger Greer? Chantell Denison. Shan? This is Greer.”
“Yer shittin’ me! There’s two of ‘em? Lord, help us!” Chantell groaned.
“My lady. I am not worthy to be included in any mention which refers to Her Royal Highness, Kitty Sinae.” Greer replied humbly.
“That tail claims otherwise, LT. You got more royal blood in you than you think!”
“We hadn’t received the test results before we left base.” Sonya offered.
“Still straight and to the blunt point, eh Serangetti? Why did you bring her along, Lyra?”
“Because she’s a member of JWC.”
“Wait! You didn’t bring the kids with you…did you?” Chantell gaped.
“Just the senior echelon. Any other adult members were unavailable for one reason or another.”
“So we have two more brooms stuck on this God-forsaken planet. That’s just peachy!”
“Think we’re that foolish, Motor-City? Aquia and Galantry flew us in close enough to parachute.” Kate explained.
“Aquia? You let that crazy Anderson fly a broom?” Chantell again gasped, wincing in pain. “Which one?”
“She’s flying Cali, Shan.” Kate replied.
“What?!” She gasped, but quickly composed herself.
“Well, it does make a scary sort of sense when you really think about it.” She reasoned, though sounding unconvinced.
“The two seem to get along.” I giggled.
“Galantry? She that Orion we inducted at your commissioning ceremony?”
“One hellava pilot, Shan! On par with Chance or Hope!” Kate crowed Galantry’s talent. “Kid’s got some sweet moves, girlfriend! Has Simone’s BFG in her wand, too!”
“In her wand? Shit.” Chantell repeated, impressed.
“Chantell? We received a transmission from Charli inviting us to come down- that there were plenty of rich needy ‘gentlemen’ here for us. What’s up with that?” I asked. “Kate recognized one of your WC Peacemaker hammers being cocked in the background.”
“That was me. The assholes that jumped us the day after we got here confiscated our weapons when we found out our Current had been drained. No ‘magic’ no super powers. They forced us all into a brothel and expected us to turn tricks for them. That didn’t work out so well though. After all, we still know how to fight hand to hand.”
“Artie and Chance held out the longest- those two having the largest Current reserves. I guess you’ve all noticed the general ‘I feel like shit’ feeling by now?”
“Yeah, even the headaches.” Kate interrupted.
“It only gets worse the longer you’re here. It gets to be so bad you can’t think straight. I started feelin’ like some brainless bimbo about two weeks in. Pain caused by trauma seems to cut through it though. Once shot, I got my head back into the game. The Current drain, it doesn’t seem to affect the men around here though. They’re just as rude…just as unforgiving, and just as cruel as the damn Hobgoblins.” Chantell continued, but she began rubbing at her temples at an increased rate.
“You called them ‘racist’ before?” I asked.
“Any ‘non-Terrans’ seem to qualify as lesser beings here.”
“But you are Terran.” Greer stated factually.
“A 'half-breed' like me isn’t considered ‘Terran’ in this town, sister. Around these parts my ‘two continent’ mix means I’m level with the cacti and other succulents. You three…you three might be considered an oddity. Not many Lynxins come to visit- if any. They might cut you some slack for a while- until they grow tired of your novelty.” Chantell said as she continued to apply more pressure to the sides of her head.
“I can feel myself starting to slip, girls. The pressure in my head is beginning to twist my focus?” Chantell giggled.
“I’m beginning to like, lose it again, girls?”
Sonya flicked her hand and quickly slashed the back of our sister’s arm- not deep, but just enough to hurt. The action quickly drew blood though.
“Dammit! What’d you do that for, Serangetti?” Chantell whined before shaking her head a few times. “Thanks, Sonya. That brought me back for a little bit. Now, you three might not have to worry about discrimination until your novelty wears off.”
“Been there, done that, Shan. Next paragraph, please.” Kate told her while rolling her hand motioning her to keep going.
“I tried to bide my time- to fight whatever the brain-numbing force is down here. Chance and Dell even took turns buffering my Current to keep me from becoming too flighty. Finally, we all saw the lights in the sky. Pretty fireworks so high up that it had to be you guys- Witch Corp…”
Sonya slashed her arm again.
“Awwwww, dammit! Hey, I wasn’t starting to slip yet, Serangetti!” Chantell cursed again.
“Just making sure.” Mother said with a devious smile.
“Any-who, I decided to make my move when Charli began to activate her comm., I rushed ol’ green teeth and snagged one of our peacemakers, cocked the hammer and held him at gunpoint for a change! His fifteen-year-old kid tried to sneak up behind me, though. I ducked and ran- contrary to my training- instead of completing my intended task; killing that sonofabitch! The little turd tried to shoot me in the back! Thank God I twisted and he hit me in the shoulder.”
“So how many of you are still coherent enough to understand we’re here to rescue you?” I asked.
“Chance and Dell seem to be holding on; Lokust and Charli slide in and out at odd times. Hope is the badass of us! If this place is affecting her, she doesn’t show it. At least not through the bruises they give her for fighting their orders.” Chantell paused. “That bitch! She knew the pain would dull the effects! Awwwww! Serangetti!”
“Just making sure.” Mother giggled with a sinister smile.
“How are you guys feeling?” Chantell asked as she glared at my mother.
“Just a little lethargic, but no headaches like you described.” I answered.
“Same for me.” Sonya agreed.
“Being new to this whole female thing, I’m not sure how I feel… tired mostly, I guess.” Greer admitted.
“Aside from feeling like I’m due to start bleeding tomorrow, peachy, Shan.” Kaitlyn complained.
“You don’t feel your mind slipping?” Chantell asked, a bit curious.
Sonya started to move her hand.
“Don’t you frelling dare, Princess!” Chantell ordered brusquely, pointing at Sonya contemptuously.
I looked to my three Coven sisters. We each shook our heads ‘no’.
“Huh! Maybe you Lynxins aren’t as receptive or something. Why aren’t you being affected like me, Katie?” Chantell theorized.
Sonya’s hand shot out at our injured sister.
“OUCH! Dammit, Serangetti! Stop being so eager to re-injure me or I will hurt you! Got it?”
“To answer your question, Shan, I’m a Regulon. We seem to be better able to shake off crazy shit like this.
“Wow, we’ve known each other for what? Two… three hundred years? I never knew you were from Regulus!”
“There are other things I’d rather not let get out too, Shan. Why don’t you get some shut-eye now that you’re patched up?” Kaitlyn remarked coldly, promptly changing the subject.
 
