Welcome one and all to the 33rd Century. Earthers, now known as Terrans, have spread throughout the Milky Way Galaxy and found both kindred and not so kindred spirits in the millions of systems throughout. The Species- as all the Sub-Species of the Galaxy now belong- trade and interact as the countries of Earth once did. As time dictates, a lot of things have been forgotten over the centuries.
Oh, and the ‘Way’ is far bigger than the ‘Experts’ of ‘Ancient’ Earth once thought or calculated.

 
 
I guess I’ve always known I was somehow ‘different’.
I guess I just didn’t understand to what degree.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to feel ‘it’ on one level or another; that feeling of…‘something’…something not physical, but still tangible; at least to my senses.
Some around me refer to me as a freak or ‘creepy’. Those that actually take the time to know me, though, consider me psychic or ‘sensitive’.
My parents, when I was younger, called me oversensitive, ‘overdramatic’ even, and urged me to suppress any verbal admission of such super-sensitivity citing prejudicial discrimination.
I suppose they all are somewhat correct, though.
In spite of those labels or because of them, I’ve learned to censure myself and I won’t go out of my way to be social or even adventurous, and given the choice, I’d always take the more cautious approach. Of course, there is more to it than that- things I won’t immediately get to.
Anyway, because of those noted ‘flaws’ in my character, people not in my small circle of friends tend to ‘assume’ things about my cautious nature. For many, such a guarded posturing either marked me as a coward, weak, or at the least, overly ‘skittish’ or ‘spooky’.
As I said: a freak.
But if ‘they’ could ‘feel’… if they could only ‘sense’… ‘IT’…like I could, they would immediately rethink those labels, and their attitudes toward me might instantly change.
If they could just… I don’t know… experience, firsthand, the things I feel…
 
 
I’m Current Specialist First Class Summers.
My name, when in the presence of those related or who know me, is Chance... Chance Summers.
Admittedly, not the name I would have chosen for a twenty-five year-old guy of six feet that lives his life completely on the ‘safe and narrow’- or as close to it as is possible given my present job.
Though I took after my father in height, I inherited mom’s dazzling, green eyes, thin stature, and her thick, lustrous, jet-black hair.
Unfortunately, I also received more of her ‘physical attributes’ than I would’ve liked. Before entering the Science Ministry, I was always being confused for mom from behind and especially when younger, during audio-only communications.
Because of those similarities, my acquaintances, both childhood and professional, take friendly liberties when I’m in their exclusive presence.
 
“Hey, Chance, Get your pretty trunk online! We got a report of some loose Current in Section 12C. They called for a maintenance crew. So put away the diary and get it enabled.”
“I don’t think it’s as severe as that, Grub.” I replied calmly after sensing ‘its’ urgency.
“I don’t know. The Section Chief sounded pretty concerned. Is that Current sense of yours offline today?”
“No. I can still feel ‘it’, but ‘it’ doesn’t feel nearly as bad as he claims, buddy. Feels more like somebody decided to fool around with something they shouldn’t have.”
“Whatever. We still got to answer the call. That means we have to show, so get those sexy legs of yours online.”
 
The ‘It’ or what has come to be called ‘Current’ manifested more than a thousand years before my birth. Theories about its origin abound, but the most accepted has been that ‘Current’ was a byproduct of our species’ latest evolutionary step.
An ancient Earth vid piece from way back, right at the birth of Artificial Intelligence, called ‘it’ the ‘Force’. The Force was defined as a force (yes, I know; how original) that every living thing possessed, but that only certain individuals could use and manipulate to one extent or another.
Anthropological Archeologists speculate that this may have just been literature brought to life through the ancient medium of ‘New to Home Video’ instead of actual documentary, but definitive evidence had never been found to prove one theory or the other. Fourteen hundred years has a way of returning things back to the dust from whence they came, after all. So the actual ‘discovery’ of ‘Current’ has become myth and legend to us modern folks who don’t really worry about the life of ‘Ancient Man’.
Another myth is those aforementioned users of the so-called ‘Force’, the ‘J.E.D.I. Force Manipulators’, whatever the J.E.D.I acronym symbolized. Anyway, they have been theorized to be specifically designed members of our species that could command and direct Current as they saw fit, make it obey they’re will to do strange and amazing things. In more modern times these special individuals have been dubbed ‘Current Mages’, but are thought to have gone extinct. ‘They’- Current Mages- being made redundant anyway by the modern techniques developed to harness Current for everyday use.
Yes, Current has become a staple of everyday life, supplying critical power for everything from personal timepieces to interstellar spacecraft.
That’s where Grub and I come in. We’re the guys that keep the Current flowing.
 
 
“About time you slugs got here! I’ve got three people heading to medical because you two stumps moved so slow! The Captain’s going to hear about this; mark my words!”
“So what were your guys trying to do, Chief? I didn’t see any modification requests come across my DataTab. Did you even get approval to disconnect that equipment? And why wasn’t the Current diverted before you did?” Grub asked as he pointed to an empty area we knew had equipment installed only last week. I stayed silent and slightly behind my partner to observe. I needed time to focus my senses to feel the Current up ahead.
“You think this is my doing? How lame can you slugs be? You haven’t got a clue as to how to clean this up so you project the blame back! I see how this works! Believe you me; the Captain’s going to get a full report!” The Chief boasted angrily.
“Let me have a look, Grunfuller. I’m ready.” I said to interrupt ‘his Eminence’ the Section Chief.
“Call the shot, Chance. I’ll do the dirty.” Grub, or Grunfuller Lokust acknowledged with a nod as we retrieved our Current probes.
Stepping past the Section Chief, I held out my hand, palm toward where the leak was thought to be and closed my eyes. Concentrating, I tried to sense the unconfined, invisible power and track it back to the injury in the supply conduit.
“What’s he doin’?” The Chief asked in sour disbelief.
“I’m sensing the Current if you’ll allow me to concentrate.” I replied quickly so as not to lose the feeling.
“You’re that freak I keep hearing about!”
“Grub,” I called opening my eyes to see his position, effectively ignoring our superior, “five feet to your left and three feet farther.”
My partner began scanning with his probe as he moved closer to the indicated spot.
“That’s the spot! I’m reading a significant opening. I might just have enough sealer to do the job, buddy.”
“I’m carrying backup if you need it.” I said as my partner carefully approached and began to spray the insulating sealant we each carried, at the unseen leak.
“Hopefully this takes care of it. I can already feel the soles of my feet starting to tingle.”
 
 
That was one way to tell if you were being over-exposed to the Current. Whatever it touched tended to numb the nerve-endings in the exposed area- usually the soles of the feet in our business. Severe over-exposure could kill you or require amputation of the affected limb or anatomical area.
Now, you may be asking why amputation in this modern day and age? Simple. Exposure to the Current negated any and all methods of grafting or cloning. Things just wouldn’t regrow in those damaged areas.
Grub stopped spraying and shook his dispenser. “How’d I do? I’m almost out.”
Again I held my palm to the puncture.
“That one’s closed, but there’s a ‘keep alive’ conduit seeping about a foot to the right. I think that’s the one you were standing in. Here’s the back up.” I said as I prepared to toss my dispenser to him.
He nodded and I tossed my dispenser, falling two feet short.
“You throw like a girl, freak!” The Section Chief chuckled.
“I’ll get it, Chance. You stay there.” Grub volunteered.
“No. I’ll come over. You keep your foot on that leak.” I said with a sigh. Quickly picking up the container, I asked Grub to move his foot and began to spray the area. As I did so, I held my palm facing the leak and closed my eyes to sense it better. The strange, unwanted feeling I had struggled to ignore made its presence known. I had to hurry and stop this leak.
When fully arrested, I opened my eyes and glared at the Section Chief.
“What is it, buddy?” Grub asked noticing my stare. He’d known me long enough to ‘know’ when ‘it’ happened.
“This is not a new spill, Grub! It’s been gushing for three hours at least.” I turned to whisper the result of my ‘sensing’ to his ear.
He nodded.
“Chief? How long ago did you say this happened?” Grub asked.
“I said it happened thirty-five minutes before you arrived. I called you immediately!” He said turning around to us.
“That’s awfully strange, because the affected area my probe picked up indicates that this has been going for at least three hours. My report to the Captain will reflect our repair and our findings. I’m sure he will order your budget curtailed to cover this ‘accident.”
The smug Chief’s face paled having been caught. He changed his attitude immediately.
“Can’t we work something out, fellas?”
“My partner here would like an apology and just a basic report of an accident should make it to the Captain’s DataTab.”
Grub’s proposal stymied the arrogant Section Chief.
“I’m…I’m sorry about callin’ you a freak. You and your partner did an efficient and effective cleanup of Section 12C. Thank you, both.”
“Specialist Summers and I were glad to help cleanup this accident and hope your injured personnel recover quickly, Chief. Now if you’ll excuse us, I need to take care of my own exposed areas. Have a safe day.”
I followed Grub out the door, keeping my silence about what I had sensed when I picked up the dropped dispenser.
 
What had I felt, you might ask? That’s difficult to explain, but the best way to describe it is to say I ‘felt’ the Current seep into me.
Impossible, I know, but that’s what ‘it’ felt like- like it actually absorbed into my skin!
 
Told you I was strange!
 
 
Once back in our maintenance compartment, Grub hurried and pulled off his boots.
“Could I bother you to do that…thing, Buddy?” He asked knowing how I felt about contacting Current.
I hesitated a minute.
“You absorbed some of that spill, didn’t you?”
I remained silent.
“Chance, you have to be more careful!” He scolded then changed tact. “Never mind, I’ll go down to Medical and have them do this properly.”
“No. I’ll take care of it. I was the one that whiffed the throw. Here.”
First I picked up his boots, sole up and placed my hand on each tread then I carefully placed my palm to each foot.
Again I could feel my body absorb the latent Current.
“You know, if you were blond, had a better shape and nice upper shelf, I’d feel much better about this.”
“You want me to finish or what, Grunfuller?”
“You sound just like my last shore leave companion!”
“Medical can wipe the rest of the exposure, Grub. I’m going offline now. See you when I come back online tomorrow.”
And with that, I got up, removed my utility belt and left the compartment for my own personal quarters. For some reason I wasn’t in the mood to be teased about my physical appearance. I felt grumpy, almost angry with him.
Once safe in my quarters, I enabled my DataTab’s gallery and tapped on my parent’s directory. Tightness filled my body and soul as image after reminiscent image displayed on the slightly reflective surface. I’d lost them eight years ago in a senseless terrorist attack on our home planet.
 
 
A race called the Hoblins- their real subspecies name was probably unpronounceable by most other subspecies- claimed, by way of attack, that all planetary systems in the Way were theirs to plunder and utilize as they saw fit. My home, the planet Gaia, had been their latest target. Mom and Dad never knew what hit them as the Bio-Desolve instantly engulfed the planet. Had I not already joined the Galactic Service, I would have joined them.
The Galactic Council, as ineffective as it was, declared the Hoblin attack ‘genocide’ and sent a pursuit force after the retreating scourge. Their ships detonated within range of the task force, destroying both sides.
I hated those scum with my very being! One day… one day, I would have my revenge.
 
 

 
 
“Specialist Summers, report to the freight hangar.”
I awoke with a start as my DataTab Comm App beckoned. Why would I be needed in the Freight hangar? We hadn’t had a leak there in weeks.
Dressing quickly, I hurried there to report as ordered.
“Hey, Chance!” a pleasant and familiar voice greeted as I turned the corner into the Freight Bay office. “Got a shipment for you. Just came in on the Supply Shuttle. Two medium-sized, shipping crates. Care to sign for them and I’ll have them delivered later today?” Dell…Delphi Kananacretas, our Shipping Chief questioned. Yes, she was a close friend.
“What are they?” I asked not expecting any shipments.
“Initialization is by the 1075th Recovery and Reclamation Logistics Battalion. Wasn’t that the group tasked with… um… oh… sorry, Chance… I’ll have them stored down here until you feel ready to handle it.”
“It’s okay, Dell. I’ll accept the delivery.”
“Are you sure, Chance?”
I nodded sadly as I placed my thumb on her DataTab as receipt.
Alright. I’ll just have these taken to your quarters and set off to the side, out of the way, okay?”
I nodded again before I turned and silently, slowly left her office.
Just what I needed to start my day!
 
 
“Rumor has it they recovered some stuff from home. Anything good, Buddy?” Grub asked with a wince after about an hour of awkward silence.
“Dell has a loud mouth.” I stated succinctly.
“And I haven’t even cracked the containers open yet, Grub.”
“Aren’t you the least bit curious?”
“I thought I had just started to cope…and now this happens. I’m not sure I want to know what’s in them. So, no, I’m not the least bit curious.”
“Well I’m intrigued! Tell you what, buddy. Why don’t me and a couple of your closest friends come over…strictly for moral support… and we could help you open ‘em?”
“I only have four friends on this tub, Grub! And the answer is no. Absolutely, not! I’ll open them when and only when I feel up to it, alright? Comprehend?”
“Um…sure…whatever you want, Buddy.”
“You’ve already gone and made this into a party haven’t you?”
“Oh, ah… ah… no! What makes you think that, Chance?”
“I’ve known you too long and worked with you even longer, Grub.”
After an extended, awkward silence, my friend and work partner responded.
“I told the gang to arrive about two hours after we go offline. That way you can get cleaned up and have something in your stomach before we start drinkin’, copy?”
Repeating something I usually did many times a shift; I glared at my partner.
“Good. Then it’s settled, buddy.”
 
 

 
 
My first guest arrived exactly two hours after I had entered my quarters.
“Hey, buddy! I brought some container-opening refreshments. Here, I’ll let you find a place for them.” Grub said as he handed over a case of personal beverage containers. He promptly took the best seat in my place and disabled his legs.
As always I glared at him. And as always it did absolutely no good.
Next to arrive was Dell. She too brought liquid refreshments.
“Thanks for inviting me, Chance. I was curious as to what’s in them.” The five-seven, brunette with big brown eyes and well proportioned body said as she hugged me. Her grip was the only indication that she was not the docile creature of near perfection she appeared.
Senior Section Chief Sinae Ackktt signaled at my door five minutes after that and brought more refreshments of the liquid kind!
“Am late?” The hybrid female questioned as I opened my door and caught her licking the back of her left fur-covered, paw-like, hand. From the size of her pupils and the way her tasseled ears were pinned back, I could tell she was embarrassed by being caught grooming while waiting for me to open my door.
Standing six feet even, the bobcat/human mix, Lynxin, with the tan/ orange fur and exotic cascading mane of the same colors could look both imposing and extremely attractive.
Right now though, she looked like a frightened kitten. A muscular, weightlifting, six foot tall, innocent kitten! By the way, did I mention that she was trained and certified in Spec-Ops tactics?
Close on her heels was the only other friend I had onboard.
“Hold the door!” Simon Redman shouted from down the passage, almost tripping on the mid-passageway bulkhead door’s lower sill.
Simon wasn’t all that graceful, but he was a good person and we got along well. Being in the Maintenance Division with Grub, and I, he had been lucky enough to be assigned to ‘Refuse’.
Yes, in the ancient vernacular, he was a custodian.
Topping the measure at five-six, the red-headed Simon wasn’t the most agile or popular crew member assigned to Mare de Tempest, he was just as necessary to its operation as any of us. His job- like ours- wasn’t very glamorous.
“Hey, Chance.” He puffed trying to catch his breath after the short run. “Heard you got packages from home. Am I too late for the unwrapping?”
“Just in time. Grab a drink and find a seat.” I answered with a somewhat forced smile.
Simon held up even more beverages.
“I’m good.” He said as he took the last available seat in my quarters.
Did everyone on this tub know my business?
 
 
After we all got comfortable, Grub started the official ‘ceremony’.
“Now that we’re all somewhat sedated, you going to open the containers, buddy?”
“Yes, Chance. I’m curious as to what they contain.” Dell added.
“Has been decon’d, Chance? Inquisitiveness overwhelming.”
“Curiosity killing the cat, Sinae?” Dell giggled looking at our furry friend.
The Lynxin smiled mockingly revealing her pointed canines, and stuck out her tongue.
“Get on with!” She growled as Grub tossed her another drink.
“Fine!” I grumbled.
 