 
So, what’s the plan?” Greer asked about an hour later. We had stopped talking when we saw Chantell’s eyelids closing. Now she was awake and seemed strong enough to stand and eat some rations.
“Thanks, Sonya. That one snuck up on me.” Chantell said as she rubbed the new laceration she had just received.
“You said earlier that we might avoid confrontation for awhile by being a novelty? Is that right?” I asked as I touched Chantell’s arm and asked some of my Current to defuse into her.
“The hell you doin’ girl?! Don’t waste your Current on me! You’ll need every scrap of it to get us out of here.”
“I’ll use my Current as I deem necessary, Lady Chantell! So just shut it. We need your intel on this place- these people.” I scolded.
“These animals, you mean! This really is like the old west, sweetie. No law, no rules, no consideration for anyone but themselves- the male individual. It’s total chaos here. Nothing seems to matter to these guys except where their next BJ or piece of ass is coming from.”
“So just a bunch of horny teen-aged boys, Shan? That’s what this place is? A big frat house?”
“It’s more than that, Wrench. Only a select group of men- yeah, ‘boys’- have all the power. It’s like there’s some kinda spell over the whole place; something here that makes females fully compliant and submissive. I really am surprised you four haven’t felt the urge to screw like rabbits.” Chantell explained.
“Hey, how long have you been down here, anyway?” She inquired.
“About eight hours.” I answered.
“Huh. I was already thinking the ugliest bastard in this town was looking good by that time. Maybe you guys have a natural resistance to this place.”
Sonya flinched, but Chantell produced her wand and pointed it at her.
“Don’t, unless you wanna be in diapers, Princess.” Chantell warned flatly.
“So you would waste that which has been given to smite a friend?” Sonya questioned with an eyebrow raised.
“Lyra gave me a good charge of Current, Sonya.” She held her pendant out for us to see. It indicated half her reserve. “We can still accumulate some Current, but it’s slow to build. I’ll be good with this for a few hours.”
“We covered our theorized resistance before you took a nap, Shan.” I informed her, getting back on topic.
“Oh. Okay, so what’s the plan?”
“How did you first approach the situation, my lady?” I asked.
“Well…we walked into town and four guys surrounded us on the main street. It’s a two-horse, shit-hole so it has one main street and eight or ten short side streets. Two or three story buildings on each side. Mostly flat or slightly angled roofs. Turns out it was a great place for snipers. We tried to hold our own with our wands, but they started to fizzle about five minutes into the ambush. They knew we would run out of Current, girls. I have no idea how they knew, but all they had to do was wait us out.”
“What about firearms?” Kate asked.
“We tried to make use of our pieces, but they started to get too heavy and our aim suffered dramatically. We were just running out of juice!”
“Look, these assholes just want us as whores! Me, they wanted as a house slave! I want to see them get their asses handed to them! Period!” Chantell hissed in anger.
“So, if they see us, they’ll want to ‘repurpose’ us.” I repeated.
“What part of that didn’t I make clear, Lyra?”
“And we know they have at least four of those antique four-wheeled vehicles they use to scout the area.”
“Four ATVs that I saw, yes. They have a small refinery on the other side of town about a mile out that processes shale oil into gasoline. If we take out their resources…”
“No.” I interrupted. “If we take out the ATVs they would waste that resource.”
“Skipper, if we take out those ATVs that means we take out the drivers and passengers as well.” Kate pointed out. “What’s bubbling in your head, Kitten?”
“According to Chantell, we Lynxins are probably a ‘novelty’. I’m thinking of demonstrating what a real novelty we Lynxins are. Chantell, how is your South Capital?”
“Spec-on. Sim urb Dee-troit! (I speak it fluently. It’s not unlike what we spoke back in suburban Detroit.)” Chantell giggled. Her diction and accent was spot on.
“Cat! Props? (What do you think, Girls? I sound okay?)” Kate asked to demonstrate her proficiency of the efficient, layman’s vernacular used in the highly populated neighborhoods south of the royal residence. The area was known for its proud, hard-working, but tough, no-nonsense residents.
“Redlight theory fab. Hail low hemi, Kitten! (Prostitute/Working Girl thinks she’s pretty cool for knowin’ the slang. The accent makes her sound like she’s from the Southern Continent, Kitten!)” Sonya said with a laugh.
Kate’s wand was pointed directly at the back of my mother’s head and she didn’t look too happy!
“Translate that very carefully or you may get them diapers, Princess!” Kate threatened.
“She said your accent sounds like you’re from FeLane’s lower hemisphere, Kaitlyn.” I translated.
“Yeah, I got that part, but ‘Redlight’?” Kate questioned as she wobbled her wand at mom.
Speaking of mom, I wished she would wipe that evil grin from her face.
“I think it’s just slang for ‘silly female’, Wrench.” Chantell smiled as she tried to defuse the situation. “Kinda like: G’day mate! Lookie that plastered ‘Sheila’ at the bar?” Chantell smiled brightly.
“Back on Earth we called it ‘Austrailian’ or ‘Aussie’. It’d work perfect for you, Wrench.”
“I’ve heard the accent before, Shan. Yeah, might be fun. Okay.”
“I say we go in like a gang of cut-throat, kick-ass, no-nonsense mercenaries. We shoot at anything that moves- especially from up in the roof-lines. Kate, you think ‘ol’ betsy’ can take care of those ATV things?
Kaitlyn Yates nodded with a big smile. “Now yer talkin’!”
“Greer? You object to taking out a few of the opposition’s snipers?”
“I’m good, skipper.”
“Good. Sonya, around dawn I’m going to need you to be ‘almost’ seen. Nothing but scant peeks from dark corners. You’re our ‘phantom’ to just create some paranoia and interest. Let them know something’s up.”
“Aye, skipper. I’ll give them a good spooking.”
“Good, next we’re going to need you to reprise your previous role, Chantell. Hopefully, they’ll think we’re going to return their ‘property’.”
I keyed my comm.
“Kitten, Mini-Van.”
“Go ahead Kitten, Smurf here. How’s it going down there?”
Obviously, her siblings had given Link her codename.
“We found Fairy Godmother warm and in one piece. Have a lead on the others.”
“Fantastic news, Kitten! How can we help?” Link Anderson sounded elated.
“I need you to monitor the town just due east of us later today- just before local, planetary noon. The moment you pick up antique, small arms fire I want Galantry and Aquia to scramble for air support. Under no circumstances are they to get lower than twelve meters off the deck. Repeat. No lower than one-two meters. Copy?”
“One-two meters. Copy, Kitten.” Link repeated for confirmation.
“Good. With any luck we’ll have Flight One back with us by tomorrow evening. Kitten, out.” I said before disabling my comm again.
“Time for our resident poltergeist to get moving, Sonya. Remember, don’t push it and don’t get caught!”
“Aye, skipper.” Sonya smiled as she vanished from sight into the dark hallway.
“And don’t use too much Current, mom!” I reminded before she got too far.
 
 

 
 
We quietly lined up at the edge of town- four across, with Chantell ahead of us by two paces, her arm still in the makeshift sling. It was nearly planetary ‘high noon’.
 
With a nudge to Chantell’s good shoulder, we stepped onto, and started walking slowly down the middle of the town’s main street. Each of us, except Chantell, of course, wore our sidearms loosely in their holsters. Greer kept one of her rifles strapped to her back; the other, she held pointed at Chantell with her finger on the weapon’s trigger.
To all residents ‘watching’ through the windows facing the street, it was hoped we appeared to be ‘escorting’ our prisoner back to her owner.
Kaitlyn commented that we looked like four ‘badass’ chicas’ doing our ‘civic’ duty.
Just to keep the locals guessing, we had decided to use ‘layman’ Lynxin or ‘South Capital’ as our language of choice. Chantell had told us she suspected no one here would understand it.
“Kitten. End? Legaci-crip, EOL? (Kitten. You think this will work? We wouldn’t want the injured old woman to get killed, would we?)” Sonya asked- the same sinister smile from earlier.
“Ya’know I can understand and speak Lynxin fluently, Princess. And for chrissakes knock off that damn S&M grin you’ve got goin’ on across yer maw.” Chantell complained without turning back to us.
“Off Cats! Funct! Alt ‘B’. (Relax girls! This’ll work! If it don’t there’s always plan ‘B’.)” Kate stated optimistically.
“Oh? Did we agree to a ‘plan ‘B’?” Chantell wondered out loud.
“Alt ‘B’: Debug-Pb. Pray. (Plan ‘B’. Where we shoot any ass that tries to shoot us. Give this God-forsaken town a severe case of ‘lead poisoning’.)” Kate outlined.
“Oh. Good plan ‘B’. I like it. And just when were you gonna tell me about it?”
“ITRW, Step-run, F.G. (Right now, so keep moving and keep quiet, Fairy Godmother.)” Kate deadpanned.
That reminded me of something I had forgotten to visit once we left Mini-Van yesterday.
“Id Mnem, Greer? (You think of a cool handle yet, Greer?)” I asked.
“Mnem, Kitten? Moderator. (Why do I need a new call sign, Kitten? Moderator’s okay.)” She replied.
“Null, 2. Re-Mnem! (That’s so lame, LT! Try to be more imaginative!)” Chantell exclaimed- actually turning around to stare at her. “Modus? (What’s her fightin’ technique?)”
“Copy Paste: Kitten, Kitty! (She tied me and Kitty on the stats.)” I answered.
Chantell stopped walking, turned around and her wide eyes stared at us.
“Checksum? (Is that right? You really scored the same on the Training Simulator?)”
“Header only- 5C-1min. (She took all five hundred in a standard minute- scrapping ‘em off bare-handed- no shots spent!)” Kate boasted.
“Yer a real ‘Alley Cat’, LT!” Chantell gushed, impressed.
“Save! File 2? (Check it! What you think, LT?)” I announced excitedly.
“Alley Cat! File. Archive! (Sounds good. I’m ‘Alley Cat’. Here to kick ass an take ‘sir’s’!)” Greer announced pointedly.
“ (Now we’re good, Let’s get back to the ass-whoopin’!)” I ordered noticing some locals starting to take notice of us.
 