 
I hadn’t expected to put on a show or be the entertainment when I opened my mysterious containers. Just the thought of what they contained frightened and also saddened me. Was I ready for what they might dredge up from my memories? Had I distanced myself from what had transpired all those years ago to be unaffected by the contents?
“Hey, Chance! We’re all dyin’ to see what ya got! Don’t make me have to go back to the commissary for more beverages! Do you need help to open them, buddy?”
“You know he’s the only one that can trigger the security coding, Grunfuller. I thought we were here to lend moral support, not be entertained.” Dell chastised my work partner.
“We are, but he’s taking too long.” Grub responded.
“Get on with!”
“Yeah, like Sinae says. I want to see what he got.” Simon chuckled as he motioned to the two, four-foot square containers placed along one wall of my quarters.
“Chance? No matter what you find, we’re here for you.” Dell comforted. “I know this has to be hard for you.”
My friend had stood, walked over to me, and placed a supportive hand on my shoulder.
All my friends dutifully joined her on either side of me.
Cautiously, I reached out and placed my hand on the shipping/ security label. A positive sounding ‘beep’ signaled the first shipping container’s lid released. A hiss of air indicated that the atmosphere inside the container was different than ours.
Sinae let out a loud ‘hiss’ and we turned to see her beautiful long tresses sticking out poker straight from her head. Her retractable claws were also fully extended from her fur-covered fingers.
“Aaaawww. Poor kitty frightened by the tiny rush of air?” Dell goaded in a childish voice.
Sinae said nothing, but stuck out her tongue again in defiance as all her hair relaxed and her claws retracted.
Grub helped me take off the lid and I peered down. An old, fabric covered container sat inside.
After carefully lifting out the old luggage, Grub and I placed it in front of the low table in front of my couch. On examination, I noticed an old-style thumbprint lock. Applying my thumb to the sensor pad, I half expected nothing to happen.
“Continue holding flangial peripheral to sensor pad while authenticating familial markers.”
“That’s a new one! I’ve never heard of DNA based security on something this old before.” Dell commented in awe of the mechanism.
“Must be important.” Sinae added.
“Familial match confirmed.” The box announced as a ‘click’ quietly sounded from somewhere inside.
Did I really want to open this thing? Was what I would find going to bring back all those long suppressed memories…those imagined images of my parents’ last breaths? Could I handle another rehash of…
“Chance? Would you like some help to open it?” Dell asked gently. “Or, we can leave now if you want.”
“You can all leave. I’m stayin’! I want to see what’s inside.”
“Grunfuller! Don’t you understand what this means to him? Do you know how much counseling Chance took after…’it’… happened? Give him a moment!”
I don’t remember opening the lid, but I now looked upon…clothing…women’s clothing. I recognized some of the items on top as belonging to my mother.
Grub and Simon started laughing immediately.
“Sorry, buddy. I guess the universe really does have a sense of humor!” Grunfuller boomed as he struck my back cordially several times.
“What on DataTab, Chance?” Sinae inquired, pointing down into the newly opened case.
I hadn’t noticed it initially and retrieving it, sat it down next to my new luggage.
Placing my finger to the device triggered it. A pleasant chime sounded twice as it came online.
“Hello, Chance.” My mother’s voice greeted as her hologram appeared standing before us.
My mood sank even deeper.
A thin, visible green line quickly appeared and scanned all of us and the entire room top to bottom.
“It appears you have assembled your most trusted friends. Good. Charles and I hoped you would gather a trusted circle around you and it appears you have chosen discretely…”
The hologram continued by looking directly at each of my guests and reciting a rather lengthy, rather revealing, highly detailed, dossier of each. How it found even the highly classified information eluded me. That data was ‘need to know’ and highly encrypted.
“Ladies and Gentlemen. Chance is a very special individual.” She continued as her hologram looked directly at me; her expression saddened.
“I had hoped to be with you to help guide and tutor you for the adventure that now approaches. Sadly, that seems null. Chance, you must believe me when I say that Charles and I never meant for you to go this alone. We looked forward to experiencing all of it with you. But, if you are viewing this message…”
Mother’s image dropped her head sadly. It slowly shook to the sides a few times silently before looking back up.
“Chance, I always hoped that I could be the one to relate our family’s history to you and not have a holo-projection of Charles or I be surrogate, but if you are seeing me…like this…” She paused again, looking even sadder.
“Still, now is not the time for such sensitive information. When events get nearer, we will again contact you. I promise we will reveal all at that time. You will better understand things by then. Until that time arrives, there is something I’ve enclosed that I ask you to wear and cherish. Think of it as a reminder of all that we had. All the good times; the wonderful times we shared…as a family: Charles, Hope, and Chance Summers.”
Mother pointed into the case.
“Chance. At this time I ask that you find and take the locket out of the chest. You’ll know it when you find it. Hold it out for the sensor to scan. That way, I know you actually have it.”
I did as requested. After several minutes of embarrassed searching through mom’s assorted privates and personals, I found and reverently lifted the golden locket containing my mother’s picture in front of me by its delicate gold chain. Dell leaned in to get a better look at it.
“Where is the color? Why is her picture in monochrome, Chance?”
I shrugged my shoulders and held the piece out at arm’s length. “Here it is.”
Once again the device’s green, coherent beam scanned the room.
“Thank you, Chance, you were always such a good boy. Now I would like you to place the locket around your neck. Hook the chain and it will close and lock so that it cannot be removed. Do not be alarmed, Chance. It is imperative it remains on you at all times. Do this for Charles and I, Chance, and do not question for a reason. As I said, all will be revealed when appropriate.”
Carefully, reverently, I placed the locket’s chain around my neck.
“Are you actually going to do as that hologram says, buddy? Aren’t you even going to question its motives?”
“Grunfuller Lokust! Do not question my reasoning to withhold information or motive!” The hologram snapped, angrily staring right at my friend. We all actually jumped and I noticed Sinae’s fur and mane had stiffened again.
“You will one day thank this representation of me and Chance for complying! Chance, please continue. The DataTab will monitor and confirm the closure. Rest assured it is harmless and only a memento…a keepsake to remind you of better times…happier times.”
Committing fully, I reached the ends around my neck and hooked the simple ring clasp together. The clasp disappeared from my touch!
“Thank you for trusting me, Chance. You have yet to understand how much this means to Charles and I…or to the galaxy as a whole. At this time I must leave you and your friends. Ladies and gentlemen, Charles and I implore you all to keep Chance safe so that the Summers’ family can continue it’s good work into the future. Thank you all very much. Until the time arrives, we love you, Chance.”
The image disappeared and the DataTab de-energized. I stood, stunned and confused for several minutes.
“Let’s see what’s in the other container!” Grub suggested, breaking the solemn quiet of the room.
“You really are a tool, Grunfuller!” Dell reprimanded.
“Open container, Chance.” Sinae urged.
After clearing the security label Grub helped me remove another ‘trunk’. This ancient looking piece of luggage had to be hundreds of years old yet looked almost new! The words ‘MAJ.’, ‘H. F. Summers’, and ‘USMC’ were stenciled on the lid in white paint and surprisingly still very readable on the old, black, metal box.
“Wow! The box alone could be worth billions of credits at auction, Chance. I could do some digging if you wa…”
“Disengage, Simon!” Sinae growled this time and she stepped forward to run her fur-topped fingers over the material.
“Have only seen images of such before.” She continued. “Beautiful.”
This trunk required a very old and archaic form of security I think was called a ‘key’ to open it. A thorough search of the outer shipping container and another embarrassingly long search through my mother’s things in the first case proved futile.
“It would be easy enough to just pop the latches, Chance. Got a Current tuner? I could have it open in…”
“Leave it, Grub.” I said, disappointed. “I’m sure it’s all part of the mystery. The key will probably reveal itself when I need it.”
“You sure, buddy? Aren’t you the least bit curious now? I mean all you got here is a full closet of women’s underwear and clothes, a locket, and…oh yeah, some cryptic, pre-prepared message from mom and dad on a very intelligent DataTab. How can you ignore a mystery like that?”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I fingered the locket I now wore and sadly looked at the mysterious, old trunk.
Just when I thought I had gotten over my parents’ passi…
“Grunfuller, I think it’s time we leave.” Dell interrupted as she nodded to Sinae. The Lynxin gently took Grub’s wrist and together, both women guided my other two friends out of my quarters.
Dell hung back in the doorway.
“Chance? Please don’t dwell on things too much? I’d rather not see you put on medical leave again. If you ever want to talk about things, my door is always open, okay? Oh, I’ll have someone stop by to repurpose those shipping containers.”
I slowly nodded.
“See you next shift, Specialist Summers.”
My door closed and I found myself alone…with two big reminders of things that had instantly gone away…permanently.
I opened and drank another beverage in one long gulp then grabbed another.
 
 

 
 
Something chimed twice. I opened my crusty eyes to see what it was.
Obviously, I had been crying.
The same chime sounded again, twice, as before. It seemed to be coming from my mother’s DataTab.
“Why are you doing that?” I said to the inanimate device. “You went offline and shouldn’t come back on until told to do so.”
It chimed pleasantly again, this time with less of a delay, as if sensing I had talked to it.
Shrugging, I picked it up.
“Hello again, Chance. Now that we are alone, do you have any ‘unclassified’ questions I can answer?”
“Why did you send me all those clothes, mom? It was so embarrassing to find that with my friends looking on.” I felt my face blush again just from the thought.
“That storage container was the only space I had to hide the locket, Chance. It was imperative I pass that onto my next of kin.”
“But it’s just a locket, mom! It’s a piece of jewelry that holds your picture.”
“It’s more than it appears, Chance. You have to trust me on that fact. It’s been in the Summers’ family for over fourteen hundred years, and represents a whole legacy of commitment and service to the species. To all subspecies, honey. You’ll be safe as long as it remains around your neck.”
“Who’s trunk is this, mom? I don’t recall ever seeing it before. And who is MAJ. H. F. Summers, U.S.M.C., anyway?”
“That ancient sea chest belonged to Major Hopewell F. Summers. He was an officer in the United States Marine Corps way back when space exploration was just entering its infancy. Hopewell was the first Summers to travel outside Earth’s system to make contact with other species throughout the closer systems to Earth. He is your greatest ancestor, Chance, though not much outside of that has been written about him. Trust me though, he was a great man! Please guard that trunk with your life, Chance. It contains our past…and our redemption.”
“I don’t understand.”
“In time you will, honey. Be patient, but also stay observant and scrutinize everything you see or hear from here on out. Drastic changes are on your horizon and Charles and I would rather you see them through with courage and strength than be caught off guard. Keep alert.”
“I’m frightened, mom. I’ve never seen or heard you talk this strongly before. Please. Can’t you reveal something to put my mind at ease?”
“We assume you have found out you can ‘sense’ the Current, Chance?”
“How do you know about that? About my curse? That I’m a freak!”
“Oh, my wonderful child! You are not a freak! And sensing Current is certainly not a ‘curse’. It is a wonderful gift that has been in the Summers’ family for centuries! It is how we have served and protected the species. For example, as this DataTab scanned you it also looked for another trait specific to the Summers’ clan. You can absorb Current, Chance. The sensor only detected a two percent stored reserve- hardly close to threshold, but you can absorb Current nonetheless. I know this because I can absorb Current too, honey. It’s a marvelous thing we can do and nowhere close to any kind of curse! Rest assured it will not hurt you in any way, but keep this on a need to know basis, and only with your small group of friends.”
“Are you sure, mom? It doesn’t feel like a gift. It feels…creepy.”
Mom’s face on the DataTab giggled politely. Her smile instantly warmed my heart.
“I’ve never heard it described like that before. Honey, with experience you will be able to do more than just sense Current, you will be able to see the Current; follow it; use it. Once you have done that though, respect it! Don’t allow it to control you as a few of our ancestors once did. Treat it with respect and it will respect you, honey. Never forget that.”
“I won’t forget, mom.” I promised. “Can I ask a few more questions?”
“Of course you can, honey- but tomorrow. Right now you are late for your rest period, and you need to be rested for your shift. Sleep well, Chance. May we meet and converse more in your dreams.”
“But mom!” I hurried, but the DataTab had already gone offline again.
“I have so many questions and I miss you both so much.” I mumbled as I placed the device back on the table and trudged into my sleep quarters.
I didn’t expect to get much sleep tonight.
 
 

 
 
“Hey, Chance! You here to stop our Current leak?” Dell asked as I entered her office.
“As much as I can. Can you point me in the right direction?” I answered.
“We first noticed the tingle over here, by the airtight bulkhead. I’ve ordered everyone to stay clear.”
“Thanks. Just let me get my probe out.” I said as I took the small device in hand and waved it slowly in front of me. I closed my eyes and stretched out my Current sense to find the leak.
My sense told me that the Current had pooled, which only made it harder to find the source, but concentrating harder, I found the small fountain-like leak twenty feet from my location.
“Found it.” I announced as I took my sealant spray from my belt and began walking closer.
“Be careful, Chance. It’s probably been leaking for some time.” My friend warned.
Leaning down and spraying the hole, I soon had it stopped.
Now what to do with the puddle? Given enough time it would dissipate, but that might take hours or even a day or two. The Freight Bay was a busy place though, and couldn’t be closed for even a fraction of the time needed.
Looking back at the office, I observed that Dell was occupying herself with report preparation.
Mom claimed that she and I could absorb Current and that it couldn’t hurt me? Maybe I should find out if that really was true. I already knew I could absorb small quantities with no problem. How much before I could feel something threatening? A small part of me screamed that it was too dangerous.
A much larger portion urged me to try though.
Stooping down, I placed my hand to the deck. I could feel the creepy feeling on my skin and migrating up my arm…
“Chance! What in the name of all are you doing?” Dell screamed as she hurried over.
“Stay back!” I cautioned. “There is a pool of Current here and I don’t want you to be exposed!”
“Don’t want me exposed?” She exclaimed skeptically. “What about you, Chance?”
“I can handle it. Let me get it cleaned up.”
Daring to come closer, she snatched my probe from my free hand and actually turned it on. She glared at me.
“This wasn’t even turned on, Chance! What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?”
I didn’t answer as I concentrated on absorbing the latent Current. Dell stared in awe as the reading on the probe began to decrease to zero.
“There, that should do it. All clear.” I announced as I stood back up and wiped my hand on my pants once.
“How…?” My friend gasped- her eyes searching me for any plausible answer.
“I found out a few years back that I can…um…soak up small amounts of Current without it affecting me. Please don’t let it get out, Dell. I’m already labeled as a ‘freak’. I don’t need that confirmed.”
Dell silently nodded her head, but stopped and squinted at my mother’s locket. It must have fallen out of my shirt when I bent over.
“Chance! Your locket! I can see a little bit of color at the bottom of your mother’s picture!”
My mouth dropped as I lifted the piece up and studied it. Just as she indicated, some color had appeared at the very bottom- near my mother’s shoulders in her picture.
Now that was creepy!
“It could be anything.” I declared quickly. “It might be a reaction to Current, or something like that. I can’t be sure and have no way to find out now, anyway. Maybe we shouldn’t say anything in our reports… or about my… um… being a Current vacuum cleaner?”
“Not a word, Chance! Not one, unbelievable word!”
“Thank you, Dell. I’ll just double check the leak and I think you should be able to recall your crew.”
Once done, I returned to my shop compartment.
“Get the leak, buddy?” Grub asked as I walked in.
“All sealed up.”
“So how’s Dell today?”
“Better now that she knows her crew will be safe.”
Grub nodded and gave me a satisfied smile.
“So Mare de Tempest lives to fight another day.” He stated. It was something my friend and work partner said from time to time.
I tilted my head slightly in answer and walked over to my desk to close the work order and file my DataTab report.
 
 
For those that are curious, the Mare de Tempest is our ship. She is a Commemoration Class Galactic Escort Destroyer roughly five miles long and two at her beam. Re-commissioned after a chance meteor strike over a century ago, the Mare is one of the oldest ships in the fleet.
Over ten thousand call her home while on a cruise.
 
 
“Hey, Chance, you staying online for another shift or what?” Grub asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. My report sat completed so I sent it on its appropriate routing and followed Grub out of the compartment.
I chastised myself for losing time. Mom had told me to be more observant, and here I was daydreaming!
 

 
Three weeks had passed quickly. All during that time Grub and I, as well as the other shifts did our part to keep the Current from bleeding out of the Mare. Of course the repairs I had been assigned had resulted in less cleanup work for guys like Simon.
 
 
Grub had invited the gang over for another round of drinking and as usual, the topic of my parents’ luggage came up quickly in conversation.
“Haven’t you got that thing open yet?” Simon asked as he sat down and stared at the ancient trunk against the opposite wall.
“Nope.”
“Need help to open?” Sinae offered as she cued her pointer finger claw to extend.
“Nope.”
She sighed audibly.
“I’d like to see the locket again, Chance. Do you mind?” Dell asked politely as she leaned over to me and gently reached into my shirt.
She nodded as she looked at mom’s picture.
“It’s a beautiful piece of jewelry. I wonder how long your mom had it. Do you know, Chance?”
“As far as I know, she’s always worn it. It could be centuries old for all I know.”
“Look closer?” Sinae asked as she leaned in from my opposite side.
Her tasseled ears twitched a few times as she studied my locket. I had come to know they only did that when she detected something…something not right. It was her only tell.
I noticed her purring quietly as she leaned a little closer to me than needed.
“Mother was beautiful, Chance.”
“Um… thanks… I guess.”
“So, have you found anything else hidden amongst her clothes?”
“I haven’t even looked, Grub. Mom’s things were always off limits, you know?”
“Speaking of limits, buddy. Rumor has it you’ve been helping with Current cleanups on your calls. Care to elaborate?”
Simon and Sinae took more interest in that question. Dell remained silent, looking somewhat stunned. She glared at our mutual friend with contempt.
“Grunfuller. Now is really not the time.” I declared calmly in warning.
“But it is the place, buddy. It’s only us…your most trusted friends…here, with you. Why don’t you tell us how your recent calls have become so much cleaner than if Simon’s crew was involved?”
“Grunfuller Lokust! That is my business and ONLY my business!” I protested- my tenor voice rising an octave.
“Secret? Love secrets.” Sinae said excitedly, her ears stiffly upright and focused forward on me.
“I was wondering why we weren’t receiving more cleanup requests. What’s up with that, Chance? What new device have you designed that leaves less work for us?” Simon pressed insistently.
Dell sighed loudly as she looked around our friends then at me sadly.
“A while back, Chance found he could absorb small amounts of Current. He’s afraid that if it gets out that more of the crew will think he’s a maximum freak.” Dell explained while I kept my mouth disengaged.
With her statement, I put my palms to my face in horror! Life, as I knew it, was over!
“Really? Why, I think that’s fantastic! It’ll save me and my crew tons of work!”
Sinae stared at me curiously.
“No one can know, Simon! No one! Understand?” I pleaded.
“Chance is right, guys. We have to encrypt that information from the rest of the crew. It could make things even more difficult for him. Some of my fellow section chiefs already think of him as pretty rim.”
“Thanks, Dell. I thought we had agreed to keep things quiet?” I groaned before downing my newly opened beverage in one.
“Chance, Your mother’s A.I. has already cleared us, so why can’t you? You already know we can be trusted.”
“Chance doesn’t trust Sinae? Trust you, Chance.” Sinae responded sounding and looking hurt.
“I just don’t want any of you to get hurt because of me!” I admitted truthfully. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost any of you.”
I opened another drink and downed it quickly before reaching for another.
Grub’s hand reached to stop me.
“Easy, buddy. Sedation won’t make us go away; it won’t make what you can do go away either. By the way, how many ‘cleanups’ have you done in the last three weeks?”
“From the progress indicated on that locket, I’d say quite a few. Your mother’s neck is almost completely fleshed out, by the way.” Dell answered before I could.
“What’s his locket got to do with it?” Grub asked as he stared at my chest where it hung under my shirt. Simon leaned forward to also have a look.
“The locket seems to act like a gauge…an absorption gauge, guys. After he soaked up the spill in Freight three weeks ago there was a narrow strip of color at the bottom of the picture. Tonight, the color is nearly to her chin. I’d say twenty or thirty percent of some unknown capacity.
“Chance storing Current?” Sinae asked; her eyes wide and pupils’ dilated.
“It would seem so, Kitty.” Dell answered.
So what happens when you get… um… full, Buddy?” Grub asked. There was a morbid curiosity in his voice.
“Clean up in section five.” Simon mumbled to himself.
“Hope not case, Simon. Not be cruel!” Sinae advised sharply. Her pointer claw had extended and she now pointed it at our mutual friend in warning.
“To tell you all the truth, I had no idea that it was more than a locket until Dell brought it to my attention. As for what might happen? I’ve got no clue. Mom assured me that it was safe, so I have to believe that since it’s sort of attached to me now.”
“So…how about a fashion show, buddy?” Grub laughed as he pointed to mom’s clothes to change the subject.
“Screw you, Grunfuller Lokust!” I screamed angrily as I suddenly snapped! Although spoken in humor, it was just too much for me at the moment; I stormed into my sleep quarters.
 