 
“Well, well. What we got here? Hey boys? Looks like we got some ‘Pumas’ that found our stray. We’ll take it right off yer hands and show it who’s boss ‘round these parts.
“Phal’ss (Dick! I don’t like you already!)” I answered loudly.
“Huh? What’d you say now?” The tall, mustached, scraggly-haired bigot asked in confusion. He looked around to the sides of the street where some observers had collected, for any offered translation.
“Oh, well.” The cocky local reached out to try and grab Chantell’s arm.
A shot rang out!
The local suddenly grabbed his hand with his other and screamed out in pain!
“ Toy. (Touch her again and you’ll lose it entirely! Leave our pet furless Terran alone!)” Sonya warned. She had pulled her Glock and placed a round into his reaching hand. She now had the weapon’s muzzle aimed right at his forehead.
“Ay, mate? Princess says don’t touch ‘er prize. Comprende?” Kaitlyn warned. “An’ we all killed fer less. Jes cause it’s fun; yeah?”
“Re-num GoSubs! (Get those snipers off the roof!)” I said angrily, noticing snipers on a few rooftops on either side of the street.
The guy just stood in front of us and puzzled with what I said.
Pulling one peacemaker, I took out the shooter on my left then dispatched the one on my right. Didn’t these guys know to hide or just stay low?
“She hates ‘surprises’ mate!” Kate translated after both dead men had rolled off their respective roofs and made independent, dusty ‘thuds’ on the barren ground.
The assembled onlookers let out a collective gasp. Several women- I was surprised they were allowed out of their rooms- began pointing and crying. At the moment, I…we couldn’t care less whether they had just lost their man or were just frightened.
“Variables! (Show all your muscle, old man!)” I growled in anger.
Again the guy just looked at us.
I growled again and took aim with my un-holstered pistol.
Our ‘local’ subtly glanced to either side as he gulped. I didn’t miss his mistake.
“Clear codes! (Call off your dogs, asshole!)” I growled as I made a point of showing I caught his error.
“What did she say?” He asked nervously.
“I told ya about her an’ surprises mate. We knows ‘bout the rats in the wings. Lose ‘em or you lose ‘em!” Kate nodded to each side of the street.
“I don’t know what yer talkin’ ‘bout!”
In one smooth, fluent move Greer traded rifles and placed a quick round into the corner of a building on the left then placed another through the corner of the building on our right.
The report from the big caliber rounds echoed in the stagnant, silent air for only a second. Two ‘grunts’- one from each side of the street followed instantly.
Just as quickly, Greer re-sheathed that weapon to her back and pulled the other into her possession.
“Over-spec, Alley Cat! (Bitchin’ move, Alley Cat!)” Kate applauded then spoke in ‘their’ language. “Like I said, mate, we don’t like no surprises! Now…If you’d bring out them other Sheilas, this one says she come with, we’ll think about not destroyin’ yer shithole. Comprende?”
“I have no idea who you skanks is talkin’ ‘bout.” The guy reiterated.
Sonya’s pistol barked and our local guy jumped, but quickly screamed out in more pain and grabbed at his right foot.
“Sorry, mate. Neglected to tell ya we all knows the language. Now…them Sheilas what we want as pets?
We heard internal combustion engines coming up behind us- still pretty far off.
“Throwaways, 6! (Hey! We got us some heroes on our six.)” I announced. I doubted the Terrans could even hear them yet.
“I still have no idea what yer talkin’ ‘bout.”
“Solo.” Kate stated calmly as the four, four-wheelers quickly drew nearer.
It seemed like Kate was waiting longer than I would have, but she finally, quickly spun around and opened up with one shot from her shotgun.
There was a loud, double explosion from behind us and our local guy’s eyes widened.
People ran back into the buildings they had appeared from in a panic!
Only a few people- mostly men were left on the antique wooden sidewalks.
Kate fired another shot and a similar, single explosion rang in our ears. She turned back to our local.
One more engine could be heard- its exhaust noise grew higher in tone as its driver gunned his engine.
Now our local guy’s mouth dropped completely open in horror.
“Sorry ‘bout that, mate, but the flies…really bad today. Best call an exterminator.” Kate paused a moment. “Hold the thought.”
Smiling devilishly, Kate slowly turned around again and pointed her WC Peacemaker at the fourth and last four-wheeler. The explosive round did not discriminate and the vehicle exploded in a similar, impressive fireball. Pieces of vehicle and rider could be heard hitting the buildings on either side of the street.
“Jog yer memory any, mate?” Kate asked after turning back to our ‘forgetful’ local with a satisfied, lustful sneer as she holstered her pistol and casually reloaded both barrels of her ‘pea-shooter’.
The dumbfounded man simply and cautiously raised his arm to point behind him.
“Follow me.” He said in a completely defeated voice.
As we walked further into the town, I happened to look down each direction of the cross street. Two men- one on each side of the main street- lay dead in puddles of their own blood- huge holes in their chests.
“Point, Alley Cat! (Nice shooting, Alley Cat!)” I complimented.
“Misused, Kitten. (Not exactly what I signed on for, Kitten. Let’s get the others and leave.)” Greer answered sadly.
“My posse, they want me to remind ya, no more surprises, mate.” Kate adlibbed.
“So where you girls from? Haven’t seen your kind around here before.” Our ‘guy’ asked calmly even though he was limping badly while holding his shattered hand.
So calm in fact, that I knew he had something else planned.
“Bugs. (Eyes wide, girls.)” I warned.
“What’d she say?” he dared ask.
“Kitten says she ain’t above shootin’ yer ass in the back, mate. Takin’ two snipers out at fifty yards is nothin’; so try something else. She dares ya.” Kaitlyn threatened.
Our local chuckled quietly.
Yeah, he wasn’t too smart to think he had the upper hand.
“Hey, mate? Them twenty chumps you got waitin’ for us forty paces ahead? You really think we don’t expect ‘em? Tell ‘em stand down or more local Sheilas’ll go without tonight.” Kate suddenly warned as she let us know what waited.
I silently topped off my pistols and holstered them again then winked to Kate, Sonya, and Greer.
“EndLoop, F.G. (Fairy Godmother, play dead when told.)” I ordered.
Her head nodded ever so slightly in understanding.
“Next, toy. (Keep goin’, pet.)” Sonya shouted as she grazed Chantell with a shot from her Glock. The shot wasn’t unexpected though, as I had seen Chantell signal that she needed help focusing. Our local guy again cried out in pain as he reached for his left forearm.
“Recycled, Princess! (Bonus, Princess!)” Greer giggled.
“Doesn’t seem to be yer day, mate.” Kate laughed evilly.
“I’ll be the one laughing in a minute, you furry slags.” Our local guy whispered.
The joke was on him though as we all heard him plain as day.
Kate swept the rooftops on her right then on her left with her shotgun.
“10+Seeker; 2+Locust, cats! (Seeker and Locust were hiding on the roofs at ten and two, girls.)” Kate reported.
“Redefine, Cats. (Refocus only, girls.)” I commanded then thought of a less violent option.
“Jump! Alley Cat+10, Kitten+2. (Redirect! Alley Cat take Seeker; I’ll take Locust.)” I growled. “2>6 or 5. Return! (Rank two beats a rank six and five. Break!)”
On that command Greer holstered her rifle then shot up the left building’s exterior and I instantly cleared the side of the right building. Lokust was completely overwhelmed and I soon had her neutralized- the pain from the cut on her shoulder would quickly bring her back into focus- when she woke up.
Greer did not reappear in our little lineup. I suspected she was ‘scoping’ out our opposition and would provide cover fire.
 
A shot rang out from somewhere ahead. An unknown man dropped from a roof peak onto the main street with a dead-weighted, dusty ‘thud’, fifteen meters ahead. Our guide stuttered a step but kept slowly limping forward.
Artemis Dell dropped down in front of Chantell from concealment behind a second floor porch wall. Sonya quickly wounded her in the shoulder.
As we hoped, once the pain focused her thoughts, she fell to the street and curled into a fetal position.
The local guy looked disgusted and kicked our fallen sister with his good foot. I was amazed Sonya didn’t end him on the spot!
With Dell out, that left Chance and Hope Summers.
Three shots rang out in rapid succession.
“Alley Cat, Kitten. Rollleft 3. Incrementing. Cut. (Alley Cat, Kitten. Scratch three more badies. Skipping on. Out.)” Greer reported on comms.
Our local escort suddenly stopped and turned around slowly. He seemed surprised that one of us was missing, but his expression quickly changed to a slimy smirk. A shit-eatin’ grin as Chantell would say.
“You really think you’ll make it any farther?” He asked, his smirk going wider. “We’re holding your remaining ‘pets’. If we can’t have ‘em, we’ll kill ‘em both.”
“Compat. (Okay by me.)” I said as I pulled my pistol. “Deck.”
Our local guy’s head exploded!
Chantell was now down on the street, also in a fetal position as she had been told.
“He was such an arrogant asshole, anyway!” I justified.
Mom turned and looked at me in absolute horror!
Several shots hitting the ground behind us refocused our attention forward.
I drew my other pistol.
We started moving along the street again, leaving Chantell and Dell lying silent and unmoving on the street.
Another shot rang out.
“Got another one, Kitten.” Greer confirmed.
Four more shots rang out- this time in a two second burst!
“Yes, me again. Add four more.” Greer alerted after the fact.
“Hey. We gonna let her have all the fun, Kitten?” Kate asked as she ran forward, shotgun in one hand and pistol in her other. She quickly fired both, in opposite directions.
Blood and loose flesh exploded from the guy on her left and what was left of someone’s head hit the street on her right.
Sonya and I looked to each other and shrugged our shoulders.
 
Chance Summers walked- stiffly- out into the middle of the street about fifty meters ahead of Kate, her staff held straight and perpendicular to the street ahead of her. Toward us! It’s blue gem glowing softly in the bright daylight sun.
Shit! This wasn’t good! If whoever was able to control Nike, there might be a problem.
Chance’s…no…Nike’s eyes were glowing brighter than her staff’s gem. That, I remembered, indicated that Nike was in control and, without knowing what side she thought us on, could spell our failure.
And our immediate demise!
Another arrogant S.O.B. walked calmly out from a street on the left. He stopped right next to Chan…Nike and placed a hand on her shoulder.
I instantly felt nauseated!
“Now do what I have commanded you to do, bitch.” He ordered in a calm, level, accented voice.
Did he really think that would work on our High Priestess? Nike, the Goddess of Victory?
Just in case, I prepared myself for the apocalyptic agony I had heard her last victim had suffered.
 
 

 
 
“Honorable Nike! It is good to see you well. We were expecting your safe return to us for over three weeks. I know young Savanna eagerly awaits your return.” I said as I fell to one knee.
Looking to either side, I wasn’t the only one. Kate and Sonya had taken a knee also.
“So, you know to bow down to your superior!” The unknown man chuckled in a satanic manner.
Nike’s eyes flared for just an instant.
“You’re absolutely right. What were we thinking?” I said standing back up and glaring at this unknown, highly assumptive man. “Nike is our sister and we should not bow to her or anyone. We are the Valkyrie! Here to protect those that need protection! Even if it is our sister, Nike, that now needs that protection. Not that she can’t protect herself, that is. State your name, he who thinks himself master of all the species!”
I noticed Nike’s eyes pulse brighter again.
“Yes, I think I like that title.” The man chuckled haughtily. “Thank you for providing it. It will be the first of everything you give to me, as I will take even more from you… and everything!”
He laughed. It was a sinister laugh.
“I’d guess you would even take time and bend it to your whims, ay Chronos?” I assumed as I worked to set my trap. Though I had not witnessed it firsthand, I knew that I had to exceed the threshold of Nike’s anger. A threshold that was sure to rain Valhalla down on this planet.
At my casual mention of that long-hated name, Nike’s eyes really flared ‘orange’!
“Nice try, subhuman, but this self-titled ‘demi-goddess’ is firmly in my exclusive control!”
 
A shot rang out and Nike’s eyes dimmed for only an instant. A small, trickle of blood appeared on Chance’s left side.
“Summers! Chance! Alias Nike, Goddess of Victory! I am your mother and I tell you to stand down this instant, young lady! Think of Savanna and what would happen if you do not fight this bombastic loser!” Hope Summers shouted as she appeared from the near side street, behind our bewitched High Priestess.
“There is nothing you can say to take back your daughter from my control, Hopewell Summers, abomination of all humans and traitor to all Earth! It has taken time to finally gain enough power to control everything around me, but I have finally succeeded and now I will become the most powerful being in this galaxy!” He monologued, as one of his ‘friends’ quickly appeared behind Hope and struck her over the head with a piece of lumber.
Another shot echoed around us and both Hope and her assailant hit the ground at the same time- Hope just unconscious; her attacker missing the lower back quadrant of his skull.
 
Chalk up another one for Greer.
 
I began laughing. Instantly several more voices added to the laughter from behind me.
“You are seriously frelled up, Uri Chekov Bovidovich- megalomaniac extraordinaire!” Chantell stated in a voice that told me she was very pissed off. “So this is all to take revenge on the three of us for warning you to be careful with the Current?”
“No, you African-American half-breed! This is to prove I am master of this universe! This reality! I told you then that we would become Gods if we controlled the Current! If we held tight reign and enslaved it to do our bidding. See now what this power can do? I am the ultimate God! All powerful! I command everything! And with this repugnant, fully obedient, Summers mongrel offspring, I am invincible! This thing, not a him, not a her, will do what I tell it and obediently serve only me. As you all shall! Explain it to them, MY pet!”
 
A controlled, bemused, but malevolently feral sounding female laugh echoed all around us.
 
“Foolish, self-important, insignificant mortal.” Artemis Dell declared then continued her disturbing, bone-chilling laughter again as she slowly, confidently, walked through us and advanced on this ‘Bovidovich guy’. As she did, her dazzling Olympian vestments manifested, complete with her golden bow and full quiver of arrows.
“You are nothing close to a god. You are only a small, small man that has greedily seized sentient, peaceful lifeforms from their natural environment to command, bend, and abuse their potent energies to your demands and whims. You are a dictator… an insignificant despot… a slaver… you are a stereotypical ‘Titan’! But know this tyrant. The Titans were defeated by not the gods of old, but by the enlightened and enraged spirits that in their own right, value and seek to protect all sentient life!”
Nike’s eyes pulsed brightly again at the mention of ‘Titan’.
“Foolish words from something that isn’t close to a real god, Greek whore! Just the same, why not just run back to Daddy Zeus and bring back the whole family to prostrate themselves before their master?”
“Because it will only take one of us to destroy you; he who calls himself Master of the Universe!” Artie countered. “And my sister Nike will never willingly accept orders from such superciliousness. Many have tried, but they ultimately failed.”
Nike’s staff discharged a bright blue bolt of plasma energy. Dell, as well as Kate, Sonya, and I easily avoided it.
“So you still fight me, cyKa? Must I reign in my control tighter to show my superiority?” This ‘Bovidovich’ challenged, glancing toward Chance.
Nike screamed out in pain and another burst of energy shot from her staff.
It caught Artemis Dell squarely in the chest!
“Well, sister. You surprise me. I had not thought this mortal to have sufficient influence over you. Fear not, you who saved us many millennia ago will now be rescued by those saved, from this… this Titan!” Artemis Dell said, brushing something from her pure-white toga with beautiful golden trim. “Dear niece. Remember who fought next to you that day long, long ago. Remember the anguish and trials we shared that day at Vermilion Station.
“Lady Artemis? May we, the other Valkyrie, assist in the rescuing of our beloved sister- our mentor in all things honorable?” I politely inquired.
“Prepare and align thee with me, my fearless sisters.” Artie invited.
That was our cue to manifest our uniforms, though that is about all I felt we could do since our Current reserves were not recovering.
 
Bovidovich began laughing again.
 
“Such a show of useless camaraderie! Have you not noticed that every expenditure of your precious Current brings you closer to my controlling will?”
“Actually, we’ve felt no influence at all, dickhead.” Sonya sassed back. “Apparently, Lynxins and those born under blue dwarf stars seem to be mostly immune to your parlor tricks.”
Sonya boldly stepped a few paces closer to stand between Artemis Dell and I.
“Stay in league with this ass-wipe and I will be forced to assume full control of Pegasus and the Corps, Lady Chance Summers, High Priestess of Witch Corps!” Mom challenged.
Artemis Dell looked to our sister- my mother- with an orange blaze burning in her eyes. Memories flooded my mind with scenes from Pegasus’ bridge eight years ago. Mother had declared herself captain of Pegasus by order of the Galactic Council. Chance’s eyes burned with the very same bright orange light then. Now Artie’s eyes reacted in the same way, too?
She truly was an Olympian- coded identical to her older sister, Artemis.
 
My mother’s bold words had the desired effect as Nike’s eyes blazed!
A bolt of plasma shot from Nike’s staff and struck Sonya hard enough to throw her back a meter!
“That is what I was looking for!” Mother gloated. “Are you so jealous that I would assume command of your precious Corps, Chance? I dare thee, strike me down again! I shall survive and dare thee over and over again, my bewitched sister!”
Footfalls from behind alerted me that Charli and Lokust had recovered and had joined us.
“Sit-rep, LT?” Lokust requested politely.
“None of your damned business, XO, this is my operation, but thanks for the inquiry!” I hissed.
A hand- Charli’s hand- gently touched my shoulder.
“Spoken like a true princess of the Lynxin throne, Kitten. Thanks for the rescue.”
“An honor, my ladies.” I responded.
“So, Chance Summers! Is this lack of retaliation indication that I am indeed taking full control of the Corps then?” Sonya further challenged.
Another, much more intensified blue bolt shot from the staff!
The concussive report of the impact and resulting explosion echoed in our ears, but Mother was still standing! Slightly off to her left, by about a meter or so, another Lynxin female, in her Witch Corps uniform, lay crumpled on the street, unmoving.
“Where the hell did Sinae come from?” Lokust cried out in shock and surprise as she hurried over to the motionless figure.
“Kitty!” Charli shouted hysterically as she, too, hurried to our fallen sister’s side.
I looked up in time to see Nike’s eyes dim considerably. Her mouth dropped open ever so slightly and her head turned slightly to Bovidovich for just a fraction of a standard second.
 
“She’s still with us.” Charli informed, loudly, finger to our casualty’s neck.
Lokust nodded then stood upright.
“You almost killed her, Chance! You attacked our sister; the queen of FeLane! How could you even think about hurting Kitty!? Stop this right now, Chance! Stop the madness before we actually lose one of our sisters! Our family!” She shouted out in emotion filled anger.
“Kitty? Wake up, girlfriend! Please be alright!” Lokust cried as she looked back to me. I just stood there looking down in horror.
 
Of course, Greer mightn’t be my cousin, but she was related by our genetics. As such, she had royal blood…and she had just proven that fact by courageously throwing herself into the line of fire, effectively protecting the first princess of FeLane- my mother!
She was a Sinae- without a doubt- and we would graciously welcome her into our family. But not right now- not here.
But, the reaction I saw in Nike- in Chance- the moment she realized she had attacked and presumably critically injured her friend and family... It weakened the puppet master’s hold for a brief instant.
 