 
“Hey. You want to talk about it?” Dell asked as she stood in my sleep quarter’s doorway. “Grub and Simon left a few minutes ago. Sinae and I…we thought you might want to talk…a bit?”
“I don’t understand what came over me. I’ve never snapped at a friend before. It seems the more Current I store, the stranger I feel…and act. I just don’t get it.”
“Truthfully, I’d just be glad I wasn’t dead, Chance.” Dell admitted.
“You’re mother was right, Chance. You are special. Not everyone can touch Current without losing the exposed part.” Sinae agreed.
 
 
That was another thing about Sinae. She only talked normally when Dell and I were with her. For everyone else, she stuck to her broken sentences.
 
 
“Special or not, I still feel strange. And I don’t even want to know what might happen when my ‘tank’ is full, so to speak.”
“Maybe it will dissipate like it does around the ship?” Sinae proposed.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Maybe it won’t. Who’s to say?”
“Why not ask your mom?” Sinae suggested. She walked out and returned with mom’s DataTab.
As soon as I touched the device it chimed twice and came online.
“Hello again, Chance. You took your sweet time in contacting me again. I thought we would talk the following morning. Hello to you also, Delphi and Sinae.”
“I had to think, mom.”
“For three weeks? Why so long, honey?”
Mom’s image looked at something off to her left for a minute before looking straight back at me.
“Well, I guess that answers that question. You’re probably wondering what happens when your reservoir is full. Don’t worry, honey, you won’t explode. What you will notice is sharper definition when using your Current sense, though you are still nowhere near threshold.”
“Mrs. Summers? What is this ‘threshold’? What will happen to Chance if ‘threshold’ is achieved?” Sinae asked; her ears twitching several times.
“Now that is the proper use of that genius intellect, my inquisitive Lynxin. What happens when threshold is attained? Why something marvelous, of course! Next question.”
Sinae and Dell both expressed a sigh of disappointment at her evasive answer.
“The locket. Your locket…it’s some kind of gauge, isn’t it? Something to indicate how much Current I’ve stored?”
“That and so much more, my dear child! And it’s your locket. I had it made for my heir long before you were even thought of, honey. As I indicated at our first meeting, things will all become clear. In a very short time now, it would appear. My resources suggest four days on the outside. I must overstress the need for vigilance, honey. In fact, all of you need to be extremely attentive. Unfortunately, and from experience, I warn you to expect much heartache and sadness in the coming mêlée. But know this. The Summers’ will always persevere! We will continue to protect the species as we have for over a millennium!”
The DataTab chimed once and went offline.
“You might think we were headed into some kind of war, the way she talked.” Dell commented.
“I’m not so sure we aren’t. I’ve never heard mom talk so serious. But then again, I don’t think either of my parents was ever in the military, either.” I shrugged.
“The woman has definitely had training, Chance. Quite a lot from the sound of it.” Sinae added sounding very impressed.
“How?” I asked, curious.
“From her voice, the control she displayed while talking to us. She’s definitely concerned for our safety, but didn’t want to frighten us away, Chance. Also from the way she held herself in the hologram we saw that first night. She was definitely in some formal military branch, and a high-ranking officer, too. We military types know the signs. Trust me.”
I found myself looking over to the ancient sea chest. ‘USMC’ I thought. Could that actually be the official designation of the legendary, no nonsense, elite defence force from the ancient history courses I studied while growing up? And what of its owner? Mom named him as Hopewell F. Summers. Apparently, he was a Major? That was still an officer’s rank in the Galactic Service. But ‘Hopewell’ was such a formal name. I wondered if his friends might have called him Hope…
My eyes went wide at the thought!
No way is that possible!
“What isn’t possible, Chance?” Dell interrupted my thoughts.
“Yes, Chance. What shouldn’t be possible?” Sinae confirmed I had been thinking out loud.
“When I talked to mom’s A.I. after you all left three weeks ago, she told me that the sea chest belonged to an ancestor; a guy by the name of Hopewell F. Summers. I’m guessing he was one of the legendary United States Marines.”
“That’s an impressive legacy, Chance! Your ancestry has practically been proven back a millennium or more. That’s amazing since most records of that time have faded beyond useful recall or deleted completely!” Dell said excitedly.
“It also makes it much harder for Chance to live up to a legacy like that, Dell.” Sinae added. “So what surprised you about your ancestor’s name?”
“I was thinking how ‘Hopewell’ sounded too formal, but if you shortcut it you get ‘Hope’.”
“Okay. So?” Sinae asked in confusion.
“Chance’s mother’s name was ‘Hope’, Sinae.” Dell filled in the blank, “You’re right, Chance. No way could she be this ‘Hopewell’. Even given the longevity of some subspecies, that’s an impossible amount of time to live. I think it’s safe to say your mom wasn’t that old. Maybe she was named in honor of your ancestor?”
“That’s probably the case, but I need to know.” I said as I picked up the DataTab expecting it to go online instantly.
“Why won’t it respond? I touched it the same way as before, but it won’t come online!”
“She probably gave you all the answers she could at this time, Chance. I don’t think it’ll come back online until it’s ready.” Sinae advised. “Strictly ‘need–to-know’. That’s how Spec-Ops does it.”
“But mom was never in the military; let alone any special forces!” I argued.
“As I said earlier, she has served in a military at some point, Chance. And to me it’s obvious,” Sinae nodded to the DataTab still in my hand, “You didn’t know her as well as you thought.”
“Yeah. Obviously. So, I think I’m going to turn in for the night. All this has given me a headache.”
“Let’s go Sinae. Princess Chance needs her beauty rest.” Dell scoffed with a devious smile.
Both women wished me a good rest and left. I was alone with my thoughts once more.
 
 
 

My next shift started out like any other would, on any other day, but as I ‘helped’ clean up the latest Current leak, I felt something… something… Somehow I couldn’t place this new feeling. Something deep within me defined it as ‘dark’. Evil.

My next shift started out like any other would, on any other day, but as I ‘helped’ clean up the latest Current leak, I felt something… something… Somehow I couldn’t place this new feeling. Something deep within me defined it as ‘dark’. Evil.
“Hey, buddy! Have any trouble with your call?” Grub asked as I walked into our shop compartment.
“Something doesn’t feel right, Grunfuller.” I announced and wondered why I was being so formal.
“Okaaaay? How do you know that, buddy?”
“The Current. It doesn’t feel right. It feels…‘off’, Grunfuller.”
“You’re being serious, aren’t you, buddy?” He asked as he came closer and studied my face. I noticed him glance to where my locket rested under my shirt.
“About seventy-five percent, Grunfuller.” I answered his unspoken question.
 
 
A chill suddenly shot up my spine!
 
 
“We need to find Dell and Sinae!” I suddenly shouted in alarm. I had no idea why I felt so driven to do so.
“You’re scaring me, buddy. Why do we need to find Dell and Kitty?”
Instead of answering, I headed for Section 10 and Freight at a fast pace. My crewmates moved to the sides when requested, but stared at me as I rushed through the passages.
“Hey! Wait up, Chance!” Grub exclaimed from somewhere behind.
 
 
It happened so suddenly and with no alarms or announcement from the bridge!
 
 
The airtight bulkhead directly in front of us slammed closed as the decompression alarms came alive indicating something happened in the Freight hangar bay.
Where Dell was stationed!
I changed direction and headed for her office’s secondary access point, the one I always used unofficially. A gasp of relief escaped my mouth as the door slid open without restriction.
Dell wasn’t here!
Peeking through the observation window, we saw the reason for the alarm.
Intruders!
A small shuttle-type vessel had come aboard and strange little creatures were rushing out into the hangar bay. The creatures, whatever they were, quickly subdued and collected the hangar crew and separated them in a straight line at about twenty foot intervals. They seemed to be attaching something to the hostages then stepping back quickly. The captured crewmen seemed unable to move.
 
My insides suddenly lurched and felt like they were twisting tightly! Something… my Current sense, maybe? Told me something evil… something dark was approaching my captured, fellow crewmembers out there!
“We have to stop them, Gr-“
A sudden blinding blue light engulfed each individual crewman, but not one of the invaders.
A loud chorus of screams filled my head as the blue arcs vanished as quickly as they had appeared!
Left in place of each captured crewman was a smaller, withered, disproportional, grotesque, body.
“They’re dead! They just killed twenty people, Grunfuller!” I said to my work partner.
“Chance! They’re not dead. They’re still moving. I don’t know how, but they look like those other things now! This is impossible. I must be dreaming!”
I looked closer and saw what he meant. Our crewmembers, or what had become of them, were definitely still moving. Grub was right! They did look like their captors- moved like them and everything. They seemed to voluntarily join the original invaders and headed for the exits.
“Let’s get out of here to spread the alarm.” I suggested, failing to raise the bridge on Dell’s control console.
“Right behind you, buddy.”
I rolled my eyes.
 
 
It seemed that the invaders were spreading faster than I anticipated. Two of the small freakish looking things turned the corner just ahead of us.
I have no idea why, but I reached for my Current rerouters and took one in each hand. I hoped Grub had done likewise.
Not stopping to think, I ran headlong at both and planted a rerouter in each one’s chest or thorax, or…or whatever they called their main organ repository.
A blue arcing sort of light traveled out of my quarry, through the rerouters, and up my arms! I could feel the Current flow into me! What were these things?
When the lightshow was over, nothing remained of my two adversaries. Nothing at all!
“What the…”
“Buddy! That was amazing! I never knew you could fight? Kitty teach you that?”
“We have to find them, Grunfuller! We have to find our friends!” I shouted as I continued past the site of our first encounter.
 
 
Another one of those strange creatures hit the wall at the opposite end of the passage leading to Sinae’s section bulkhead. I heard her familiar snarl. The tone of it sent instant shivers through my body.
Sinae was on the thing instantly and I was stifled by how fast she moved. Nothing she did seemed to faze the thing though and before we could get close the mid-passage airtight door slammed closed.
Running into the door stung a little, but didn’t hurt near as much as what was seen when I looked through the door’s small, safety porthole!
Sinae was frozen in place like those we had seen in the hangar!
Another creature pulled another immobilized crewman into view.
“DELL!” I screamed as I began pounding furiously on the safety hatch.
“What’s happening, Chance?” Grub demanded as he parried for a glimpse.
As before, both creatures had disappeared from the intersection and instantly the passage was ablaze with the mysterious blue arcing.
“NOOOOOOO!” I shouted at the top of my lungs while pounding on the thick, airtight door. The blue arc vanished. Two more ‘creatures’ had taken my friends’ places.
As I continued to scream and pound ineffectively, the two new creatures began to move. One reached out to the other awkwardly.
The blue arcs returned and quickly merged into one, bigger arc. It quickly ebbed to reveal one, larger, ‘creature’!
I felt my legs collapse and found myself on the deck, back against the traitorous, unresponsive, bulkhead door!
“We better get out of here before we’re next, buddy!” Grub urged as I felt him pull me to standing.
“Sinae… Dell… they… made them… turned them … to…” I tried to explain what I had seen.
“Like in the Hangar, Chance?”
I nodded as best I could.
“Touched… more blue light… became… became bigger one.”
“Shit! We really need to get out of here, buddy!”
“Quarters… mom… answers…”
“Copy that, buddy. Maybe your mom’s DataTab can tell us something. Come on!”
 
 

Grub and I had two more encounters on our way back to my quarters. The emotions… the anger I was feeling… it fueled my actions. Grub never got the chance to assist in our defense. Each time, the same thing happened; I absorbed the invaders and left nothing behind.
I was now very aware of the Current running around the Mare. It was more than tangible now. I could sense, smell, taste, and even vaguely see it. It seemed to be alive. It was ‘breathing’ in its supply conduits! Like a pulse!
It was beautiful!
“Where’s the DataTab, Chance?” Grub asked, drawing my attention back from my new senses, feelings, and sight.
“My bed.”
Before I knew it Grub was handing me something.
Mom’s concerned face looked back from the device.
“I’m sorry, Chance. They got here quicker than even my resources predicted.”
“What are they? How can we stop them, mom?”
As her image did several days ago, mom looked to her left. She frowned.
“Eighty-three percent. Still not near threshold.” She mumbled with worry.
“Mom? What are they? I know I can kill them. When I do, I absorb them! There’s nothing left. It’s like they’re made of Current.”
“They are abominations, Chance! They are indeed Current, but a Current that has been tainted with darkness and greed, among other disgusting things! You can kill and purify their Current because you are like me, honey.”
“Well that certainly explains everything!” I exclaimed sarcastically!
“How can I ‘purify’ Current, mom? How am I like you? What are we?” I demanded!
“Throughout the centuries, the Summers’ have led the war on the Hoblins. That’s what they call them nowadays. They never had any real subspecies name…if they wanted one. Chance, we have the power to…how should I say this…pass judgment on them…the defiled and tortured. Has your Current sight started to develop yet? It should have become visible, though vague, at eighty percent. Twenty below threshold.”
“I can sense, feel, taste, smell, and vaguely see ‘it’, mom. What am I? What are we?” I cried in distress.
“WE are what have been protecting the species from the Hoblins for fourteen hundred years, Chance! Since I obviously can’t be with you, you must go it on your own! Take Grunfuller with you and make sure he has a supply of those rerouters you seem to be so handy with. But remember those rerouters won’t work unless attached to YOU, honey.”
“Mom, they got to Sinae and Dell! They changed them into…Hoblins.”
“This has become far worse than I imagined. Chance? Honey, I want you to listen and listen carefully. I want you to absorb as many Hoblins as you can!”
“But what about Dell and Sinae? What if I have to absorb them? I don’t want to kill my friends!”
“Chance? Chance, listen to me, honey! You must absorb enough Hoblins to reach threshold! If you ever want to rescue your friends and crew, it is imperative you reach threshold! No redemption can be given before, do you understand? Grunfuller? Do you understand? Chance must reach threshold before any rescues can commence! The two of you work together very well. Use that relationship in your quest, and try not to get caught before threshold is achieved.”
“What happens when this threshold is reached, mother? ‘Something wonderful’ isn’t going to cut it this time, so answer the damn question truthfully.”
“I can’t elaborate on what will happen when you reach threshold, Chance. It differs for each of us. What I do know is once achieved; you will be able to restore your friends and what remains of the Mare’s crew.”
“What remains!?”
“The Hoblins are carnivorous if they start to run low on Current, Chance. You need to make threshold before that happens or you may lose your friends.”
“Yeah, no pressure there, huh?”
“Grunfuller! Get yourselves out there and save your friends! Chance, honey, you are the only one now that can repel and defeat the Hoblins! It is a Summers’ duty to protect the species! You are the last of the Summers! You can do this. Make me proud, honey!”
The DataTab went offline and a tiny wisp of smoke emerged from it.
“It self-destructed?” Grub gasped in surprise.
“I guess we’re on our own now, Grub. Time to make mom…make all the previous Summers proud. Let’s get down to the shop to pick up some supplies.”
“Copy that, buddy.”
 
 

 
 
“Think twenty re-routers will be enough, Chance? If not, we need to get to the storage compartment back at Freight.” Grub asked as he secured said twenty to his belt.
“It’ll have to be, Grunfuller. We can’t risk going back there and getting caught.”
“Sure you can keep it together enough to…to reach this ‘threshold’?”
“We’ll certainly find out! You ready, buddy?” I asked as I bit my lip nervously.
We were silent for a moment as we stared at each other awkwardly.
“By the way. You have my permission, Chance. Do it if you see a hole.” Grunfuller said neutrally.
“What? Your permission to do what?”
“Ground me, baby! If those things get to me and …you know…transform me…” He said sadly.
I was flabbergasted! My friend had just asked me to end his life rather than be possessed!
“Oh, Grunfuller, I…I couldn’t. I can’t!”
“Do it or I swear once one of them, I’ll find a way to bring every one of those stringy, gaunt looking, bastards down on you at once! Promise me, Chance Summers!”
Tears streamed down my face as I looked into his dead-serious eyes.
“I…I promise, Grunfuller.”
“Good, now let’s ground us some Hoblins!”
 
 
As mom predicted, Grub and I made an effective team. So far we had ‘grounded’ and absorbed fifteen genuine Hoblins and accidently killed four of our transformed crewmembers. I was hoping no more ‘conscripts’ would attack before I reached whatever ‘threshold’ was.
Lifting my locket from my shirt, I checked it. Mom’s portrait was almost completely colorized. Only a very narrow strip at the very top, remain colorless. I estimated ninety-five percent. Only five more til I reached…whatever.
Maybe my destiny?
Most likely my demise!
We were getting close to Sinae’s section again when we ran into four of them.
While Grub fought to ground his Hoblin, I struck out with both my rerouters and successfully grounded only one. I quickly regrouped and plunged my other rerouter into the one I had missed previously.
I could now easily see the orange colored Current flowing through the conduits of the storage hangar AND see that those Current conduits flowed freely in streams under the floor decking in straight lines, occasionally making sharp ninety degree turns to avoid structural components. All the sharp turns and branches reminded me of circuitry. It was…it was beautiful!
With three of the four Hoblins dispatched I turned my focus to the fourth and found myself watching the biggest, most disgustingly twisted and grotesque, Hoblin I had ever seen in my short experience with them, lumbering toward us!
“Watch! A big one is coming up behind us!”
My last adversary managed to knock one of my rerouters from my hand. I quickly replaced it with another from my belt and looked for my opening to strike the final blow.
‘NOW!’ something shouted in my head as I reacted instead of thinking. The blow found its target and I could feel Current surge into me once more.
“Buddy? A little help here.” Grub alerted.
I turned to see the huge Hoblin had Grub by his wrist and was trying to place some sort of small, round, bead looking device on him. I threw one of my rerouter at it. As luck would have it, I managed to get it to embed in its fragile looking, sickly gray, disproportional forearm.
The beast let out a hair-raising growl and bent over to the side to reach for the weapon. My eyes went wide as I noticed the remnants of a short, tan and orange tail about half way up the creature’s twisted, hunched, spine!
“SINAE!” I shouted.
“No way!” Grub shouted.
I saw the huge, gray-skinned, arm coming at me, but didn’t have time to react.
Everything went black.
 