“Cousin? Please wake up! Cousin!” I shouted as I forced myself forward and played into the accidental rouse that might further loosen the strings binding Chance Summers to her captor.
“Why did you do that, Chance!?” I glared at our ensnared High Priestess with as angry eyes as I could manage. “Kitty is only trying to rescue you from this madman! From this God-forsaken planet! She doesn’t want a repeat of the Kane incident and lose you entirely!”
“And what of Savanna?” I continued as my expression changed to my ‘spiteful’, ‘accusatory’ eyes. “Would you forfeit her too, to this self-righteous ass who thinks himself creator and master over all life- including those you helped seeking liberation from like tyranny on Olympus Prime? I wonder if you would have been able to stomach losing your daughter, had you one then, Nike?” I dared to challenge.
Nike’s eyes blazed anew at my accusation.
“Of course! Shoot me down! Just like my cousin!” I dared furiously as I stood and raised my hands in surrender. “Destroy me too, for I am here on your behalf and for young Savanna’s benefit! Dispatch those that would see you freed from this…this ‘abomination’!” I motioned with both hands to her captor. “This power-corrupted, malevolent demon in the form of a weak, spoiled Earther that disgusts the species as a whole. Why not show us your supposed omnipotent power, Bovidovich, reputed master of nothing! Controller of nothing!” I continued my challenge as I courageously walked forward, past my now quietly moaning sister.
There was a mere five meters between my bewitched sister and I now, and I prepared myself for anything and everything I could possibly imagine. Yet, I set my jaw, remained stoic of expression, and proud of my lineage.
“You will be consumed in agonizing pain and eternal torment, Lynxin bitch!” He exclaimed confidently- arrogantly.
“Then let’s see what you’ve got, boastful, pathetic Earther! Show me how the one who thinks himself all-powerful can strike me down to oblivion, with just a thought! You can do that without my sister’s talents, right, asshole?” I forced a fanatical, demented smile. “If not, be resigned to being cut into small pieces as recompense for assaulting my cousin, Queen Sinae Kitty of the FeLane Confederation!”
Nike’s slight hint of motion from her staff was enough to telegraph what was to come, but I was determined to bravely stand my ground!
I could see the gem of the staff increase its intensity.
This was my end, I thought, as things began to slow down, time-wise. I barely heard or recognized the street erupting in small, explosive geysers in an angled vector toward Bovidovich and Nike.
Nike’s gem dimmed considerably and normal time instantly re-asserted itself for me.
One of our brooms streaked overhead at a low altitude, went vertical then supersonic as more gunfire exploded in a similar pattern, further destroying the town’s main thoroughfare.
Another Broom streaked past at an even lower altitude, performed a four-point roll then shot skyward following its predecessor.
A third Broom materialized directly over us and hovered for a moment- its forward guns trained and aglow on our enemy before backing off and landing smoothly at an angle behind us on the street.
It was close enough to make out the much-skewed image of its distinctive nose art. I could just make out the image of a young, black-haired woman wearing what I thought might be a purple ‘turban’ on her head, cupping and staring into a moderate-sized, white-frosted, glass sphere of some kind. I could not make out the craft’s name, however, as my attention instantly snapped to the canopy opening and revealing its pilot.
“Hi, everybody! I got here as soon as I could.” Savanna- in her adult form- greeted brightly as she hovered out of her cockpit and touched the ground.
 
“Oh! How disgusting!” She added with a grimace toward the street and began to hover several centimeters above it.
“Oracle. Plus ten centimeters and hold until further notice. Much better. Now would someone care to explain why my mother, father and aunts are hashing it out with each other on this backwater shithole of a planet?” Savanna said with a confidence that filled me with hope.
Nike suddenly cried out in tremendous agony and I turned around just in time to see a bright blue plasma bolt heading toward me!
 
I felt…nothing! No pain, no burning…nothing! I opened my eyes- not even remembering I closed them- to see Savanna standing in front of and facing me. She was smiling and her eyes twinkled in amusement before me.
“As fearless as ever, big sister.” She winked. “But this is something I think I need to handle. I am honored by yours- and everyone’s- courage and fortitude. Please step back now, for I see this getting a bit ‘messy’.”
“I thought you were barred from participation by Zeus, little sister? Why are you here, and won’t you be disowned and banned from Olympus?” I asked in amazement at the powerful aura I felt emanating from this woman.
“The all-father and I argued at length, but in the end, sanity and logic prevailed, and we came upon an accord.” Savanna declared regally then began to lightly giggle.
“Actually it was much simpler than that. I told Zeus that I was coming here to rescue Nike and that was that. Here I am. Now take two steps back, please.”
“Oracle?” I gasped as I went to one knee instantly.
“Oh give it a rest, Kitten! We are one in the same, though now, fully integrated. I am here to ‘earn’ this uniform and the respect it commands.”
Savanna turned to face Bovidovich and Nike.
“Fear not, mother, for I have arrived to secure your healthy return. Has this ‘blood tick’ been vexing you?” Savan…Oracle asked politely.
A bright bolt of blue plasma struck Savan…Oracle directly in the chest!
She didn’t budge or flinch a millimeter- even though still floating mere centimeters off the street!
“Oh, you’ll have to do much better than that, Lady Nike. Remember that I am from you and as a result am resistant to your attacks- as misguided as they are. Also remember too, that I have been absorbing your excesses since my mortal incarnation as your daughter. Now,” Savanna shifted her attention, “why don’t you try to enslave me, Mister Bovidovich? You claim the power to defeat mother’s perseverance. You, who crave ultimate power, should be drooling over something more powerful than the honorable Lady Nike. So, I challenge you, evil one. Bring it on, you pathetic asshole!” Savanna dared as she extended her right arm and flexed her fingers in a ‘come at me’ gesture.
 
When nothing happened after a few seconds, our young sister dropped her stance and began laughing amiably.
“I though not. How very predictable. You, who claim ultimate power and control, cower to this young, inexperienced girl of nineteen! I declare you a coward, Uri Chekov Bovidovich! So afraid are you of equal competition, you have just failed to impress even the inhabitants of these lawless systems. Those inhabitants that have the capacity and now watch a live feed of these proceedings cannot be so impressed by your ‘lack’ of commitment.” Savanna gestured up to point out a before now, unseen drone silently hovering overhead.
“I thought you a decorated soldier in your ancient Russian Republic of the twenty-first and second century, Mr. Bovidovich. It also appears to be a lie- though a well fabricated one.” Savanna took several more steps forward and was now within two meters of our adversaries- one willing and one unwilling.
“Well, Uri- the great and powerful… the all-mighty?” She snickered. “Strike me down and smite my very existence! I am, as you called my mother, an abomination of your subspecies so therefore must surrender and be subservient to you as penitent sentence. Since that will not come to pass; again, arrogant swine…bring it on!” She challenged.
 
Nike’s staff flared brighter than any time before and a concussive explosion knocked us all back several meters!
 
When the dust and falling debris finally cleared, Savanna stood unmoved and unharmed, though Nike had been thrown several meters back and was only just pushing herself up on her hands from the completely obliterated street. Around us, not a building stood of its own accord and I could only imagine the collateral casualties. The one calling himself ‘Bovidovich’ had also been thrown several meters away, though at a slightly different angle away from Nike.
“Sorry, mother, but you had to be shown that I do indeed love you and that I intend to risk everything to assure your long and honorable reign as our High Priestess. I ask you now; have you seen the slightest beginnings of self…of reason… returning, Lady Nike, Goddess of Victory- Mother?”
 
Thunder echoed across the surface of the planet.
 
Savanna pointed both her middle fingers to the heavens in defiance.
“And you can go visit Uncle Hades in the underworld for a while, All-father!” She screamed angrily. “Never! Ever! Place a barrier between my family and me again! Good day, Great-grandfather Zeus!”
My young sister took a moment to compose herself then walked back over to us and scanned us, making sure we were all alive and conscious.
“Damn, kiddo.” Chantell cursed as she found her footing. “I’ll never bitch at you for popping into my quarter’s head while I’m using it ever again.”
“That will be un-necessary, Aunt Chantell. This is my default form now, as I have absorbed much more of mother’s Current than I could possibly hold at any younger capacity.”
“So, you experienced your threshold.” Artemis Dell stated succinctly, shaking her head to clear it.
“I believe that is the term, yes, Aunt Artie. I have reached and exceeded my ‘threshold’. Now, I must see to mother and Grandmother Hope. Please excuse me, my ladies.” Savanna replied before she bowed politely and walked- still centimeters above the ground- the short distance back to a still-staggering Chance Summers.
“I hate to be the party-pooper here, but someone needs to guard his ‘royal asshole’ over there.” Kate pointed to a still unmoving Bovidovich. She then broke the breach of her shotgun, changed both rounds, closed the breach, and walked over to the unmoving figure, nonchalantly waving her weapon’s twin muzzles several times over the length of the body.
Artie and Chantell joined in her watchful vigil.
Greer sat up carefully and rubbed the disheveled mane on her forehead.
“What in the queen’s name hit me?” She asked in confusion.
“You caught an attack from the Goddess Nike, and lived to tell about it, Niger Greer.” Sonya answered as she checked for broken bones, deep lacerations, or a concussion. “Believe me when I say that is a major achievement. The last person to face her was nothing shy of unstable, badly degraded bio-mush.”
Greer swallowed very loudly.
“Mother, you shall sit your ass down or I will hex it to the street!” Savanna ordered loudly from fifteen meters away. “Am I clear on that?”
“Grandma! That goes double for you! Now sit down, both of you!” She continued to shout.
“Yup. She’s a Summers alright!” Charli Armstrong nervously giggled as she stood and wiped the dirt and grime from the seat of her lace-trimmed, orange panties.
“Like mother, like daughter, like Grandmother, eh?” Lokust Grunfuller laughed as she looked up at me.
“What you did, Lyra…it was either very brave or very, very crazy! Chance could have disintegrated you without a second thought!”
“I had to take the chance, my lady. Our mission was your rescue or recovery. Regardless, Witch Corps had to come home; one way or the other. End of story.
“Yeah, okay. So how did you get Artie and Demi to fly air support? Usually Zeus recalls them to Olympus to remain neutral.
“Fenile Galantry pilots Zeus’ Pride, and Aquia Anderson flies Cali.”
Lokust got a stunned look on her face.
“Cali let Aquia pilot her? Our Aquia Anderson?” She asked in confirmation, her voice breaking into the next higher octave.
“The two of them have become almost inseparable, my lady.”
“Hey, guys?” Kate shouted!
“Bovidovich just vanished! We were standing right over him and he vanished!”
“By Zeus, I will find him!” Savanna shouted angrily before disappearing herself.
She reappeared about eight meters away.
“He’s heading for Pegasus! We have to beat him there!” She proclaimed in a controlled anger I had never seen her use before.
I found myself standing, looking directly at our majestic, mobile base ship, Pegasus! Looking around, I observed that everyone else was looking confounded, at our sleek, chrome-hulled ship.
Chantell though, was bent over regurgitating and complaining about how she hated travelling via ‘flue powder’.
Still hovering centimeters off the ground, Savanna hurried over to Pegasus’ chrome hull.
“I request manual release of external Current fueling port!” She commanded, placing the palm of her hand on the non-existent port panel. It appeared and popped open.
Savanna began - what looked like- injecting her Current into the fueling port under extreme pressure.
“Pegasus! Emergency emitter start! Hover at plus thirty centimeters and hold for further commands. Emergency phrase: Summers Savanna, Oracle, Alpha Daughter, enable!”
To my amazement, the spacecraft instantly came to life and, as ordered, hovered thirty centimeters off the rocky, barren, hardened lava floor of the dormant volcano’s caldera.
“Current sight and watch for his tainted aura in the organic pathways under our feet.” Savanna commanded further. “Pegasus. Enable Malicious Current Rejection Protocols. Extreme Isolation until further commands.
“Confirmed. Monitoring. Waiting.”
“Lyra. You may want your sniper to take up position on the ridge overlooking the town. Several remaining ‘bad guys’ are forming a ‘posse’ at this very moment and will arrive within the half hour.” She suggested while motioning with her eyes to the general ridge location.
“Those men cannot reach us.” She added flatly.
“Greer? I need you back up on the ridge- same location as on our arrival. Nothing gets past. Understand?”
“Aye, skipper. Right away.” Greer answered, grabbed more ammunition from the wooden munitions box, and rushed off.
 