 
The smell of death violently attacked my nose as I began to regain consciousness. My jaw felt like it had been dislocated from the widespread pain I felt there. Next I noticed that my hands were behind my back and that I felt another pair of hands tied to them.
“Grunfuller? That you behind me?” I asked quietly, trying not to attract the enemy’s attention.
“Nice of you to join the party, buddy. How’s the jaw? Was that… thing… really Sinae?”
“Dell and Sinae, combined, but I’m guessing someone else was merged with them. It was bigger than the last time I saw it. And to answer you’re other question; it feels like I lost a sparring match with Sinae. How long was I out?”
“Only a few minutes, Chance. Are they going to do what I think to us?”
“Seems like it, but why tie us up? I thought those bead-like devices paralyzed us victims?”
“Only thing I can move is my mouth, buddy; you?”
Carefully I tried wiggling my toes and fingers then tried flexing my arms and legs.
“Not so paralyzed. I can move my fingers and toes.” I told him.
“That might be the reason they tied us up then, buddy. So… your mom give you any secret pointers to get us out of this pickle?”
“I’m going to try something. Just try to keep looking frightened.”
“Not going to be a problem, buddy! Not. A. Problem!”
Concentrating, I opened my Current sense and began searching. There, on my right shoulder was a small bit of tainted Current. It had a slightly darker tint than what I had seen around the ship.
“Um… not to rush things, buddy, but the bad guys are pulling back! They did that before… you know… that.”
Quickly, I absorbed the small device’s Current and heard something small and metallic hit the deck. I hoped it wasn’t loud enough to draw attention.
“It’s been nice serving with you, Chance. Remember our pact if you manage to get out of this.”
I instantly saw the surge of ‘bad’ Current heading toward us from one of the Hoblins off to our left and concentrated as hard as I could. I had to absorb it to protect Grub! I had to save us so we could save our friends and shipmates! I had to survive! I pleaded to the higher powers for my survival. What mom had told me earlier rang through my head.
‘A Summers has always protected the species! A Summers will always perse-’
That thought was interrupted by the onset of the Current-based transformation surge. It felt like being thrown into an active star! My whole body felt aflame- the pain so intense I thought I would pass into unconsciousness at any moment! It would be easy to just let the blackness take me, but that was unacceptable! I had to fight this!
Somehow, somewhere close to me, I surprisingly heard what sounded like an old-time turbine spinning up! The whistle-like sound continued to increase in pitch and volume as I tried to absorb more and more Current. The ever-increasing whine became excruciating in my ears! If only I could keep it from getting to Grunf…
 
 
Every cell in my body exploded with the most intense pain I’d ever experienced! Yet, I couldn’t give up! Instead of folding, I doubled my concentration.
I had to do this. I had to save my friends!
The thunderously loud crackling of power arcing around us caused me to lose concentration and maybe consciousness.
 
 
 
I found myself standing next to someone about my height. A woman. She had long, flowing, black hair.
“Mom?” I gasped as I recognized her.
“I knew you could do it, honey! You’ve proven yourself a true Summers; but from here on everything will change. Everything will be very different. I hope you will find it for the better.”
“What happened? Am I dead?”
She gave me a warm, loving smile and replied, “I know it felt like that, but no. You are very much alive, honey. More alive than you’ve ever been before, than ever in your life as a matter of fact! What happened is you achieved your threshold, Chance.”
“So I exploded?”
Mom giggled pleasantly, her eyes sparkled excitedly.
“No silly. You have reached the threshold at which you can now use the Current to your desires. To your needs! In fact, you have just used YOUR Current to rescue yourself and Grunfuller, AND cleared the storage hangar of ,” she giggled again, “the bad guys.”
“Sinae and Dell!” I gasped.
“That merged, twisted and tormented, entity was not in the hangar bay, but you did ‘purify’ the area, honey. Good job.”
“How did I do that?”
“You requested your Current to help you protect your friends, Chance. I told you that Current is a living, breathing, entity. Don’t you remember?’
“Actually I’ve been a little busy lately, mom.”
“But you can see it clearly now; how it pulses; how it moves- flows- all around you?”
“I do, but that still doesn’t explain how it ‘agreed’ to help ME.”
“When you regain consciousness, have Grunfuller help you to your quarters. There are many things we need to discuss and many, many questions you’ll need answered before any further rescues are attempted, Chance.”
“Mom? What are we?” I pleaded for that all-important answer.
“Get back to your quarters, Chance! And please…please, don’t freak out when you wake up. As I said, things are going to be very different from now on…”
 
 
 
“Chance! Chance, you alive back there, buddy?” Grub’s voice called. It was laced with grave concern! “Talk to me, buddy.”
“I’ll live.” I groaned.
“Who’s that? Where’s Chance?”
“I’m right here, Grunfuller! Right where I’ve been since those Hoblins attempted to convert us.” I replied, though I really didn’t sound like me.
“Bullshit! Where’s Chance, Bitch!”
“Who are you calling a bitch, Grunfuller Lokust? You should be thanking me for shunting that conversion surge away from you; not calling your friend names! I should just leave you here to fend for yourself!” I responded angrily as I brought my hands from behind my back and rubbed the tingling from my wrists a few times.
Why did they tingle? Where had the zip-ties disappeared?
I brushed my hair out of my eyes and turned toward my friend.
“What is wrong with you, Grunfuller?” I asked.
Grub turned toward me and his mouth dropped open. What I saw of his face looked overflowing with Current! Pure, orange colored, Current. I blinked purposely and my sight returned to normal. He stared at me for what seemed hours.
“What…what’s wrong with me? What happened to YOU?” He asked after closing his mouth and inhaling sharply.
“I…I think I hit that threshold mom talked about. Why?” I asked as I brushed back more hair from my fac-.
Why was I suddenly brushing hair from my face? I always kept it close and tight. I felt my eyes widen as I chanced a look at my hand.
“What happened to me?” I screeched (yes, screeched! I didn’t realize my voice could go that high!) in shock looking at a hand that definitely wasn’t mine. Strangely, it had to be. I had full control over it and my other hand as well. But who’s hands were they?
“Maybe your mom can answer that question. We need to get back to your quarters to ask her, buddy.” Grub said as he struggled and finally stood up.
“Woah!” He exclaimed.
“What? Do I look like one of them? I didn’t shunt enough Current into myself?” I lamented as I continued to stare at my hands.
But they didn’t look like Hoblin hands at all, they…and none of the Hoblins I’d seen had long black hair! Small, delicate hands and long, thin fingers, long black hair? It was almost as if I was…
“How can I be a girl?” I shouted in surprised anguish as it all came together.
“I have no idea, buddy, but you definitely got it goin’ on!”
“Screw you, Grunfuller!” I shouted as I tried to stand. I had to get away from here…from him…from everything!
Try as I might, I just couldn’t figure out how to get myself off the floor. So, after a handful of failed attempts, and feeling as though I was going to have a breakdown, I did the unthinkable.
“Um…Grunfuller? Could you maybe help me up? I can’t seem to get coordinated here.”
“Thought you’d never ask, buddy.”
I felt his arms wrap around me from behind. That was when I realized there was more of me than I had observed!
As Grub lifted me to a full standing position, I could feel him at my back. It was then I realized there was more of him than expected, also!
“Is that what I think it is, Grunfuller Lokust?” I asked timidly as my cheeks went aflame.
“Sorry, buddy, but you wouldn’t blame me if you saw what I do right now!”
“And just WHAT do you see, Grunfuller?” I growled.
“Ummmm. We have to get back to your place, Chance! You can find out then. Come on!” He said as he began to pull me toward the compartment door.
If he hadn’t been holding tight, I might have fallen and sprained an ankle or even broken one when I tripped out of my standard issue work boots!
“Leave them! We have to get you out of here!”

 
 
After tripping several times and nearly falling face first several more, I finally managed to get my ‘sea legs’ and walk on my own, albeit unsteadily.
Ultimately failing to unlock my door by using the standard voice and body recognition, I manually entered my passcode into the door’s security controller.
“I guess I’ve really changed a lot, huh?”
“You haven’t seen the half of it, sweetheart!”
“Spare me the cute pleasantries, Grunfuller! I’ll be right back.”
Entering my bathroom, I gasped at seeing the reflected image in the over sink mirror!
As I gulped, she gulped. As I touched the soft, smooth cheek, she touched her cheek.
This creature I saw in my mirror mimicked me with every gesture, motion, facial expression, or even the slightest twinge I made. The image had long black hair, almost straight with a soft, natural, wave to it. This face was softer with higher cheekbones and had large, green eyes that pierced even my own soul.
In many ways I could see mom’s features. I recognized some of my father’s attributes as well, but mostly I looked like the sister I never had. I gawked for a few more minutes as I took in my new features, trying to memorize them for the next time I’d look at my reflection.
Impossible!
But this is what I looked like now. And Grub was right. I couldn’t blame him for the reaction I’d felt when he had helped me up!
Mom had said there would be changes- that nothing would ever be the same. I just didn’t understand how far those ‘changes’ would or could go!
“I need something that will fit me.” I told Grub as I re-entered my living area. My eyes briefly glanced to the trunk containing mom’s clothing.
“All kidding aside, that stuff might fit you now, buddy. Sorry, just trying to help.” Apparently, Grub had followed my eyes.
I wonder if that old sea chest will open now that you achieved your ‘threshold.’” He asked.
“We still have no key, Grunfuller; no way to open it otherwise. It might as well require magic.” I scoffed.
Magic… What happened to me could easily be seen as magic by primitive cultures.
Thinking about my Current sense, I blinked my eyes and was rewarded by the sight of streams of the orange Current running through the walls, deck, and ceiling around me. Looking toward the sea chest, I noticed small spots of the same orange Current highlighting each latch’s keyhole.
“Could you open for me, please?” I asked aloud. I had no idea why I even said it.
The locks clicked and both latches sprung open as if excited to do so.
I was mesmerized and also shocked that I could do such a feat.
“How did you do that?” Grub asked in shock.
I simply shrugged, not exactly sure myself.
What met our eyes in the newly opened chest really didn’t surprise me.
“More Clothes? What is it with your mom and tons of clothes buddy?”
Of course. More clothes…
But something about them caught my attention and I reached in to pull out a circular, black mass of neatly folded, stiff, material. It’s flat, wide base measured about two and a half feet in diameter and had a conical center that rose up to a point of about the same length as the thing’s diameter. As I straightened, fluffed, and smoothed the long packed hat, I noted that the point would not stay erect and continually sagged about six inches from the point. Was it made to do that?
Setting that aside, I retrieved the next item in the neatly stacked pile.
It was also made of black cloth, only this garment was silky, but thick and decorated with intricate orange lace. It had strong looking black laces woven up through a series of eyelets on one side and cups built into the other.
“Looks like mom had a bit of a wild streak, buddy! That’s one fancy corset.”
“And how would you know what a corset is, Grunfuller?” I questioned suspiciously.
“Hey, I’ve been around! I’m not the goody-goody you are. I think that’s a ‘bustier’ though.”
I nodded with a curt smile just to humor him and picked up a white shirt made of a similar silken material as the bustier but much thinner.
“What is all this?” I asked after I pulled out a short, black skirt and looked at it at arm’s length.
Lifting that skirt revealed a pair of neatly folded, silky, orange women’s panties, something I suspected to be an orange, suspender belt, and a pair of orange and white striped stockings also neatly folded, sitting atop a pair of black, leather, very high-heeled, knee-length boots!
“Woah! Very kinky, buddy! You going to model that outfit for me? In private, maybe?”
“That is enough, Grunfuller Lokust! I will not have you insinuating things like that around Chance!” Mom’s voice warned.
We both jumped!
I turned to see her hologram had reappeared.
“But how? How can you be here when the DataTab self-destructed, Mom?”
“Put the armor on, Chance. It will protect you from the Hoblins. Grunfuller? There is a set for you in there also. Now, get over your chauvinistic embarrassment quickly, and put the outfits on, both of you! You have much to do.”
Grub laughed outright.
“You want me to put that get-up on? Really? What kind of guy do you think I am?”
“I think you are exactly the ‘guy’ that will do or wear whatever it takes to rescue friends and crewmates, Grunfuller Lokust. Chance? Welcome to the Corps, honey. Now both of you… get suited up to kick some Hoblin ass!”
“You want me to wear this?” My voice squeaked as I held the corset at arm’s length.”
“To be quite honest, you will look better in it than Grunfuller, honey. Plus, you’re going to need the support now. Trust me on that.”
“You called it ‘armor’. Why? What kind of protection could this possibly provide us, mom?” I asked as I regarded the black skirt questioningly.
“I’ll brief you about your new capabilities while we suit you up.”
“Tell me the truth about Hopewell Summers, mom. I think we deserve to know.”
“Grunfuller? You stay out here and get changed. Chance? Follow me.”
Mom’s hologram led me into my sleep quarters. I was amazed the door even opened for it.
Once the door was closed, mom started our private briefing.
“Please get out of those ill-fitting clothes, honey. So, back in the late twenty-first century, space travel was in its very early years and humans were on the threshold of venturing outside Earth’s solar system for the very first time. Hopewell Summers was selected to be one of those people. He was chosen to command and pilot his craft past the Kuiper Belt and out of Sol’s Ort cloud. The mission was considered the pinnacle of Human technology and exploration. Hopewell and his crew launched from a place called Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center. The civvies too, Chance. Thank you.”
“Pull on your panties then put on the blouse. Leave the top three buttons undone, and remember that the fasteners on women’s clothes are opposite of men’s, Honey. Anyway, six ‘Astronauts’ blasted off into the cosmos for their sixty month trip past the outer reaches of Earth’s system in a craft unproven for deep space travel, AND with a newly invented, untried, theoretical, propulsion system.”
“The mission proved more successful than anyone expected as they reached Sol’s outer border in three month’s time. A problem arose as Hopewell tried to slow the craft down so they could head back and report their success, however. In those days standard radio was the only means of communication and from their position in deep space it would take several months to reach Earth. Next come the stockings, Chance.”
“Think you can pull the stocking on without laddering them, honey?”
“I’ll manage.”
“Good. After the stockings, the garter belt goes on. Thread the straps under your panties. You’ll thank me later. Next, clip your stockings to hold them up. Where was I?”
“What happened? What did Hopewell’s crew find?”
“Oh. Thank you. Well, the propulsion system proved so efficient the crew found themselves entering the nearest system. They were well into the system’s inner planets before Hopewell could finally slow their craft enough to turn it and fire the retros, but not before they were detected by that system’s inhabitants. Now the skirt, honey. Zipper goes in the back. The belt buckles in front and should hang loose off your left hip.”
“I look ridiculous!”
“Actually, you look delectable, Chance. Any guy in his right mind is going to eat you up. Sit down, unzip the boots, and pull them on.”
“How in the world am I going to stand in these things, mom? They have to be four or five inches high!”
“You’ll do fine, honey. So…Hopewell and his crew were escorted aboard one of the Lynxin cruisers that intercepted…”
“Wait! Our ancestor made first contact with the Lynxin?”
“Why would you find that so strange, Chance? Didn’t you know the Lynxin have been our allies for over a thousand years? What do they teach you kids today?”
“Anyway, after proving to the Lynxin they meant no harm and had accidentally crossed into their system, Hopewell and his crew were accepted as a friendly subspecies. The Lynxin also offered to modify Hopewell’s spacecraft with their retro-thruster technology in exchange for the design specifications on the Earthling’s much more efficient ‘Ion Propulsion Drive’ to enable them to get home to Earth.”
“Now the hat, honey. The droop on the top points off to your two o’clock. No proper Current Mage would be caught dead without her hat being positioned correctly!”
“Current Mage? But I thought they were long gone…passed to myth centuries ago.”
“Not all of us, honey. Some of us just kept out of the spotlight. Out of sight, out of mind as they used to say? So, back to the briefing…While they were visiting and learning about the Lynxin, Hopewell and three of his crew began to experience strange visions. Visions in which they saw orange streams of energy flowing to, through, and around everything on the planet.”
“The Current?”
“The Current, Chance. The Lynxin, once realizing that humans were very sensitive to Current, taught them to respect and use it as an alternative form of power- as they had for centuries already. As you know, it’s a very potent form of power! Hopewell was the first person- Lynxin or human- to realize that Current was alive and tried to reason with it as if a sentient being- which it is. The other three decided to just use the Current to their advantage. To force it to do they’re will. To enslave it, honey!”
“By the time their ship was modified, the other three astronauts could manipulate Current to a fair degree, but only Hopewell could perform wondrous things. Magical things. The likes of which Merlin was said to have performed way back in Camelot.”
“What’s Camelot? Who’s Merlin?”
“Don’t forget the bustier, honey. You’ll need that to keep your new ‘assets’ under control. No. That will never work. Try standing up, honey. Once hooked, it will automatically tighten up. And Merlin was considered a ‘wizard’. It was said he could perform fantastic things using magic. And, as we all know, magic is something primitive people call everything they don’t understand. My theory is he was one of us Current Mages.”
It took a moment to catch my breath and to re-balance myself on the stilts I had on once the corset did its thing, but through trial and error, I finally found my center.
“Oh, you look wonderful, honey! Now, let’s go out and see how Grunfuller is faring, shall we?”
I couldn’t help but laugh! There stood Grub in an outfit matching mine. He looked extremely uncomfortable and not happy at all. Just as one would assume a guy in a skirt, bustier, high-heeled boots, and wide brimmed, pointy hat might look.
He inhaled sharply and his breath caught as he saw me, though.
“Why haven’t YOU ever been in my dreams?” He finally gasped. I could feel him undressing me with his stare and I unconsciously felt myself blush.
“Give it a rest, Grunfuller. In a moment you won’t be thinking of her in that way. Oh. The floppy point goes to your ten o’clock, dear. Chance? I’d like you to take his hands and ask the Current within you to reform Grunfuller into your assistant.”
“Wait! Reform? Into her assistant?”
“Just relax! It’s temporary and will last only as long as there is danger around you, dear. Chance? Are you ready to begin? If so, take Lokust’s hands.”
“Wait. Who’s ‘Lokust’?” Grunfuller demanded.
“Why, YOU, silly! Do you think a man’s name would sound appropriate when referring to a young woman?”
“A young woman?” Grub gasped as I finally understood and began concentrating on the Current coursing through me.
I did as mom suggested and asked that Grub become my assistant in fighting the Hoblin.
“Why do I have to become a girl? Can’t I just kill them while I’m male? What was that?”
“Wonderful, Chance! You’ve taken your first step to learning the Summers’ craft. And Lokust hardly felt a thing!”
“What do you mean I hardly…why do I sound so strange?” Grub cleared her throat as I smiled broadly at my accomplishment. “I…I sound like a girl!” She declared before stomping awkwardly into my bathroom.
I casually strutted over and leaned against the doorframe with my arms folded under my breasts to watch.
“You look an awful lot like a girl too, buddy. Hey. Thanks for agreeing to help me with the Hoblins.”
Lokust was a blond. Maybe a little shorter than I was, and had a little more going on up top than me. She filled out her outfit very well, though.
“This can’t be possible!” Lokust declared, as she took in her features in the same mirror I had earlier. She turned toward me and glared.
“You turned me into a girl! How could you turn me into a girl, Chance? Is this in retaliation for what happened that time on Degaba?”
Mom’s hologram began laughing uncontrollably!
“Oh! Oh, that is rich! To think Lucas actually got one right! Oh, if he were only here to hear this for himself!”
“Who is ‘Lucas’, mom?” I asked innocently.
“Never mind that now, girls. You have to get going if you want to rescue your friends. With every hour they spend possessed, they are that much closer to not returning to who they were. One more thing, Chance. In the chest are more lockets. They function in a similar way as yours. Give one to Lokust. It will help her utilize her Current to assist you. Lokust? Welcome to the Corps, dear. Now get going girls!”
Walking back into my sleeping quarters, I retrieved six of the rerouters I had carried on my work belt and used against the Hoblins. I gave three to Gru…Lokust and pushed three into the wide buckle, belt that accessorized our outfits. I also helped Lokust put on her locket. As with mine, the clasp disappeared once connected and became a solid chain. She wouldn’t be getting it off anytime soon without cutting.
“Let’s get going. Every second we waste we risk losing Dell and Sinae forever.” I prodded Lokust, hoping to pull her away from the mirror.
“Let’s go! You can play later, buddy!” I demanded as I pulled her, stumbling, out into the passage.
 
 
“My ankles hurt.” Lokust complained after about five minutes.
“And I suppose your boobs are sore too?”
“How’d you know?”
“I’m not going to answer that. Let’s just find Dell and Sinae.”
 
 
“Where are they?” I asked after several minutes of carefully searching the passageways throughout this section. We had headed directly to Sinae’s section hoping it was habit for her and if so, that habit had carried over somehow.
“Why don’t you ask the Current, buddy? Your mom said it was alive and from what she said it sounds like it’s sentient too.” Lokust suggested in a slightly snarky tone.
Focusing on the Current, I did just that.
“Two passages over, on the other side of the section. Thanks. I would never have thought of doing that, Lokust.”
“I’d much rather be called ‘Grub’ than ‘Lokust’.” She mumbled defensively.
“But Lokust, you’ve emerged from your cocoon and are soo much prettier in this form.” I teased.
“Screw you, Summers!” She groused.
“Like to see you try it now, buddy.” I laughed.
Lokust stopped and reached between her legs.
“Oh God,” she squeaked, “I forgot to chec…it’s…it’s gone!”
“Nice of you to finally notice, buddy. Let’s keep moving.”
Turning down an intersecting passageway, we met our first challenge. Four Hoblins were patrolling when they sighted us and immediately engaged. Dodging the blue, energy bolts those with weapons fired at us was easier than before my ‘threshold’ and we advanced aggressively.
Dispatching them was easier than expected and I noticed my absorption rate had increased dramatically. Lokust had done exceptionally well, too.
“Wow! Is that what it feels like for you, buddy?” She asked. Her eyes were wide in amazement.
“What, the surge of power flowing into your body as you absorb an opponent’s Current or your boobs trying to bounce out of your bustier when running and attacking.”
“Um… both?” She blushed.
“Let’s keep looking.” I suggested, rolling my eyes at her.
After several more skirmishes, we found ourselves entering one of the Mare’s large storage bays. This one had been emptied at our last port of call and had contained severely needed disaster recovery equipment and supplies, so it was now fairly free of obstructions.
“There they are; back corner, just sitting on the container.” I pointed so Lokust could see for herself.
“What’s the plan, Chance?”
“Somehow, we need to get close enough so I can try to restore them; a diversion, maybe?”
“Good idea, but I’m feeling the direct approach, buddy. Attack pattern: Sinae. Go straight on in and take out the collateral as necessary.”
“Pretty bold. What if it doesn’t feel like playing?”
“Oh, it’ll work, Chance. I’ll turn on the ol’ Grunfuller charm and I’ll have it eating out of my hand in seconds!” My partner boasted confidently.
“I would certainly believe that if…IF Grunfuller was here, Lokust! I don’t believe Dell or Sinae are into girls. You?”
“Shit! Forgot about that.” She said looking to the deck a moment.”Oh well. Same plan, but I’ll have to improvise. Ready, buddy?”
I nodded and we sheathed our rerouters then began to walk, bold as brass, toward our merged friends… thing…creature.
“Hey, could you direct two fellow girls to the nearest lavatory? We’ve been walking these halls for hours and, like, I’m afraid we both need to tinkle.” Lokust called out in the sweetest, girliest voice imaginable.
That was her idea of improvising? We’re both dead!
The creature that was our two friends simply ignored us and continued to sit and, from the look of it, brood.
“Helloooo. Are you deaf or something? I asked if you knew where the nearest toilet is! We have to pee really bad!”
She got no reaction from the huge beast.
“Great improv, buddy! You got them right where we want them.” I teased flatly. “Let me try something. Something that I consider to be more of a direct approach.”
Taking out one of my rerouters, I held it like a pointer towards our target. I didn’t want to kill it, just get its attention, so aimed slightly off to the side. Concentrating, I asked my Current to honor me with the result I imagined.
A blue bolt of Current sprang forth from my ‘wand’ and impacted the deck three feet to the right of the languishing beast.
“That was a little more direct than I expected, buddy! You certainly got its attention! Now what?” Lokust retorted as the beast jumped up, stared at us then started for us. It didn’t seem to be in any hurry.
“Let’s flank it. You take the right, I’ll hit from the left.” I suggested.
“Copy that.”
“Slowly, Lokust, slowly. Wait for it to make the first move.” I added.
“Understood.”
Just to keep its attention, I fired another shot of Current to the deck on its right again. That elicited a somewhat familiar, though strained, growl from the creature.
A blue bolt struck about a foot in front of the creature. It stopped to locate the origination.
“Hey, what do ya know? I can do that too, Chance!” Lokust said excitedly thus revealing her position.
The merged creature stopped and looked at me in something resembling pained confusion then let out another fearsome, sickening, growl. Could one of them still be cognizant?
“Sinae? Dell? Are either of you two in there?” I asked in a loud voice just to see if my hunch was correct.
Again the creature stopped and seemed to regard me; confused, surprised, and conflicted at the same time.
“It’s me. Chance.” I said pointing to myself.
“Look, I know I don’t look like the Chance you both knew, but I’m in here and I’m trying to reverse what was done to you. Please. Let us help.”
“Hey, girls! It’s me, Grunfuller. Look, I know I don’t look like myself right now either, but Chance and I are here to save you. Now how about you just take a seat and relax while we…”
The beast instantly leapt for Lokust. I fired off another shot, this time placing it between my partner and her attacker’s feet.
Instead of stopping it sidestepped the blast and continued toward Lokust. She readied her rerouter.
I fired a series of four shots between the beast and my friend in an attempt to stop it. It only seemed to slow down slightly so I hurried into the anticipated fray.
Lokust was doing a fair job of eluding the beast’s flailing blows but took a few hits from the beast’s faster right arm. That gave me the idea to attack on its left side.
As I approached I prayed that I could reverse whatever process the Hoblins had used on my friends. I had no love of killing them or any other transmuted crewmember if I could help it.
The beast wheeled around at the last second and made serious contact with my side, sending me skidding across the deck several dozen feet. Except for the surprise and some embarrassment for not seeing that one coming, I didn’t feel any broken ribs. In fact, I barely felt the hit. Maybe mom was right about this outfit being some kind of armor! So, after picking myself up and straightening my skirt, I re-engaged.
This time I managed to sink my rerouter into the beast’s left haunch.
The howl that emanated from it made me want to puke!
Now that I had made contact, I set to draining its Current, but hopefully in a way that wouldn’t hurt my friends. Because the wounded creature was flailing wildly, I wrapped my arms and legs around its spindly, distorted, and misshapen leg.
“YEEHAW! Ride ‘em Cowboy!” Lokust shouted as I continued to drain Current. A sudden blue flash blinded me as I continued to hold on, but somehow I found myself thrown free and sitting on my butt several feet away.
When my sight came back, I noticed four bodies lying sprawled on the deck. Two were men and two were women. One of the women had fur and tasseled ears!
“Sinae! Dell!” I shouted. As if that would automatically wake them up!
I hurried over and stopped next to Dell while Lokust had slid to a stop by Sinae.
“Hey! Simon was one of that thing too, Chance! Chief Conti as well!”
“Make sure they all have a pulse.”
“Copy that.” Lokust replied as she reached for and felt Conti’s neck for a pulse.
“Conti and Redman are alive, Chance. I’ll check SinAAKKK!”
I noticed the Lynxin’s large hand firmly around my partner’s neck.
“Sinae! Quit playing with your food!” I shouted with a smile on my face. “Didn’t your parents teach you better than that?”
Locust reached for and easily pried the hybrid’s fingers apart, and moved back from the confused Section Chief while holding her strong wrist at arm’s length.
Sinae regarded the unknown girl and her apparent strength for a moment, her ears twitching excitedly.
“What are you? Who are you? You smell familiar, but I don’t recognize you.”
“Hey! I didn’t know she could form full sentences, Chance?” Lokust said as she looked over at me.
“AAAAKKKKK!”
Sinae had reached for Lokust’s neck with her other hand and squeezed.
“Answer my question!”
“Sinae, stop squeezing Grunfuller’s neck. You’ll never hear the end of it if you leave a mark, and she already bitches way too much in this form as it is!” I advised our Spec-Ops trained friend.
“You speak like Chance Summers, but you smell of vanilla and citrus. What are you? Who are you both?” She looked back at Lokust.
“Release our friend and we’ll talk, otherwise I’ll have to stun you and I’d rather not do that to one of my best friends. Mom’s hologram would never let me forget it.” I warned.
Sinae’s head shot around towards me and instantly released Lokust from her tight grip.
“Chance? Is that really you? What happened?”
“First we need to evacuate this compartment before we receive company. I’m sure our friends heard our little confrontation. Are you capable of walking?
“I fell drained, but I’ll push myself. What about the others?”
“I’ll get the guys, Chance, you grab Dell and help Kitty back to your place.” Lokust suggested as she carefully picked up and positioned Simon then Conti over her shoulders.
Sinae’s eyes almost popped out of her head!
“Come on then. Let’s get out of here.” I said having already placed Dell over my left shoulder. I walked over and helped Sinae up with my right hand.
 
 

 
 
“I put Dell into bed. She seems to be just sleeping, hopefully nothing more serious. How are you doing, Sinae?” I asked as I exited my sleeping quarters. Lokust had placed the two guys on my living area floor against the wall opposite the entrance door. Both were still unconscious.
“How did this happen, Chance? How can you be female now?”
“Apparently, this is what mom meant by ‘threshold’.”
Those exotic eyes of hers scanned me from head to toe several times, while her nose seemed to be working overtime.
“You look very much like your mother.”
“Thanks. This is the last thing I ever expected the term ‘threshold’ to represent, but it allowed us to rescue you, Dell, Simon, and Conti. I only hope we can do the same for the rest of the crew.”
“You will need help.”
“Mom said as much. She also pointed out that our outfits,” I motioned to what Lokust and I were wearing, “are some kind of armor. It took your blow and I hardly felt a thing.”
The six-foot Lynxin slumped, her gaze set toward the deck.
“Did I…we hurt anyone else?”
“Not that we know of, but it broke my heart to see you and Dell get transformed then merge. I am really, really glad we got you all back.”
“I wish to help reclaim the ship, Chance Summers.” Sinae volunteered.
“Then you’ll need your own ‘protective’ outfit.” I said as I walked over to the sea chest and picked up one of the extra outfits it contained.
“You can change in the bathroom. I’m going to check on Dell.”
Sinae appraised the clothing, walked into my bathroom, and closed the door.
Dell rolled onto her side as I entered. I watched in silence as she started to move and moan simultaneously.
“Everything is going to be okay now, Dell. You’re safe in my quarters. Sinae, Simon, and Conti are here too.”
Dell rubbed her face a few times then tried to focus on me.
“Who are you? Who’s quarters am I in?” She asked in a groggy, almost drunken, stupor.
“I’m Chance Summers and you are in my quarters. Grunfuller, I mean Lokust and I, were able to reverse what the Hoblins did to you. We brought you all back here to recover.” I explained slowly.
She bolted upright and stared at me intensely!
“You aren’t Chance! Chance is a man!”
She paused and appraised me quietly for a few seconds.
“What in the worlds are you wearing?”
“Mom calls it ‘protective armor’. It looks like a racy old party costume, to me.” I blushed.
“Your mom calls it…Chance?”
“In the flesh…well, slightly different flesh than before… Look, I’ll explain everything in a few. Right now, are you hurt anywhere?”
“Not hurt, per say, just extremely tired, like I just did calisthenics on a high gravity planet. Is Sinae okay?”
“Yes. She’s getting ‘suited up’ as we speak.”
“Suited up?”
“Mom was thoughtful enough to provide more of these outfits. I’m thinking to form a team?” I told her as I motioned down my body.
And once ‘suited up’ then what?” She asked as her eyes narrowed.
“Then I guess we go kick some Hoblin ass.” I smiled.
“I’m in! No sense arguing it, Chance! I’m. In.”
“I thought you might say that, here. I saved this just for you.”
With a snap of my fingers a fourth outfit appeared on the bed.”
“Hhhhhhow?”
“Suit up and find out. As mom would say, ‘Welcome to the Corps’, Dell.” I smiled as I turned to walk out.
“Oh. Mom says the bustier goes on the outside, by the way. Come out when you’re ready. Lokust and I will be waiting.”
“Who’s ‘Lokust’?”
“Grunfuller.” I replied as my bedroom door closed.
 