“At this time she is third in line for the throne, big sister.” Savanna confided. “The test results that await us back at base will confirm that unequivocally.” My ‘little’ sister giggled pleasantly. “Queen Kitty has already been informed and at this very moment she and Mr. Tua are getting ‘shit-faced’ drunk because of it.”
At my blank stare, she went into details.
“Kitty now must balance making an official written request for inclusion of ‘female’ Greer into the royal family’s line of succession to a full assemblage of Parliament before actually asking Niger Greer’s decision on his or her gender preference, or request that Greer remain activated and risk complete refusal by her- a request which would signal the hounds to blood and annoy both her and her majesty. The lesser and more pleasant of these options would be for you to sit down and have a long, candid discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of life within the royal court. You must also understand that you could possibly lose your boyfriend and tenative soulmate, Lyra.”
Dammit all!
“Of course. I understand the ramifications for her remaining activated. I care for both ‘him’ Greer and ‘her’ Greer, Savanna. What I’m most worried about is whether Greer can handle the stress ‘their’ psyche is to or will endure. I love Greer too much to see either one lose touch with sanity.”
“I understand, big sister, and you are wise to consider her feelings through what will come, but never forget to think about your feelings also. You…both of you are important to us.” She said as she waved around our rag-tag group.
Skipper! I’ve got one, big, bad, red blotch heading this way! Arrogantly slow, too! Must be Boogervich.” Kaitlyn announced loudly to garner my attention.
“Everybody please stand back.” Chance’s tired voice requested as she hobbled- unsteadily toward the slow moving deep red mass of Current that was just meters away from the steep inner crater walls and closing.
“And just what do you intend to do, mother?” Savanna demanded. “Succomb to his control a second time?”
“No, Oracle!” Chance’s voice echoed ominously about the caldera with a strength she hadn’t had a second ago. “I intend on devouring him- his Current- his bio-chemical energy- his very twisted and monstrous soul!” Our High Priestess hissed in ever increasing anger! About half way through, her staff suddenly reappeared, its gem outshining the star that baked this arid planet.
Chance’s eyes shone like the brightest orange space beacons imaginable.
“Shit. We better give her plenty of space, girls! I’ve only seen her wind up like this once before. Eight years ago.” Artemis Dell warned, her voice shaking in terror.
“Mother Nike. You know as well as I that will not be enough this time. This mortal has five times more power than Chronos, and we both know you almost didn’t defeat him eons ago. What makes you think you will win this day?” Savanna asked as she walked right up to her mother in confrontation.
“Because I know that you will be helping, young oracle. We will all be helping this time. Come! Everyone! I humbly ask you to join hands with me so we may eliminate this scourge from the Species… from the Universe!” Chanc…Nike’s voice echoed off the steep caldera walls again.
“You really didn’t need to ask, mother.” Savanna giggled. “I was all ready…we all were ready to contribute.
“Regulon. I shall not harm you. Please, you must offer yourself freely to have effect.” Nike looked to Kaitlyn who seemed to be nervously hanging back.
“Pardon, my lady, but I was there that day…I witnessed your wrath…or…the results of your wrath, first-hand. I am hesitant to participate as you can understand.”
“This time there shall be nothing like that remaining, Lady Kaitlyn Yates. There is no mortal, no human left to this one, only anger, greed, hate, jealousy, and ravenous revenge. The body that was once Uri Bovidovich has long since been devoured. Please… please reconsider?” Savanna said calmly as she held out her hand in welcome.
“Fine, but if he explodes, someone else does the damn cleanup this time!” Kate growled as she firmly grasped Savanna’s hand.
“Let us prepare.” Nike announced and I felt an enormous rush of power… no, not power…not Current…something way more powerful, flow into and out of me.
The world- this world erupted into the most vivid colors one could imagine! All around us: on the ground, the sheer cliffs surrounding us, the air itself, the very landscape in total seemed to reverberate with energy!
This felt like nothing I had ever experienced in my short, young life!
The planet as a whole felt stunningly alive and sentient! I could feel and understand it- everything!
It seemed to understand me at the same time. It understood what we were doing here and for what reason. I could feel the planet’s hope; yes, hope! We were its hope- its savior! Its redemption for all this twisted individual had brought and what it had stolen from this planet’s very core.
The planet… it was offering to help us purge the evil currently snaking its way toward us, and our Pegasus!
A loud gunshot echoed throughout the caldera!
“Alley Cat, Witch Corps. One down, about twenty more to go. What’s the prize for knocking them all down?”
“Maximum stress relief and the sheer joy of a job well done, Alley Cat!” Chantell’s voice boomed loud.
“What. No stuffed animal?” Greer giggled back as we heard a second shot echoing around us.
“You can stuff one of them if you’d like, Alley Cat. It might not be trophy-worthy though. In fact, I’ll almost guarantee that!” Chantell laughed.
Another shot echoed in our ears.
“That wouldn’t work anyway, Fairy Godmother. Their heads won’t stay intact. Oh well, at least the meat might be alright.” She replied as two more shots echoed out in rapid succession.
“Naw, Alley Cat, too gamey. And mostly dense grissle!” Chantell replied.
Three rapid shots rang out around us.
“So. You’re saying leave them to the vegetation then? What? Yes! What’s the point spread for three with one projectile?”
“Major has the record, Alley Cat. Ten with one pistol shot. I’m second with nine.”
“Three consecutive triple-kill shots?” Greer asked light-heartedly.
“Damn, girlfriend, yo-”
Another shot rang out.
“-u’re in the zone!”
“Make that four consecutives. Skipper, we’re clear. I’m heading back.” Greer said then cleared her comm.
“Damn impressive, Lyra! She’s a good choice for your second.” Savanna congratulated and nodded to me. “Now, back to mother’s impending fun?”
Again the planet reached out to me. I felt the hate, the frustration, the defeat it had been suffering for so long…
‘I will need to synchronize with all of you. You will find your physical bodies will move on their own. It will be I controlling them, so fear naught.” Nike’s voice was suddenly talking to me…me and the planet!
We understood.
“Hey, everyone! I thought I’d miss out on all the festivities.”
‘Welcome back, Alley Cat. Please take my hand.’ Nike’s voice invited.
“Then what will happen?” My second asked innocently.
“Something…wonderful!”
‘Damn! All the pretty colors…’
‘Please focus, Lady Greer. We must finish our preparations. Our target is almost within grasp.’ Savanna’s voice instructed.
My vision shifted and the scenery I saw began moving. Things didn’t look quite right though- as if my eyes had remapped the color spectrum of the things they saw. I could now easily see the thing called Bovidovich cautiously nearing me. He wasn’t Terran-looking any more, but a huge, though feeble-looking, Hoblin. The image I beheld made my stomach want to wretch!
My eyes panned to see my sisters had all joined hands and we now surrounded the foul thing between us.
Savanna appeared in the very center of our gathering and dug her ten-centimeter heel into the coarse, dry, broken, lava rock ground just ahead of the disgusting Hobgoblin.
‘That is far enough, foul demon! You shall now be tried and sentenced for your extensive crimes.’ She announced blandly.
I felt the planet’s joy grow in intensity! It seemed happy that it would soon be free of this blight to its surface.
My mouth began chanting the Witch Corps mantra- ‘Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!’- as did my sisters at the exact same time. Savanna seemed to burst into a bright blue aura that easily overloaded my vision for a brief moment.
‘I will not! I am all-powerful!’ A deep, inhumane growl shouted.
‘You are but a blight- a speck of irritant about this land and its inhabitants.’ Savanna countered.
‘I will never submit to such inferior beings!’
‘Oh, but you already have, demon, for I alone bind you to this specific location- I alone have the quintessential power needed.” Savanna continued confidently.
“You shall perish as all the others have before you against my power!’
‘In what specific realm of the continuous multi-verse might that happen, foul demon?’ Savanna replied with a smirk.
“I will kill you all!’
“You know…I see your mouth moving, but all I hear is: blah-blah, blah-blah-blah.” Savanna giggled. “Time for judgment, Uri.”
“You cannot judge me! I have no equals!”
“True, but you have multitudes of superiors. Now, how do you plead?” Savanna quipped, but quickly turned serious.
“I do not answer to the likes of you!”
“Everybody answers to somebody, honey. Let’s see what the residing Goddesses have to say on the matter? Goddess of Victory? Your opinion on this issue?” Savanna asked as if suddenly a debate moderator.
“For fourteen hundred years you have robbed, stolen, sabotaged, and raped both sentient life and non-sentient life out of greed, personal profit, and attainment of power. Many innocent souls have been tormented and then disposed of for your personal entertainment or gain. There is no reason you should even exist outside fiction or nightmare. You are a blight to the Species- a virus that must be eradicated before it spreads further.” Nike weighed in.
“Goddess of the Hunt? Any thoughts from you?” Savanna prompted.
“They call ending the life of a critically wounded animal: mercy killing or euthanasia. For convicted felons: corporal punishment. I do not see why mercy of any sort should be given to this entity for it has no conscious, no moral values, and definitely no thought for anything but itself. Why, even this planet has more character and concern for the living organisms in and on its surface. The base code and specific designators of this entity must be swept from all genial archives- from every system in this galaxy, neigh, from the universe. I remind you that our people, the Olympians, have sterilized entire galaxies for far lesser infractions, Lady Oracle.”
“I see. Lady Greer? Being the newest member of our little ensemble, what thoughts would you express?” Savanna nodded then pressed my second for input.
“I concur with the facts Lady Nike and Lady Artemis have conveyed, but aside from forfeiting its existence, some compensation to its victims should be considered and duly administrated. Take for instance, this planet…or possibly the other planets in these three troubled systems. Shouldn’t they receive some sort of restitution, some restoration of indigenous Current or other resources possibly? I am lost to see the value of just its punishment without retribution.”
“Spoken like a true Sinae, my lady. Lady Kaitlyn? What words might our Regulon sister contribute?”
“’Ang ‘im!”
“Yes. Um…thank you, Lady Kate.” Savanna said, rolling her eyes.
“Such children! Run along and play, simple vertebrates. Your menial intelligence is bothersome and insignificant to my vast knowledge.”
“You are right on one count, demon! Playtime is over and it is now time for the adults to do something about the blight being tried before us.
Nike raised her staff and thrust it down hard, stabbing the ground with its golden tip.
The entity- Bovidovich- shrieked in tormented pain! I suddenly felt my stomach twist.
“How do you like that small taste of what awaits you, Demon?” Savanna asked.