 
“How’s Dell?” Lokust asked after my sleeping quarter’s door closed.
“She’s in.” I smiled.
“Wow! I like the odds. Four against what…ten thousand? It’s doable.”
“How are Simon and Conti?”
“Still out. I guess guys can’t take the strain of trans…for…may…shun?” Grub…or Locust answered then realized what she was saying.
“Did that just come out of MY mouth? Buddy? You need to change me back! Quickly! I’m starting to think like a girl!” Lokust cried.
“Mom said you would turn back when the danger is over, Lokust. Quit your complaining.”
“I think she looks cute, Chance. I overheard. Is there some way you can keep her in this form? Maybe permanently?” Sinae laughed as she stepped out of the bathroom carefully.
“We would be doing exactly what the Hoblins did to you, so no. Grunfuller will return after the Mare has been returned to our control and the invading Hoblins dealt with.”
“A real shame. I know a guy that would love to meet a girl like Lokust here.”
“You’re a very sick and cruel Kitty, you know that, right?” Lokust glared darkly at our tall, Lynxin friend.
“You look very nice, Sinae.” I complimented.
“I have only one complaint. My ears feel cramped inside this strange hat.”
“Somehow I don’t think that should be a problem once I activate you. How does the rest of it feel?
“It fits purrrfectly. Thank you, Chance. Though, this fabric…I’ve never felt anything so soft…so smooth…Wait. Did you say your mother referred to it as protective armor?”
“Her words, not mine. Why?” I answered but looked at her in confusion.
“Lynxin legend speaks of a species of Arachnid that produced silk that had all these properties: Smooth, comfortable, soft, and incredibly durable! This can’t be that though as the Weaver species died out almost a thousand years ago. And, as far as I know, no synthetic substitute has ever been produced to rival it. So that means…”
“Your uniforms are over a thousand years old. You are correct Kitty Sinae of FeLane.” Mom’s hologram interrupted to complete Sinae’s statement.
“Uniforms? These look more like adult masque costumes the FeLane High Courts of old would require for festivals.”
“Again, very intuitive, dear. They were patterned after those very costumes, just with a few necessary modifications.”
“The Weavers’ silk.”
“And a few not so obvious modifications which you will become aware of in the coming confrontations.”
“What are you really, Mrs. Summers? What is…what is Chance…really?”
“Let’s hold all questions until the fourth member of your team comes in, ladies. The full briefing will start then.”
“Chance? Could you help me lace…this…thing…Sinae? You look fabulous!” Dell asked as she came out of my Sleep quarters holding her bustier loosely around her middle. She stared first at me, then Sinae, then at Lokust.
“Why are we all dressed up for Halloween? I thought the ship was under attack?”
“Chance. Help your teammate with her foundation. Dell, honey, as soon as you get put together, I’ll start the briefing. Oh, the bustier tightens itself, honey.”
“What briefing? Who are you?” Dell asked and pointed to Lokust.
“Grunfuller offered to help, too, Dell.” I said.
“But you’re a girl!”
“Yeah! Tell Chance that. She’s the one that changed me into this.” Lokust complained.
Dell turned to look at me in confusion, and fear.
“You? You changed him into…into a…a her? What are you, Chance Summers?”
“THAT IS ENOUGH! This briefing will now proceed!” Mom’s hologram shouted.
“To start off. I want to thank you all for volunteering to help Chance in her service to the species. I am not afraid to inform you that this, your unit, will see its fair share of action and if any of you feel you cannot handle it, please tell me now, BEFORE your lockets are placed.”
“Oh. Sure. Now you give me the out.” Lokust snarked. “Does the word ‘trapped’ mean anything to you, lady?”
“Stop complaining, Lokust! You won’t PMS for another three weeks yet.”
“WHAT? Oh, God, I’m doomed. Kill me now, Chance!”
“Are you sure she is a trusted friend, honey? Libra didn’t complain this much and she was royalty!”
“You knew my great ancestor?” Sinae gasped.
“Mom? You want to explain how you could possibly know this Libra person? You’ve never been to FeLane as far as I know.”
“I was just getting to that if Miss Lokust would stop complaining and interrupting this briefing!”
“Chance, Libra was the name of our High Queen on FeLane one millennia ago.” Sinae informed me…us.
“Let’s start with introductions, shall we? Chance? You already know Dell, Sinae, and Lokust.” Mom paused.
“United States Marine Corps, Major Hopewell Freeman Summers at your service, ladies.”
The room fell silent after the deafening sound of air being sucked quickly into our lungs. It remained deathly quiet for several minutes while mom’s hologram calmly appraised each of us repeatedly.
“Well. That went better than calculated! I had thought at least one of you- Lokust- would have lost consciousness. Yes. I was THAT old, Chance. Age never stopped me from trying to have you though! I will never forget the day you were born! So perfect, So…mine!”
Mom’s hologram wiped her eyes.
“Moving on. As to what I was and the four of you are. Well, that’s a little complicated. I guess the modern term, ‘Current Mage’, just about covers it, but I’ll just use the old terms for my convenience. When deployed in the field- in public- we’ll refer to each other as ‘Ladies’ and the team as ‘The Coven’. So, ‘Lady Chance’ is a member of the ‘Coven’. Got it? Okay. Good. Continuing. Each of you now wears the specially designed and manufactured, officially sanctioned, ‘T.M.’, custom tailored, ‘uniform’ of the Witch Corps. An officially sanctioned United States Marine Corps Blacker than Black, Spec-Ops group formed ten years after we returned to Earth.”
Mom’s hologram paused to let that sink in a while.
“So on to our historic background. Way back, when I first visited FeLane, my crew and I found we could ‘feel’ Current flowing all over, through, and around Sinae’s homeworld. Libra allowed us to study the phenomena- to learn about it. She also taught us how to honor it and ask it to do things for us, but never to demand from it!” Mom looked to Dell and Sinae- her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Girls. At this time I would like you to take one of Chance’s hands in yours. All accept you, Lokust. You already know what is to happen.”
“What will happen, Chance? Are you going to turn us into guys? Like you turned Grunfuller into a girl?” Dell sniped in fear.
“My daughter is not going to change your gender, ladies. She is just going to ask her Current to help you help HER fight the Hoblins. And to do that the Current must ‘optimize’ each of you. Like it has Lokust.”
“Optimize? How so?” Sinae questioned.
“In order to maximize Current retention and usage, several parameters must be met. First the body must be modified to accept Current as I have stated previously. Second. In order for maximum Current storage and retention, the body must be female. For some unknown reason females of the species are able to retain and actually use Current much more efficiently than our male counterparts.”
“Next the body must be strengthened for battle. I’m sure you have already experienced Lokust’s enhanced strength, Sinae?”
Our friend nodded uncomfortably in acknowledgement. She was one of the strongest women on the Mare and Lokust, a perky looking, blond of five-eight, with no visible muscle tone at all, had bested her. Easily.
“Last, the governor must be fitted to the wearer to facilitate efficient use of Current and to limit and cleanse the inrushing tainted Current when draining away Hoblins. That is why Chance had to transform you into a ‘girl’, Grunfuller! It was for your own safety and health.”
“So, our lockets are this governor, mom?” I asked just to make it clear.
The hologram nodded.
“So. Chance will now optomize you both. I am told it is an amazing feeling. Enjoy, ladies.”
Retaking Sinae’s hand, I began to concentrate- to ask my Current to let my two friends help me save the Mare and her crew.
“Wow! That was amazing, buddy!” Lokust gasped excitedly after a moment.
“What is taking so long, Chance?” Sinae asked impatiently.
“Yes, Chance. I thought we were supposed to feel something? When are you going to… um… optimize us?” Dell inquired impatiently.
“That’s incredible, honey! I’ve never been able to power up my assistants without them feeling ‘something’. Wonderful!”
Opening my eyes to look at what I’d done, I was mesmerized!
“What did she do? I didn’t feel a thing.” Dell questioned as she appraised Sinae. Her eyes went wide
“Woah! Your tail!”
“What about my tail, Dell? I thought we talked this out already. I’m over it. It’s a non-issue.”
“It’s long, and…”
“It’s WHAT?” Sinae began chasing her newly lengthened tail around trying to get a look.
“Hang on a minute.” I ordered as I stopped her and gently grasped the elusive appendage. Carefully, I pulled it around so she could see it.
“By the way, your ears look so pretty the way they stick out of your hat.” I complimented.
“What? Oh my stars! My tail! It’s back!”
Sinae looked on the verge of tears.
“A tail befitting the true heir to the throne of FeLane, wouldn’t you say, Princess Kitty? I must say that, when I first retrieved your HIGHLY classified and encrypted file, I didn’t see the connection. That is until I simulated Libra’s unique, longer tail. You look very much like her, Sinae. Very much like her, indeed. The long, flowing, orange/tan tresses also add to that likeness. Welcome to the Corps, Lady Kitty Sinae, Princess of FeLane.”
“You’re a princess, Kitty? And…and ‘Kitty’ is your real first name? I thought your last name was Ackktt?” Lokust asked in complete surprise.
Our six-foot, Lynxin friend- now with her new three-foot tail, growled menacingly. Sinae’s left hand grabbed Lokust’s loose blouse while her right hand came up close to Lokust’s face and her pointer claw shot out with an audible ‘SHHHING’.
She looked startled by that for an instant, but quickly composed herself.
Dell laughed. “She had a hairball at the time.”
“I had a cold at the time,” the Lynxin corrected, glaring at Dell a moment before returning her glare to Lokust, “and if you ever…EVER let that get out, I will personally gut you! Copy?”
Lokust withered; her eyes wide in fright. “Copy.”
“Hey! Not to ruin good entertainment, but how do I look? Am I any different? Do I have a tail, too?” Dell interrupted feeling left out.
“No dear, no tail, but you have had some work done.” Mom smiled. “It seems the Greek Gods of old have smiled on their daughter and granted you beauty befitting your station, Artemis Dell, Goddess of the Hunt.”
“Who’s ‘Artemis’?” Dell asked in confusion.
“You are, dear! You are now the truest representation of Greek sculpture given life. Welcome to the Corps, Lady Artemis Dell, Goddess of the Hunt.” Mom told our stunningly beautiful, bronze-skinned, brunette. Dell’s hair was now much longer and woven into a single, thick braid that hung to her amazing new ass. She also seemed a bit taller than her normal five-six.
“Great. Everyone gets a pretty name except me. I’m just lowly Lokust Grunfuller of Grub.”
“If that is how you wish others refer to you, but I much prefer ‘Lady Lokust Grunfuller, Mage of the Four Winds. I think it suits the new you much better, dear.”
“You weren’t around when we provided emergency efforts on Devlin Four! Boy did those rations do a number on his gut! I can tell you he was a ‘Mage’ of many more winds than four on that mission.” I horn-dogged.
“I actually heard about that one! It was the mission where you were confined to your quarters or the planetary government threatened to sue the Galactic Council for planet-wide atmospheric destabilization, right?” Dell teased with a devious smile.
“Oh. You guys are Just. SO. Funny.”
“Ladies? Can we please get this briefing back on the rails? Time is of the essence.”
“Of course, Major, please continue your briefing of our ‘royal’ selves.” I replied regally.
“As you were growing up, I never once imagined you to be this much of a wise-ass, Chance. So, where was I?”
“History of the Witch Corps 101, Major Summers.” Lokust replied.
“Now you, M’lady, have always been a wise-ass! Anywho, getting back to Ancient History. Queen Libra stressed the idea of Current being alive and sentient then urged us, and ultimately our species, to respect it. She said that failure to do so would produce grave, disastrous, and unforeseen consequences. I’m sorry to say that she was completely correct.”
“Charles, Chantell Denison, and I seemed to be the only sensible ones of our crew. We each went out of our way to show respect for the new -to us- powerful energy source. Our three fellow astronauts disagreed. What their names were, I no longer wish to recall because after what had happened, the calamity that enveloped them, a name or names no longer applied.”
Mom’s hologram paused a moment as she audibly sighed.
“They demanded complete control of their own stored Current and set about acquiring more. They then sought out Earth’s indigenous Current and tried to enslave it, greed and wealth being their driving motives. As they gathered more and more Current, rationalizing that they could sell it for a massive profit, their personalities started to degrade and twist. They began seeing themselves as Demi-Gods or even full-fledged Gods.”
We were now listening with unwavering attention.
“It all came crashing down on them when they began to see each other as rivals. It really does not matter which decided to expunge the others at this point in time, but from what Charles, Chantell, and I could theorize, their Current thought enough was enough. But ‘it’ could not escape or purge the greed, selfishness, egotistic, controlling, and murderous emotions all species hold. Their Current, the vast reservoirs stored within each one of our former crewmates, began to ‘taint’- to twist and corrupt as much or more than their ‘owners’. The two stronger decided to ‘absorb’ the weaker third’s Current. I’m sure you all are familiar with the blue plasmatic ball that engulfs it’s victims upon conscription?”
Sinae and Dell instantly sought out my shoulders and began crying openly. The feeling, at first, felt awkward but was quickly replaced by a genuine feeling of fulfillment knowing I was helping provide some comfort to my friends.
Mom’s holographic face saddened and paused silently a minute or two before continuing.
“I am truly sorry you both experienced that. When Chance alerted me to your conscription, my heart fell to pieces and if not for her staunch resolve… A similar plasma ball engulfed all three of our former crewmates and when it faded, two grotesques, sickly, gray-skinned, horribly disfigured, and twisted, Hobgoblins stood, hunched over in excruciating pain and dazed. Before anyone could approach, they recovered and simply disappeared. Over the ensuing years and centuries Charles, Chantell, and I did our best to track and ‘purify’ their minions. We’ve never found those two original Hobgoblins though.”
“Um…I’m confused. How did you determine that females were superior to males regarding Current, and how did you become Chances mother. I presume ‘Hopewell’ was a man’s name?” Dell asked.
“I think I might have that one figured out already, Dell.” Lokust dramatically drew her fingers down her sides.
“What? You think that I transfigured myself into female form, Lokust? It was as far away from that as you can get. It was an accident!” Mom’s hologram glared at my transformed work partner.
“While still on FeLane, Libra was interested in testing our limits. No one else on the planet at that time seemed capable of such manipulation of Current. She asked me to volunteer to test our storage capacity. Before the testing commenced, I was given what appeared to be a locket- actually a modified thrust percentage gauge from an old spacecraft- to wear. I was told that it would monitor the amount of Current absorbed and held inside me.”
“Current was carefully presented to me in ‘puddles’ of a calculated displacement. I was to either absorb or refuse it based on how I felt. The project took several days and during that time I began to notice slight changes. Mostly in my personality and sexual preferences.”
“On day four, my ‘gauge’ read ‘full’. Libra told me that she was satisfied with the outcome of the experiment, but I was still curious as to my actual limit and so, talked Libra into continuing the experiment. On day five, a supply conduit ruptured and threatened the scientists and Libra, who insisted on attending the testing that day! I began absorbing it as best and as fast as I could even though the pain became unbearable. I remember begging for my Current to help me survive the overload I felt might kill me so that I could save everyone around me. That was when I reached my ‘threshold’! It was the very first time anyone had ever seen someone enveloped in blue plasma. When the blinding light finally faded, I was like you see me. Libra ordered all records and research from the experiment destroyed and imposed a permanent gag order to everyone involved.”
“NASA was in a quandary as to what to do when we landed at Canaveral’s runway. I mean, no astronaut had ever ‘mutated’ while on a space mission before. I was glad that Libra made us carry her diplomatic message of welcome and cooperation back home with us. She claimed full responsibility for my ‘accident.”
I stood there stunned. I had inadvertently done something similar when the Hoblins had tried to trans…‘transconfigure(?)’ me and Grub!
Was that what my dream image of mom meant by ‘I proved myself a true Summers’?
“Chance? Buddy, are you okay?”
“From the look on her face I’d say my daughter did the same thing I just described.”
“So now what? I live as long as you, mom? I live while everyone around me grows old and dies? What kind of life is that?” I cried, tears flowing down my face.
“I don’t want to live forever.” I sobbed.
“I didn’t either, honey, but it isn’t so bad…”
“That is cold, Mrs. Summers! Really cold!” Grub…Lokust scolded as she came over and pulled me to her shoulder.
“What I meant was that it really isn’t so bad when you have friends to share the time with, ladies. Charles and I shared a lot of good times in our fourteen hundred years together. If Chantell’s shuttle hadn’t crashed on approach ten years ago, you could have asked her yourself.”
“Are you trying to say that, because we volunteered to help Chance, we’ll live just as long as she does?” Sinae choked in disbelief- her ears twitching wildly.
“I don’t want to be a girl for that long, though!” Lokust moaned.
“Is she putting me on? Was Grunfuller ever that blond, Chance?” I noticed Sinae and Dell nodding comically. Mom’s hologram seemed to roll her eyes.
“RE-cap! Lokust not turn back to man until danger… current mission over, THEN Lokust turn back to Grunfuller. Grunfuller only turn into Lokust when Chance need Lokust. Is that simple enough to understand, dearie?”
“I think so?” Lokust answered shyly.
“Lord in Heaven! The kids these days!” Mom’s hologram groaned in protest.
“Getting back on track. Well after my accident and after the Hobgoblins or Hoblins came into existence, the newly incorporated Witch Corps was back on FeLane where Libra’s scientists researched and developed the lockets you now wear. They not only indicate your Current reservoir level, they also limit your absorption and dissemination rates while cleansing the incoming Current of all the overlaid corruption or ‘taint’. Your Weaver-based clothing can withstand even YOUR newly modified claws, Princess Kitty.”
Mom’s hologram actually stuck her tongue out at the Lynxin.
“What happens when WE reach our ‘threshold’?” Sinae asked, ignoring mom’s jab.
“Once activated there is no longer a threshold, ladies.”
“I knew it! I’m going to end up in some seedy spaceport one hundred pounds overweight with seventy-five screamin’ kids all wanting to suckle mommy’s tits!” Lokust cried in resignation.
Dell, Sinae, and I all stared at our friend and compatriot in shocked disbelief. Did she even realize how she was acting or sounding?
“Current induced hormonal overload, girls. She’ll be over it after the adrenaline rush of kicking more Hobgoblin ass. Which is what you four should be doing instead of listening to some deceased old crone reminisce about ancient history. Now get out there and make the Corps proud, ladies!”
Mom’s hologram disappeared.
“I guess the briefing’s over. Let’s go to our shop compartment to gear up.” I said as I took two of my rerouters in hand. I asked my Current to redesign the rerouters to better compliment my outfit. They instantly morphed into magic wands befitting the ‘Witch’ I had become.
“Nice trick, Chance. I hope you intend on sharing it with the Coven.” Dell smiled devilishly.
“It’s easy. Just ask your Current to change whatever you choose into something that you can use against the Hoblins.” I advised as I stuck my main wand into my belt on the left then lifted the side of my skirt and stuck the other into the top of my right stocking.
“That’s my backup.” I said smoothing my skirt again.
“Wow! I guess I’m ahead of the curve on that.” Lokust giggled as she produced her wand from out of her blouse’s left sleeve.
“I figured this out back in the storage bay. When we came to rescue you.” She added while twirling it between her fingers several times as she looked at Dell and ‘Kitty’.
“M’ladies’,” I started, but couldn’t help giggling, “Our enemies await us and grow thirsty for confrontation. Shall we make haste?”
 
 
Reaching our shop without being discovered, I promptly handed out our supply of rerouters.
Sinae wasted no time and transformed her allotment into a wand and a healthy supply of throwing stars, ‘shurikens’ I think they were called. She took one of our utility belts in hand. It morphed into a bandoleer with several pouches to hold her new weapons of choice.
Dell changed a rerouter into the requisite wand, another into a very ornate and strong looking, recurve hunting bow. A dozen other rerouters became its accompanying arrows. A utility belt became her quiver.
I was impressed with my friends’ choices of weapons. I hoped they knew how to use them. Something…some feeling deep inside me knew they did AND with lethal effectiveness!
“Everyone ready then?” I asked as I saw Lokust looking at our shunt assortment in deep thought. Picking one of the longest ones, it became a leather whip complete with a tasseled end. She recoiled and snapped it at the wall once. Sparks shot from the impact point. Casting it back and forth a few times she changed its course and caused it to quickly wrap itself around her waist a few turns then behind and over her right shoulder before tucking its tasseled end back into itself at her waist.
It was the most amazing thing I‘d ever seen! The speed in which she did it also surprised me.
“Bitch!” Dell accused jealously as she shouldered her bow.
“Now I’m ready.” Lokust smiled happily.
Sinae snarled fiercely as she nodded to me.
“Okay, Let’s kick some Hoblin ass and take back the Mare!”

 
 
Our first real skirmish was not very exciting. We encountered twelve Hoblins blocking the cross passage between sections four and twelve. We were on them in nothing flat; Lokust taking out three; Sinae competing with four of her own; Dell took out three with just her wand, and I was on ‘cleanup’ with the last two. All turned out to be conscripted crewmembers- enlisted at that.
“So, with a crew of ten thousand, where is everyone?” Dell asked. I think, given the light opposition, we were all asking that question.
“Why don’t you ask your Current where the party is, buddy?” Lokust suggested. “It worked last time.”
Another good idea from her.
“It’s not telling me a specific location like it did with Dell and Sinae. I guess I was more attached to them and less with the rest of Mare’s crew.” I answered as I opened my eyes with my Current sense still enabled.
As before when I did that, I could see the bright orange Current flowing all around us. I also noticed each of us having an insanely bright orange aura surrounding us- coming from us. Our Current pulsed at a slightly different rate than that of the ship, too.
“Wow! We’re overflowing with Current! I never expected it to look so beautiful.”
And then I caught notice of something in several Current ‘paths’ traveling along the deck under our feet. The Current’s usual orange pulse was interrupted intermittently by a slightly darker orangeish-red blotch that pulsed slightly slower.
“Hey, can anyone else see this?” I asked my friends pointing to one of the possibly corrupted Current streams.
“We see a deck, Chance. What do you see?” Sinae shot back thinking I was pulling something. She, Dell, and Lokust stopped and turned around toward me.
“There she goes again with that ‘I can see and feel the Current’ routine.” Dell added as both she and Sinae looked at me with a raised eyebrow apiece.
“Guys. Listen to her.” Lokust warned. “Chance can actually see the Current flowing around us. I bet we can all see it now…as we are now. Right, buddy?”
I nodded with a shrug.
“Everyone close your eyes and ask your Current to help you see it then open your eyes. I’m thinking Lokust is right.”
Kitty, Dell, and Lokust recoiled as they each opened their eyes. They began looking around in awe as if seeing the compartment we were in for the very first time. Each time their eyes passed over me though they shaded them with their hand.
“I would’ve never imagined it to be this beautiful,” Sinae gasped, intentionally looking off to the side of me.
In fact all three of my friends seemed to suddenly be avoiding me visually!
“Hey, buddy? Not to split hairs, but why are you SOOO much brighter than Kitty and Dell?”
“You mean, why is she so much brighter than you and Dell, Lokust? Sinae corrected.
“Everyone! Don’t! move!” Dell hushed us as I noticed her gaze fixed on me. She blinked twice. The beyond serious stare she was giving me made my blood suddenly run cold!
Everything was still and silent for a moment.
In the next instant she had grabbed her bow, grabbed an arrow, attached something from it to her wrist protector- which I hadn’t even known she’d had, nocked the arrow, pulled back, and fired!
I felt the fletching tickle my neck as her arrow passed by me at extremely close range.
She’d done that all in one, smooth, motion!
A blue arc raced past me just after I’d turned to juke out of the way.
A big Hoblin had appeared behind us some ninety feet away, but was now withering as Dell absorbed its Current.
“Damn, Girlfriend! Nice shootin’!” Lokust swooned.
Sinae regarded Dell quietly- as if re-evaluating our friend.
“It just suddenly appeared back there. I had to tone down my Current sight to see past you, Chance. Sorry I got so close to you. I’ll give my next shot a wider margin.”
“Very nice! I guess mom was right renaming you ‘Artemis’; you definitely got the skills!” I praised.
“So what were you saying about the Current I assume we all can see, Chance?” Sinae asked to get me back on topic.
“See this stream right here?” I pointed. “Every-so-often a darker hued blotch passes along it. Watch.”
“Wonder what it means, buddy?” Lokust questioned.
“Tainted Current.”
“You mean these things can travel the Current conduits?” Dell gasped. “Is that even possible?”
“As possible as a woman with next to no specialty weapons training making the money shot on a bad guy on the first try.” Sinae responded calmly.
“Without colateral.” She added with a nod to me.
Dell gulped.
“Well. Mom said we’ve been optimized.” I shrugged again. “I think my conduit theory makes sense the way these things just ‘pop’ up. Let’s get those two crewmen someplace safe until they wake up.
From my job of tracking down and fixing Current leaks through the Mare, I knew of a ‘wet’ closet nearby. A ‘wet’ closet was a term we used to describe a water filtration and reclamation compartment. Current and water didn’t mix very well, so had to be isolated. Since no Current flowed near these compartments save for a few illuminators, I was hoping them safe to hide recovering transformees.
“I would’ve never thought of moving them to a wet closet, buddy. No Main Current conduits- no badies. Great idea if…if they can’t fit through a ‘keep alive’ conduit!”
 
 
Once back out patrolling the passageways, I motioned us into one of the larger compartments in this section.
“I don’t see any of them in here, Chance. What’s up?” Dell whispered loud enough so that only the four of us could hear.
“I’ve been thinking…”
“Is that wise, buddy?”
I ignored my friend’s friendly jab. “Thinking about my conduit theory. I wonder what would happen if a conduit was suddenly cut off… isolated?”
“We’d probably be knee deep in Hoblins, Chance. IF your theory holds true. It could be a way of containing engagements.”
“Let’s find out. Lady Kitty can you put a shuriken here and here,” I said as I ran over to and indicated a specific spot on the compartment’s deck. “then here and here?” I pointed to another. “Lady Lokust? Time to use that fancy shunt of your’s. After Kitty stops the Current flow to that spot, I want you to shunt around it using the outermost shurikens. Understand?”
“Copy that, Lady Chance. Ready when you are Lady Kitty.”
“Huntress, you might want to take a better vantage point. Remember I’m going to be doing the close in stuff. Please don’t shoot me.”
“Let’s just do this, guys.” Dell answered as she pulled her bow, attached and nocked an arrow, and took aim at the soon to be blockage.
“When you’re ready, Lady Kitty?”
Sinae reached into one of her bandoleer pouches and four throwing stars whizzed from her hand to embed themselves in the deck at exactly the places I had specified. Wow, was she good! Lokust quickly unwound, snapped the whip a few times and smoothly jumpered the outer shurikens. It all happened in under a second!
With my Current sight still enabled, I noticed four darker blotches stop and move back and forth a few times between the inner stars.
Four Hoblins sprang from thin air right in front of me! Dell nailed two of them almost instantly as I pulled my backup and dove, two-fisted, at the other two.
“Impressive, buddy, but I thought magic wands were used for magic, not impaling.”
“Point taken. But I haven’t settled on an attack style yet.”
“Throwing bolts of blue Current looked pretty impressive when we rescued the girls, buddy. Why not adapt that?”
“Hey, guys? We have three more of our crew to get to safety?” Kitty interrupted as she leaned down to remove Lokust’s shunt and her weapons from the deck. “We can debate attack styles later.”
Once the crewmen were relocated to safety, I chose another tainted conduit that looked busier than the previous one. I specified a longer blockage and Kitty repeated her amazing throw. Lokust again bypassed the blockage and this time we were rewarded with twenty-four Hoblins.
This time I decided to really ‘use’ my wand and asked my Current to help recover the tainted Current that made up our foes.
I was rewarded with five separate bolts of Current striking five different Hoblins. Only three proved to be crewmembers.
Again Dell’s swift arrow attack immediately took out four Hoblins, all conscripted crew. Seven more Hoblins fell to her bow in quick succession.
Kitty’s deft ability with her shurikens drained another four, and Lokust went berserker on the remaining four.
We had rescued twelve of our crew in total, but one of those, a woman under Dell’s supervision died as we carried them to the wet closet. She had been only partially restored. Her legs had remained disfigured with the sickly gray skin.
“I think we’re running out of time, Chance.” Lokust said sadly as I wiped tears from my eyes.
“We have to split up, take different parts of the ship.” I said as I noticed Sinae looking at my chest.
“What’s the matter, Lady Kitty?”
“Check your locket, Chance. Your cleavage is glowing pretty bright.”
“Well that isn’t good. Is it, buddy?”
“How should I know! Mom? What’s it mean when your locket looks like a space beacon?” I asked, hoping the hologram would appear with an answer.
“Were you calling me, honey?” Mom’s image asked as she appeared in front of me. I lifted and showed her my locket.
“Well that isn’t good.”
“No kidding! What do I do about this, mom?”
“You need to drain off some of your Current, Chance. Try returning it to the ship’s reservoir.”
“Gotcha.” I said as I enabled my Current sight and found a pure return conduit. Placing my hand to the deck over the conduit, I asked some Current to leave my body’s reserve and return to the ship.
A warm, pleasant feeling flowed down my arm and out my hand to the deck. I waited until I felt no further transfer then stood back up.
“That. Was. Amazing! I’ve never seen anything like that before, buddy!”
“If your lockets start glowing you’ll each need to find a Current return conduit that isn’t tainted and kindly ask some of what you’ve stored to go back to the ship, everyone got that?”
My friends nodded.
“Okay then, let’s split up. Kitty, take the Bridge and CC. Huntress, take environmental. Lokust, you’re familiar with maneuvering, so you take care of business there while I head down to Engineering and try to purify the Current reservoirs and see what I can do to chase these things from the conduits.”
We all went in different directions.
“Was it wise to split the team so soon, honey? You girls just got together. You haven’t had the time to gel. You must have a lot of trust in them.”
“I trust them with my life, mom. We would do anything for each other.”
“I wish I had the full cooperation of my team back in the day, Chance. At least I had fifty percent. That ain’t half bad, as they say. I’ll be monitoring each of you on this mission, so if you need assistance, don’t hesitate to call on me.”
“You can do that, mom? I thought the DataTab was your only terminal?”
“Just one more special feature of the lockets, honey. Another is an isolated, encrypted and untraceable, long-range, communication system. Has everyone gotten all that?”
“Kitty copies.”
“Huntress copies.”
“Grub…er…Lokust copies, Major.”
“Chance copies, mom.” I added. The hologram looked at me wryly as if she was going to say something, but disappeared instead.
 
 

 
 
Lokust’ perspective:
“Just one more special feature of the lockets, honey. Another is an isolated, encrypted and untraceable, long-range, communication system. Has everyone gotten all that?” The hologram of Chance’s mom explained.
I gazed at the high-tech locket as I fished it out from between my tits.
That was still really strange to say! ‘My tits’. I hated to say it, but I was actually starting to get used to them.
“Kitty copies.”
“Huntress copies.”
“Grub…er…Lokust copies, Major.” I acknowledged with a start. I almost forgot my codename. Was it actually a codename or was it my permanent ‘female’ name?
“Chance copies, mom.”
That was my buddy: ever the wise ass!
Major Summers’ halo disappeared and I continued on my way to maneuvering.
My first solo encounter came just minutes afterward. Six goons had rounded a passage intersection and I asked my Current, as per Chance’s suggestions, to help me drain and purify our enemies through my wand.
I was rewarded with the same arcs of blue energy that Chance had used before we split up. The rush I felt could only be described as intoxicating!
All six rewarded me with crewmen and I promptly found a wet closet to hide them. I quickly left a message on one of their DataTabs to stay put until all six had recovered then to await further instructions.
Given this ‘getup’ I wondered if they would heed my message at all. I mean, I would be thinking of doing something more than heeding a message from ‘Lokust’- Way more, in fact.
“Keep on task, Grunfuller. After the ship has been rid of these abominations, then you can think about getting yourself laid!”
I must have blushed deep crimson! I didn’t know she could hear my thoughts with that thing. Though, she did say she would be monitoring us.
Shit.
“Yes, Maj. Summers, ma’am. I’ll stick to business, ma’am!”
“Good girl. You’ll need to find a pure return conduit soon, Lokust. You’re at eighty percent Current capacity.”
“Copy that, Major. Thanks.”
Summers’ halo nodded to me then disappeared.
I had the privilege of dispatching twelve more Hoblins before I reached my designated objective. Two of the eight crewmen I recovered remained almost half Hoblin or just ‘half’. I had to assume the worst since only half of them reconstituted. Thankfully they didn’t last long because the screams of agony turned my stomach and I had to look away while covering my ears.
One specialist, a woman I had seen a few times around the ship, begged me to kill her.
Maj. Summers halo reappeared and advised me on how to do just that. She told me it was the most humane way she knew.
I cried my eyes out for several minutes after snapping her neck like a dry twig.
Finding a secure vantage point just through this section’s airtight bulkhead, I took in my situation.
“Lokust, Chance. Buddy? We have a real situation down here.” I said as I touched my locket.
“What’s the problem, Lokust?”
“This section is just crawling with these things! No way am I gonna clean this place up alone.”
“How many is ‘crawling’, buddy?”
“Offhand I’d call it close to five or six…”
“Oh, come on! Five or six! I’ve seen you take out…”
“Five or six hundred, buddy! You didn’t let me finish.”
“Oh. That’s a little different.”
“No kidding? Gee, I thought that was a drop in the bucket, Chance! Am I going to get some backup down here?”
“Huntress here. I’m almost done in Environmental, Chance. Give me time to hit the potty and I’ll be there in a few minutes, Lokust. Hold tight.”
 
 
Dell’s perspective:
“Just one more special feature of the lockets, honey. Another is an isolated, encrypted and untraceable, long-range, communication system. Has everyone gotten all that?” The hologram of Chance’s mom explained.
“Kitty copies.”
“Huntress copies.” I answered as Chance’s mom nodded and disappeared.
“Grub…er…Lokust copies, Major.”
What a ditz, I thought. Of anyone, Grunfuller had this coming! I couldn’t count how many times he had tried to make a pass at both Sinae and I, or the other five thousand women on the Mare!
“Chance copies, mom.”
I rolled my eyes. That was our Chance!
I made it most of the way to Environmental before taking resistance. Twenty Hoblins were waiting for me as I turned into the main passageway to the section, but I was fully prepared! Something inside me…something felt I needed to set myself for a trap.
Flying four arrows in my first assault and four kills, I took a tactical retreat into the narrower passage from which I had come. This would act to funnel the enemy and slow their advance.
It was easy for me to thin the onslaught and I casually retrieved my arrows, pulling my wand and draining the remaining six using the technique Chance had shown before we split.
Entering the Environmental section, I was surprised that only a few Hoblins were here, but then I saw the reason. The Environmental section of the Mare used organics to filter and renew our breathable atmosphere- organics being trees, bushes, all manner of plant life. Basically anything that would ‘breath in’ carbon mono and di-oxide (CO and CO2).
To limit the amount of carbon particles in the atmosphere, water was used and reclaimed for the process.
According to our information, Hoblins were made up of Current. And Current hated water.
Most of the twenty-five Hoblins in this section were of the disposable type; aka Conscripts. Only twenty of them restored completely. The five that didn’t I dispatched with cold, callous, efficiency.
I questioned my newfound demeanor toward the unfortunates, but something inside of me told me that they were no longer suffering…that their torment was now over. They were the lucky ones- the ones that didn’t need to face the horrible fate the rest of us would experience if I and the rest of our team failed!
A few tears escaped my eyes despite that attitude.
“Lokust, Chance. Buddy? We have a real situation down here.”
“What’s the problem, Lokust?”
“This section is just crawling with these things! No way am I gonna clean this place up alone.”
“How many is ‘crawling’, buddy?”
“Offhand I’d call it close to five or six…”
“Oh, come on! Five or six! I’ve seen you take out…”
“Five or six hundred, buddy! You didn’t let me finish.”
“Oh. That’s a little different.”
“No kidding? Gee, I thought that was a drop in the bucket, Chance! Am I going to get some backup down here?”
“Huntress here. I’m almost done in Environmental, Chance. Give me time to hit the potty and I’ll be there in a few minutes, Lokust. Hold tight.” I said as I located and placed my hand, palm down, on a pure orange Current return conduit. As Chance had instructed, I asked my Current to release back into the Mare’s system. It was even more amazing of a feeling than draining Hoblins!
Once relieved, I headed back to maneuvering. I had thought about finding a wet closet, but figured the recovered crewmembers would be safe here. Just to be sure, I moved them all beside the carbon scrubbers.
Chance’s mom appeared running next to me as I hurried through the passages.
“In order to not interrupt the whole team, you can tap the locket twice to secure a channel to the member you wish to talk to, Artemis.”
“I think I like ‘Huntress’ better, M’lady. I seem to have found the disposition for that name. Thank you for the Comms information.”
“Of course, M’lady Huntress. Good hunting.”
Touching my locket twice, I specified my intended team member.
“Lokust, Huntress. I need a safe approach vector.”
“Approach vector? Dell, We aren’t in a shuttle. Oh…I get it! Passage F2M09 should be clear unless the badies know how to respawn. ETA?”
“I’ll be there in five if no resistance. Huntress out.” I said as I rounded another intersection and saw the Corpse…well, half a Corpse at least. Her head was laying at an odd angle and I knew immediately that Lokust had done what I had to do to a fellow crewmember. I suddenly felt really bad for Lokust and vowed to offer her my shoulder when I got to her.
If needed, that is. I didn’t know if her attitude had been affected by her change like mine had. My thoughts quickly went to Sinae and what she would do in similar circumstances.
 