“You cannot hurt me!”
Nike struck down with her staff point again. This time I could see the Current- bright orange in color- shoot out from the detained entity in all directions.
Bovidovich shrieked in agony again!
“Sounds like it hurts to me, demon!” Savanna laughed. “What pain you feel is the result of Nike removing all that bad, nasty, twisted Current you’ve been hording; purifying it, and returning it to the planet as recompense for the crimes you have committed toward it and its inhabitants.
Nike slammed her staff point deeper into the ground and the entity.
The noise! It was horrendous! Still we all seemed to keep repeating our mantra.
More purified Current flowed out from the monster.
“You cannot kill me!”
“I do not wish to simply kill you! My wish is to disseminate you to the elements that first combined to form you, evil one!” Nike’s answer echoed from all around us.
Is this slow, agonizing, torturous death how the evil one called ‘Evans’ met his doom? I wondered.
Savanna’s serious face suddenly appeared in my mind’s eye; though, there was still a pleasant smile, too.
‘No, big sister. The ‘Evans’ was driven on by pure hate, contempt, arrogance, and lust. He wanted nothing more than to punish Hopewell Summers for what she had done to him. Although present, and witness to the accident that transfigured Hopewell to Hope, Evans allowed the era’s ‘hang-ups’ toward gender and gender identity to blind him to the actual ‘miracle’ his fellow astronaut experienced. He saw only the bigotry… the peer pressure for discrimination, instead of the dawning new era’s beautiful prelude. According to those ‘commonly held’ beliefs, Hope had become inferior and a ‘freak’ of nature- she was not something even evolution could make and was therefore a ‘mistake’ that did not deserve to exist. He chose a path of eradication of all who aligned and teamed with what he termed the ‘unholy alien witch’.”
“So, after so many failed attempts to ‘cleanse’ this galaxy- Gia 4 being one such attempt, he learned of Chance Summers. A new ‘plan’ developed.”
“What better revenge than to conscript her daughter and daughter’s best friend? There was something about that punishment of the ‘freak off-spring of two freaks’ that eluded him, though- Nike’s reincarnation. Evans enraged Chance so much that his attempted corruption forced the peacefully sleeping Nike to surface- awoke her from her eons-long slumber. And, with any slumbering member of any of the subspecies, status quo is paramount.” Savanna’s smile ebbed slightly.
“Evans brought the full and unrestrained wrath of Nike upon himself. After all, no one likes to be awakened from a warm, comfortable sleep!” Savanna’s face flashed a quick smile before going serious again.
“This creature…” She paused and motioned with her eyes to the thing, “it needs to be handled very carefully, and therefore its torture must be drawn out for us to emancipate its long imprisoned Current so that it can be cleansed of corruption and released back into this planet; where it can do the most good- instead of the most evil.’
Her image smiled.
‘However, your’s and our sisters’ shared concern fills me with joy that, though ‘monsters’ ourselves- figuratively, that is- your morals remain intact and ‘human’- in stark contrast to ‘it’.’ She continued as I felt instead of saw her thumb back to the ‘creature’ impaled on Nike’s staff.
‘How much longer do we have to endure all this? How much longer until this ‘Bovidovich’ might find eternal peace, Oracle?’ I asked via thought.
Her eyes sparkled with anticipated, impish excitement. Had she been expecting my concerned, ‘human’ response?
‘That remains to be seen, big sister. The cleansing and separation spell is nearing completion though, so hopefully soon.’ She replied.
It couldn’t be over soon enough in my opinion! First off, the creature was hideous- more so than I had ever seen before, but combined with the sickening, head-splitting noise… Secondly, it felt really strange to be ‘disconnected’ from myself- to only be capable of ‘watching’ …being an observer in my own body could elicit psychological problems, or at the very least, nightmares.
But I trusted Chance with my life! We all did. Nike? Well, I wasn’t sure what her agenda might ultimately be, but I had faith in her; in my sisters; and in Savanna.
‘Big sister? We need you back now.’ Savanna’s voice called to me.
I opened my eyes to see Nike- staff held proudly in both hands- retract it from the ground, hold it over her head at arm’s length, and with such unbelievable strength, plunge it more deeply than ever before into the desolate, dry, volcanic ground.
My wand was instantly grasped firmly in my hand, held high above my own head. My sisters were all similarly posed.
Savanna withdrew her heel from the ground and walked with Nike hand –in-hand to insert themselves into our Coven circle. Once in place and sealing the circle again, Nike gave her final instructions.
“The incantation is complete. Thank you everyone for your assistance. We will now invoke the spell.
Suddenly my vision split and I could now see our sisters who remained with Mini-Van also formed to a circle with wands held straight up at arm’s length.
Savanna started the final sequence by declaring: “Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” She lowered her wand-still at arm’s length to target Nike’s staff at the center of the circle.
In my split vision, Lithia Anderson mimicked Savanna.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” Artemis Dell proclaimed as she lowered her wand to target the staff.
Lokust made her proclamation and targeted the staff. I watched curiously as Galantry Fenile did likewise on Mini-Van.
Around our circle, my sisters proclaimed our mantra. Every other one of us here on the planet mimicked by one of our orbit-borne sisters.
It came my turn, and without hesitation, I proclaimed: “Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” My wand lowered and targeted Nike’s staff. In my vision, Aquia Anderson leveled her wand also.
A thread of orange Current shot out from my wand and struck the staff directly in the gem’s center. From out of the sky, another thin orange beam struck the staff.
A power like nothing else I had ever felt or imagined before flowed through me in that instant. There were absolutely no words to describe this! Ecstasy, love, partnership, companionship, motherhood(??), friendship, family, friends, happiness, joy…nothing even come close, yet if combined still didn’t define what I felt! What each of us felt, I presumed.
Now I could see the individual ‘strings’ of pure, orange Current focusing on the staff’s gem.
My mother’s ‘scepter’ lowering to the side of my ‘local’ vision told me Sonya- in her activated, but adult form- was beside me. As soon as I heard her proclaim our Corps mantra another Current string focused on the gem.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!”
The way Greer recited it brought back so many memories- age-old memories- of my cousin, Kitty, Queen of FeLane and all her Confederates!
In my remote sight, Link Anderson’s wand leveled. She seemed to have more blue in her hair suddenly.
Two more ‘threads’ of current joined the others on the gem.
Hope Summers recited the Witch Corps mantra and her Current string joined ours.
The blue gem in Nike’s Staff of Victory burst into the brightest light source I had ever seen!
Only Nike…Chance Summers’ wand was still raised to the sky. She began her proclamation as she slowly leveled her wand to her staff.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri! Una sumus vicit!” She shouted forcefully
Nike’s staff exploded into the brightest, boldest, hottest, but quietest explosion ever!
As my vision returned, I found that I could control my body again. My hands immediately began to explore my uniform and my body for damage- for burns from the intense heat.
Nothing! I was completely unscathed!
“WAHOOO! Now THAT was a RUSH!” Chantell screamed excitedly to break the silence.
“Chance!” “Mom!” Hope and Savanna shouted at once.
Chance was lying on the ground unconscious- Hope beside her, holding her daughter in her arms. Savanna gently holding her mother’s limp arm.
“She just passed out. She’ll be okay.” Savanna reported to our relief.
“Kitten, JWC. Status?” I said enabling my comm.
“We’re okay up here, skipper- equipment, too! Hell if I know what just happened though!” Garith, the oldest of the Anderson siblings, answered. She sounded very confused, maybe even conflicted by what I knew she had seen and experienced.
“By chance are you all in the galley, in a Coven circle?” I inquired.
“How the hell did you know that, skipper?” She answered, her voice shocked.
“What you all saw? It actually happened.” I explained before she could say anything else. “Thanks for helping us destroy our number one nemesis. Good job everyone.”
I cancelled my comm.
I turned to Lokust. She had just stood back up beside Chance.
“My lady. Junior Witch Corps reports no casualties or damage. Mini-Van and her four Broom compliment report no damage. All are standing by for further orders.” I reported.
Lokust looked to me sadly and nodded.
I understood the sadness her face relayed. This was the second time in eight years that she had almost lost her soulmate because of a galactic evil hell-bent on complete domination and subjugation!
“Gods this sucks!” Hope Summers exclaimed as she continued to hold her daughter’s head in her arms.
A tiny, almost audible giggle reached my ears…our ears.
“Are we there yet?” Chance Summers whispered in between giggles as her eyes began to flutter open.
“Sorry, kiddo, you missed it and we’re not going back! Not a snowball’s chance in hell!” Kate answered gruffly as she began laughing and wiping at her tears.
Chance began laughing as she gently pushed out of Hope’s arms and sat up.
Her wand suddenly appeared in her hand and it zeroed in on Greer!
“You aren’t Kitty! Who are you?” Chance demanded.
Greer fell to one knee and placed her right fist above her left primary breast.
“High Priestess. Forgive me for neglecting introductions-”
“High Priestess! This is my second, my lady! Lt. Niger Greer, Alley Cat.” I interrupted, stepping between the two.
“Oh. Hey.” Chance smiled and dismissed her wand instantly.
“Rats!” Savanna exclaimed suddenly as she stomped her high-heeled boot to the ground in frustration.
“I forgot Witch Corps Equipment rule number one! Don’t leave anything behind.”
Pegasus 20- ‘Oracle’ was suddenly parked behind us, still hovering centimeters off the ground.
“Oracle, honey? You can land now and rest awhile; it’s safe.” Savanna told her Broom.
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about me, you brat!”
Landing, its emitters shut down and Oracle began her automated post flight.
“Young lady!” Chance groused, glaring at her daughter. “You were not to access your broom until you turned sixteen!”
Savanna began laughing!
“I wasn’t kidding, Savanna!”
“That’s right mother, but since I’m nineteen now, I easily defeated your protective spells, commissioned her as ‘Oracle’, and came to your rescue as soon as I was able. Yay, me.”
“You aren’t nineteen, young lady! Not unless we’ve been gone for eleven years…”
“Lady Nike, please inform our sister that Olympians view time differently since you, yourself defeated Chronos.”
“THEHELLYOUSAY?” Chantell exclaimed bluntly as she looked straight at her niece.
Chance suddenly looked pale. Artemis Dell also looked on the verge of unconsciousness.
Both Demi-Goddesses looked to each other in shock.
Both shrugged nonchalantly after remaining completely still for several seconds.
I wondered if they had both traveled to Olympus Prime to consult our brothers and sisters on the topic. Somehow…I knew they had. I could almost…almost… I wanted to say ‘feel’ them or Olympus itself. Somehow the idea of travelling there didn’t seem so far out of the realm of possibilities now.
 
Artemis- the elder Artemis- was suddenly standing beside me. I was someplace familiar, I knew, as I scanned the beautiful meadow and majestic, steep, mountain with the huge building atop it.
“My Lady.” I stated and went to one knee.
“Lyra. You need not be so formal. We are sisters of Olympus after all. Stand, sister, and walk with me.” Artemis said- an amused smile danced on her face.
I made the mistake of looking down. I was dressed in an Olympian, pure white, toga-style gown with an intricate gold border trim.
“Am I really here again, Artemis?” I asked.
“Define ‘really’, sister.”
“Then this is but a dream?” I asked assuming her teasing.
“What? No. No!” She looked at me strangely. “This is certainly Olympus Prime, young lady. And I wanted to welcome the first of our newly enlightened sisters: Lyra, Goddess of Music and Song.”
I stopped dead in my footsteps!
“Gulp!” I said aloud. Artemis began laughing.
“That isn’t the reaction I expected, Lyra. You have learned your lessons well, apparently.”
“I-I-I I don’t understand. Am I- Am I dead? Did we all die back on the planet? Was our attempt to dispatch Bovidovich a failure?” I asked fearfully.
Artemis began laughing again as she took my hand gently in hers. She pulled gently and I began walking again.
I noticed a Terran male and female walking toward us.
“Di? Hey, Di! Look who I found! After how many eons, I finally found her!” The male shouted in exhilaration.
“I have someone to show you also, Ari. Meet Lyra, Granddaughter of Apollo.” Artemis introduced.
“One of his many.” She whispered to me with a wry smile and amused tone.
Despite my confusion, I laughed. That is until they got closer and I recognized ‘Ari’s’ guest.
“Lyra?” The female Terran shouted and broke from ‘Ari’ to run towards me. “Lyra!”
“Hey, Aquia.” I downplayed my excitement. That wasn’t too hard considering my level of confusion at the moment.
“Are you one too?” She asked, giddy with enthusiasm.
“Am I one what?” I asked.
“A Demi-Goddess, of course!” Aquia specified.
“What I am for certain is a Princess of the FeLane Confederation. What else I am is not quite clear at the moment. I just appeared here only moments ago…I think.” I answered.
Artemis momentarily squeezed my hand- not tight, but just enough to acknowledge her approval of my answer.
“Me too!” Aquia squealed. “Though, I’m really not sure how I got here either. Ari? How long have I been here already?”
“Not long enough and certainly not for a long time, my dear Nike.”
Artemis- my guide- groaned loudly.
“You imbucile! Nike is back in the mortal realm and, with the help of the rest of Witch Corps, vanquished the last demon Hobgoblin to the underworld. Aquia here is your great-great granddaughter. Get with the program, Ari!” Artemis scolded.
I had no recourse but to laugh at their interaction.
“Dammit, Di! I know my own kids and this is Nike!” Ari protested.
“Do you even know how many children you’ve spawned, Ari? I know for a fact there aren’t enough letters in the Roman’s numeral system.” Artemis challenged.
I could see how Artie’s interaction with the Summers had colored her language.
“Aquia? I think we should be heading home…back to Taos, I mean. We still need to debrief our sisters.” I suggested. It was more to avoid what I suspected would be escalating hostilities between two major gods.
“Lyra, you worry too much. Ari and I always have ‘interesting’ conversations, but you are correct in your belief that you will be required to attend the debriefing.” Artemis replied as if reading my thoughts.
“I watched you grow up, honey.” She answered my unspoken thought.
“Welcome back, sweetie.” Lady Hope smiled as I blinked my eyes several times. It was hard to believe I had just been to Olympus Prime.
“How long was I gone?” I asked curiously.
“Long enough to obviously become confused. How long do you think you were there?” She answered with another question.
“It seemed like twenty or twenty-five minutes, but I’m really not sure.” I answered honestly.
Hope held up four fingers.
“Four seconds, sweetie. Four whole seconds.” She said with a knowing smile.
Chance turned her head to me.
“How’d you like it, Lyra?” She asked with interest.
“Confusing, my lady. Very, very confusing.”
Chance smiled. “I thought so too, Lyra. Olympus is one…different- I guess- place. Ready to go home?”
“After the debriefing, High Priestess.” I replied.
“Your place or mine, Captain Serangetti?”
“Captain, my lady?” I asked in confusion. Had she just granted a field commission?
“Your crew refers to you as ‘skipper’, Lyra. That is a nickname for ‘captain’ of a ship.
“Pegasus is your flagship, High Priestess. It is also bigger and more comfortable.” I motioned up to our impressive ship.
“Fine with me. Kate? You and Sonya want a ride into orbit? Lyra, we’ll join up there.”
“Understood, High Priestess. Kitten, Mini-Van. Send Water Lily and Lil Gray down to pick Alley Cat and I up. Follow Oracle’s beacon to us. There should be enough room to park.”
“Copy, Kitten. Water Lilly and Lil Gray say they’ll be down in twelve, Mini-Van out.” Garith acknowledged.