 
Sinae’s perspective:
“Just one more special feature of the lockets, honey. Another is an isolated, encrypted and untraceable, long-range, communication system. Has everyone gotten all that?” The hologram of Chance’s mom, Maj. Summers, explained just before disappearing.
“Kitty copies.” I responded.
“Huntress copies.”
“Grub…er…Lokust copies, Major.”
I rolled my eyes. Grub…excuse me, Lokust was such a Glurp!
“Chance copies, mom.”
I rolled my eyes again at my friend’s unnecessary response right before I met with five Hoblins. Four shurikens and one wand ended the confrontation. I quickly found a wet closet for the survivors and left standing orders to stay put and await further instructions.
Holding up my hand as an experiment, I asked the stars to return to me-, which they did obediently- and placed them back in my pouch. They didn’t stay there long as I met thirty Hoblins on the move coming from the CC. This skirmish lasted twice as long and required me to use all of my stars and use Chance’s wand trick on the rest.
The wand method worked relatively well and I used it more in my next engagement ten minutes later.
“Major. Any way to talk with just one member of the team, sir?” I asked hoping Chance’s mother would indeed be monitoring my progress.
“Tapping the locket twice opens a private link, Princess.”
“I would like it very much if you just called me ‘Kitty’, sir. I was disowned from that title eighteen standard years ago when my ideals clashed with those of my father. He went as far as shortening my tail saying if I couldn’t respect him, I shouldn’t get respect myself. It is still my belief that he was wrong in doing so.”
“You are so much like her, Sinae! Libra didn’t mix words either, nor was she ever that spiteful. Your father was wrong for maiming you, dear, but I believe he meant well in that respect must be paid to our elders. Reading your father’s file, I have to say that he did have charges brought against him and received the same punishment he inflicted on you. Prince of the throne or not, your Grandmother has never forgiven him and I see several communications sent from her to you that were summarily deleted without opening.”
“How did you retrieve those?!” I demanded as I removed eight more Hoblin obstacles.
“You don’t know by now, Kitty?”
“I haven’t had a lot of time to think, sir. Maybe my personals were not as secured as I was led to believe?”
Two more Hoblins fell to my stars.
“I used magic, Kitty. The same way Chance restored what was rudely taken from you. By the way, you need to drain off some Current. I’m reading ninety-nine percent in your Current reservoir.”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“My tail is back? For real? Its not going to vanish when I return to normal old Sinae?”
“Of course not! What do you think we Summers’ are, Indian Givers?”
“I don’t know what that is, but I didn’t mean to impugn your character, sir. It just seemed out of the realm of possibilities.
“One on your six, hun.” She reported and a quick throw cleared the passage.
“Restoring your tail was not out of the realm of our tricks, Sinae. You are welcome to keep it or just let Chance know if you don’t. She can whip up a masking spell so you look like you always have since joining the Mare. Your choice, dear.”
“Thank you, sir! I think I’ll keep it!”
Major Summers disappeared wearing a happy smile. I quickly found and used a pure return conduit.
Clearing the CC was only slightly more of a challenge but once done and the restored crewmembers safely hidden away, I headed up to the Bridge.
That was where I found Capt. Serangetti and the other Bridge officers. I was amazed that they had remained human and not been conscripted like the others. Maybe Hoblins were not compatible with humanoid control systems?
“Just what the HELL are you?” Our captain shouted after I had quickly cleared the bridge of the three deformed abominations I found there.
“Lady Kitty of the Coven, sir!” I said standing to attention, but with my left arm out from my side. My dispensed stars whirled back into my waiting hand and I quickly pouched them.
Serangetti’s eyes almost popped from his head at seeing that.
“Just what the hell is the ‘Coven’, ‘Lady Kitty’?” He asked, looking closer.
“Who are you?”
“Sorry, sir. I cannot answer that at this time. It would require above TOP SECRET clearances from multiple branches of several planetary militias, sir!”
“Then maybe you can tell me what those ‘things’ were and why they want my ship! Is that also above my clearance level?” He growled angrily.
“They are called Hoblins, sir. Why they have boarded the Mare is not yet known. My Coven and I are working to free all hostages and recover as many conscripted crewmembers as possible, sir.”
“Conscripted…crewmembers? I don’t get it, Princess.”
He must have assumed the royal title given my tail. Only royalty on my planet had full-length tails.
“Lady Kitty, sir! I must protest the presumptive title you implied. As again, that information is above your clearances. As for the conscripts, sir, the Hoblins have a means of, shall we say, ‘converting’ humanoids like us into…into whatever they actually are. The Coven is the only team capable of dispatching them and recovering conscripted crewmen, sir. That is all I can relate at this time, sir. If you will excuse me, we have much more work to do and are running out of time. Please remain here and secure the door. We will contact you when we have re-secured the ship.”
I hurried off the Bridge tapping my locket twice.
“Lady Chance, Lady Kitty. Bridge and CC clear. Proceeding to next objective.”
“Lady Kitty, Lady Chance. You might want to join me down here in Engineering. We have a very, very big problem.”
“What kind of a problem, Lady Chance?”
“Do you have any experience disarming detonators? Big…hulking…Bomb detonators?”
“I’m a bit out of practice. How big are we talking?”
“Ooooh. About the size of the Current return reservoir? It looks like they have it rigged to rupture when the pressure builds up.”
“On my way! Kitty out.”
I stopped suddenly as something…some ‘feeling’…hit me. Like someone reaching out and grabbing the scruff of my neck.
Something wasn’t right!
“Hey, guys? I’m heading back to the Bridge. Something isn’t sitting right about the Captain.”
“Copy that, Kitty. Lokust, Huntress? I could use your help here in Engineering while Kitty investigates.”
“Copy, Chance. Lokust and I will be there as soon as we clear this section. It might be a while.”
“Copy. I’ll see if mom has any experience that might be useful. Chance out.”
The Bridge access would not respond to my passcode. Either they had followed my orders, or…
Taking my wand in hand, I asked my Current to help me gain access to Mare’s Bridge and pointed it at the access panel.
The door ‘whoooshed’ open quickly and I entered just as fast.
“Lady Kitty? What is the problem? Did you forget something?” Capt. Sarengetti demanded.
I concentrated on the scent of my fellow Lynxin, but noticed him staring at my hat- at my ears in particular.
Damn. My only tell had been noticed!
“Something isn’t right! I’ve detected a strange scent in here and it took me a while to recognize it. I’d like to investigate.”
“By all means, M’lady. Feel free to look around.”
Carefully, I used my nose to investigate the various smells I had previously associated with the real Bridge crew. Stopping at each officer and each enlisted. As planned I saved Capt. Serangetti for last.
I smelt it on him! The slight stench of rotting flesh mixed with week old trash and spoiled dairy. I also smelled fear.
“Huh. I don’t smell it now. Strange. I could have sworn… Oh well, I guess I was wrong. Sorry for the intrusion. Carry on.” I said playing up that I had made a mistake. It occurred to me that the real Serangetti would have known me, restored tail or not. This guy was a doppelganger.
As I headed for the door, I prepared myself. I readied four stars and concentrated on where I wanted them to go- who I wanted them to hit.
I took action as soon as I felt my targets begin to twitch. My four stars found their marks without me laying a hand to throw any of them. I wasn’t even facing my enemies!
I turned and eyed up my prey as four blue arcs flashed and sputtered into me. As happens with ‘fully assimilated’ Hoblins, nothing was left. The other Bridge officers stared in complete fear of me as I eyed them and let a snarl escape my throat.
“You just killed them!” One of the ‘real’ bridge crew bravely declared, but wisely didn’t move a muscle.
“If that was truly the Captain then his body would still be here- it would still be solid matter. Those were Hoblins impersonating Capt. Serangetti, his first officer, and those two other officers whom I’ve never met. What were his last orders, Lieutenant?”
“We…we…we were preparing to increase speed to full, m…mmmmm, ma’am…M’lady.”
“Well I suggest you belay that order and bring Mare to a halt. The invaders have sabotaged the Current Return Tanks to over pressurize. Do any of you know the result should that happen?”
“The ship would explode?”
“Along with everyone on this bucket! So, while our team clears the ship of hostiles, I suggest that you carefully examine everything in the Bridge and CC. Look for anything that might be out of place or adjustment. Send the information to SFC Chance Summers’ DataTab. She’s working with us and will pass it to us. Lock this section down to be safe and keep away from the Current conduits. A wet closet would be safest.”
I left the Bridge and hurried to Engineering.
“Kitty, Chance. Bridge and CC clear for real this time. Heading to your location. Do you recommend an approach vector?”
“Passage 4E2C to Bulkhead door 4E2CR3. It should still be clear.”
“Copy. On my way. Kitty out.”
 
 
Chance’s perspective:
“Kitty copies.”
“Huntress copies.”
“Grub…er…Lokust copies, Major.”
“Chance copies, mom.” I added. The hologram looked at me wryly as if she was going to say something, but disappeared instead.
I began my trek to Engineering at a hurried pace. Along the way I came up against moderate opposition.
Two of the crew that I recovered didn’t all come back- meaning that one was missing her legs all the way up to her hips and the other…well…trust me, it wasn’t pretty! Mom came back online with advice.
“Honey, they can’t be saved. I’m sorry. The best you can do is put them out of their misery. A quick snap of their neck is all it takes.” She said sadly.
As tears ran down my face I did as suggested to the disfigured, grotesque, ‘thing’ that used to be one of Dell’s most valued men. With a loud snap, it was over for him. I hoped he was now at peace.
The female crewman looked at me, horrified! Even though I knew she was in extreme pain her eyes begged me to reconsider even more than her gasping words.
“No. Please. I don. Wanna. Die! Please! Please! No!”
My heart crumbled. Somehow, I had to figure a way to save her! I was now a member of the Witch Corps! That in itself meant I was a witch. Witches supposedly could do miraculous things. We could…did Magic!
Thinking quickly about that, I pictured what this woman needed to return to normal. It was easy to see. She needed her lower half returned to her. And fast! She was bleeding out quickly from her open torso.
That was it! She needed her lower half returned.
Concentrating, I asked my Current to find her missing parts and help me reconstitute her. I also asked it to hurry or we would lose her and I didn’t want to lose more lives than necessary- that it should let me know when found.
A quick feeling made itself known a second later. It was an excited type feeling from within me. Elation and pride?
“Please, no! NOooooo!” the woman tried to scream as I pointed my wand at her and gave my Current permission to do the impossible.
When the blue plasma cloud dissipated, a whole woman lay unconscious before me. I quickly felt for her pulse and was rewarded with, not only a strong pulse, but she began to moan and move her newly restored legs.
Her eyes flashed open and she looked at me with those same, horrified, eyes.
“How do you feel?” I asked as I wiped fresh tears from my cheeks. “I tried the best I could to restore you. Can you talk?”
“What are you?” She asked in a shaken, raspy, voice.
“I’m a member of the ‘Coven’, ma’am. We’re here trying to liberate this ship from the invading Hoblins. Are you able to walk?”
She immediately turned her attention to her legs.
“My legs! Oh, God! You gave me back my legs! How?”
“We’re not called the ‘Coven’ for nothing, you know.”
“What about hi…him?”
“He was too far gone, I’m afraid. I want you to hurry and get to the nearest wet closet and stay there. The Hoblins can’t reach you in there. Go.” I said.
“Wait! Who are you? What’s your name?”
“I am called Summers. Lady Summers. Now hurry to the wet closet!” I answered as I hurried away.
“So, Lady Summers is it? And what made M’lady choose such a noble title?” Mom commented, as she appeared running next to me.
“What was I supposed to say, mom? ‘Hi, I’m that creepy guy, Chance Summers that comes to fix your Current leaks?”
“Point taken, M’lady. But more to the point. How the hell did you do that? Reconstitute a whole body from only half?”
“I figured that the other half had to be in me somewhere! I asked my Current to find it and help me return it. Isn’t that what you would have done?” I explained as we turned another intersection.
Mom didn’t answer and I slid to a stop to look at her.
“Mom? You would have done the same, right?”
Still silent, mom’s avatar looked sadly to the deck.
“I was trained as a Marine, Chance. Our job was to accomplish the mission quickly and with as little casualties as possible. We were to leave those deemed ‘lost causes’. I’m afraid that half a woman meets that criteria, so no, I wouldn’t have tried that. But I am very proud of you, honey! You have raised the bar for the Witch Corps even higher. Teach your team that trick so that they can help reduce their casualty count as well. You are a true Summers, Chance! Keep up the good work.”
Mom’s hologram disappeared just as I ran headlong into another Hoblin patrol. I actually ran right through them, knocking them against the passage walls as I did. A simple ‘flick’ of my wand proved to be the stunned creatures’ undoing and I hastily moved four more recovered crewmen into a nearby wet closet. There would have been five, but for one, just the poor SOB’s head reconstituted with a blank, lifeless stare.
Eight more Hoblins tried to jump me, but ultimately failed. One of the six crewmen needed his feet returned, so after doing that, I hurriedly found sanctuary for them and continued on my way. Ten creatures guarded the door into the Engineering section. Two of those had been merged a few times judging from their size. My wand made short work of eight of them, but the bigger ones posed more of a challenge. One of them caught me square in the belly with a well-aimed blast and threw me back several dozen feet. Thank goodness for my armor! It actually helped me absorb it! As luck would have it, I came to a stop right over a pure Current return conduit and took the opportunity to empty some of my reservoir.
Now I was ready to take on these two beasts! I looked up at them from my three-point linebacker stance, a diabolical smile pasted to my face.
Reaching into my stocking, I pulled my backup wand and focused on the two lumbering behemoths closing on me. The incoming surge from these things was incredible!
As the blue arcing faded, eight of my fellow crew lay unconscious just five feet from me. Surprisingly, all seemed to be completely intact.
Once I got inside engineering, I saw why this section was so heavily guarded.
“Lady Kitty, Lady Chance. You might want to join me down here in Engineering. We have a very, very big problem.” I told her as I looked from my hidden position. I also used our official ‘Corps’ callsigns in case she was being observed.
“What kind of a problem, Lady Chance?”
“Do you have any experience disarming detonators? Big…hulking…Bomb detonators?”
“I’m a bit out of practice. How big are we talking?”
“Ooooh. About the size of the Current return reservoir? It looks like they have it rigged to rupture when the pressure builds up.”
“On my way! Kitty out.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Of any of us, Sinae was the most likely to have bomb-handling training
“Hey, guys? I’m heading back to the Bridge. Something isn’t sitting right about the Captain.”
Damn it all!
“Copy that, Kitty. Lokust, Huntress? I could use your help here in Engineering while Kitty investigates.”
“Copy, Chance. Lokust and I will be there as soon as we clear this section. It might be a while.”
“Copy. I’ll see if mom has any experience that might be useful. Chance out.”
“Mom? Any experience with Hoblin detonators attached to Current return reservoirs?”
“I might have some. Let me look at it, M’lady.”
“Knock off the ‘M’lady’ stuff, mom! Any ideas?”
“I would first suggest clearing this section, honey. Then we can get a better look at this device.”
“If I clear the section, my reservoir will be pretty full, mom. The way that tank is rigged, I don’t think adding more to it would be a good thing.”
“I see your point. How about you do the catwalk?”
“Excuse me? I really don’t think these things will see me that way, you?”
“I mean use that catwalk up there! It looks like it might get close enough for me to scan that detonator. And just so you know, I think you would look spectacular on THE Catwalk, honey. Rawwwwwwhll!”
“I never knew you to be that much of a pervert, mother!”
“I’m not, but I HAVE done my share of some of the biggest Catwalks-, and not just in Paris, honey. Just get us up there and stick to business.”
Twirling my wand over my head so that I didn’t hit my hat, I asked my Current to lift me up to the Maintenance catwalk about thirty feet above our current position. The feeling of being able to fly was exhilarating! Once my feet lightly touched the metallic walkway, I silently, cautiously, moved closer to my target.
“So where did you learn that, young lady?” Mom asked as she appeared in front of me.
“Well.” I crossed my arms in front of me. “We’re Witches, right?”
“Full-fledged members of the illustrious Witch Corps, yes, Chance.” Mom answered, but I could see she was trying to connect that question to her’s.
“I didn’t have a chance to make my broom appear so I had to improvise. Now, can you lend your expertise to our objective?”
“Give me a moment to analyze. Please hold.”
“And you wonder where I get it.”
“Kitty, Chance. Bridge and CC clear for real this time. Heading to your location. Do you recommend an approach vector?”
“Passage 4E2C to Bulkhead door 4E2CR3. It should still be clear.” I answered.
“Copy. On my way. Kitty out.”
“From what I can ascertain, this detonator is Current-based, so any additional Current applied, such as your magic, will cause the tank to breach. You have to find some way to detach it and clear it from the reservoir, ASAP.”
“I was actually afraid you would say that. I guess I need to do this in old Chance mode.” I cringed as I ‘sheathed’ my wand, held out my left hand, and made a flourish motion. Three normal Rerouters appeared. Flourishing my right hand, a six-foot shunt appeared.
“I’m not even going to ask where you had those hidden, honey. So, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking if I can reroute the detonator’s sensing mechanism, I can use the shunt to isolate it from the return tank. I can’t gaurantee I won’t rupture the tank though.”
“Risky at best, honey. You could overcharge your reservoir.”
“Is that something bad? I thought you said that once I reached ‘threshold’ I didn’t have to worry.”
“Truth is, honey, I don’t know what would happen. I’ve never been in a situation where so much Current was flowing before. Not in my entire fifteen hundred years!”
“Well, I guess we’ll find out, because I can’t think of another way.”
“Be careful, Chance! I’ll be right here beside you. Not that I’ll be of any help, though.”
“I’ll have to hover over to the tank. Mom? Think that would cause it to trigger?”
“My scans indicate that shouldn’t affect it, Chance. A direct hit of Current, though, would most definitely cause a ‘Kaboom’.”
“Lokust, Chance. We’re ready to make our entrance. You have eyes on the bad guys?”
“A little busy right now, ladies.” I paused to look down as I hovered dangerously close to the huge detonator. It had to be almost as big as my bed! About the same dimensions, too!
“Chance, Lokust. You have about twenty hostiles within twenty feet and the concentration stays about the same in the rest of the section. Welcome to the hive, ladies!”
“So I guess this is where all the cool Hoblins hang out, huh? Okay, Huntress and I are ready. If you can provide some cover fire?”
“I have my hands full with the detonator. Mom says it can be falsely triggered by a direct Current shot. I’m trying to isolate it from the main return tank with my rerouters and a shunt.”
“I got some chewing medium and heavy metalized thread if you need it, buddy.”
“We’ll need more than that if this doesn’t work.” I replied as I carefully placed the first of my rerouters to what looked like a Current–based sensor. I hoped my Current sense was working properly because that was the only way I could ‘see’ those specific components.
Hovering over to the other side of the insanely large device, I reached out with my Current sense again and cautiously placed the second rerouter.
So far, no Kaboom.
“Knock, knock.” Lokust announced over our comm and I quickly hovered back from the detonator. With a flourish, my wand replaced the last rerouter in my hand. I pulled my backup, too.
Lokust and Dell hurried through the door.
“Honey? I’m home!” Lokust shouted in a strange Latino accent as bolts of blue Current shot between her and several Hoblins. Likewise, Dell’s arrows found and drained several more creatures. If you looked close you could see her arrows magically returning to her quiver after they had done their jobs. The effect was her rapidly firing arrow after arrow without seeming to run out. It was a fascinating thing to see.
“Not to be outdone, I did my best to provide air cover, taking out twenty or so Hoblins from overhead.
“Good God, they’ve gained experience! I don’t think Chantell OR Charli could ever handle a wand as well as you girls can!” Mom’s hologram gasped as it hovered beside me.
Lokust flourished her wand toward the main Current return tank and a ‘whooshing’ sound broke the chaotic noise of our attacks. Several dozen Hoblins flew away from the tank into the middle of the section’s deck.
I was astounded!
“Looks like the Mage of the Four Winds is in the house.”
“You knew she could do this, mom?”
“Of course! Each one of you bears striking resemblances to your home worlds’ fabled heros. Sinae is a deadringer for her ancestor and my dearest friend, Libra, Queen of FeLane. Dell embodies the Greek Goddess, Artemis, whom, I might add seems to be her distant grandmother if the ancient statue is authentic. Lokust…Lokust was not borne on Earth and is the product of parents from two different worlds. She resembles her mother who is descended from one of the great ‘Mages’ of her maternal world. I have only served with Breeze De Vane a handful of times, but I can assure you, that,” Mom’s hologram motioned down toward Lokust dramatically, “is her, Chance.”
“You’re kidding me. Grub had an ancestor named ‘Breeze’? De Vane? And she was a Wind Mage? Really?” I snickered.
“Would I lie to you, honey? Yes, De Vane was her joined name- and it’s pronounced Bree-zee. She was quite the bad-ass and you wouldn’t want to cross wands with her for differing opinions, Chance. Once she got wound up, you just stepped back and let her go to town!”
“Sounds like Lokust alright.” I giggled as I watched from above as my two friends continued to clear the section.
Ten blue arcs suddenly streaked back to the bulkhead door. Sinae stood tall and very angry looking as she absorbed her targets.
“Chance, Kitty. Welcome to the party.” I said over my comm.
“Nice of you to invite me. Even better that you guys saved a few for me.” Kitty replied somewhat catty.
“How ARE you doing that, Chance?”
“On old Earth, witches rode around on flying broomsticks, but since I was hard-pressed for time, I had to improvise. Plus, this was the only way to get over to the detonator to disarm it.”
“That’s the detonator? Holy glurp heap, that thing is huge!”
“Yeah, so if it isn’t too degrading, could you come up here and lend a hand, princess?” I requested, shaking my head and giggling.
“I take it I just ask my Current to hover me up, right?”
“That’s what I did. Should work the same for the rest of the Coven, too.”
 
 
“This is sooooo, awesome, Chance!” Sinae swooned as she hovered up beside me. Her eyes couldn’t get much wider than they were right now.
“So now what?” she asked as I sheathed my backup wand and pointed my primary at a Hoblin that was getting a little too close to Lokust on the deck below us.
The blue arc quickly did its thing and I noticed my locket was shining pretty bright at the moment.
“You…um…want to take care of that, Chance?” Kitty suggested, nodding to my chest.
“And if what I put back raises the pressure enough to trigger the bomb?”
“Good point. Could you maybe share with me, Chance? Or does the Major have rules against that?”
“You girls are just chock-full of wonderful ideas, Princess. To be quite honest, Chantell, Charli, and I never tried it. Never needed to try it.” Mom said from my other side.
“No time like the present to find out.” I said as I held out my hand palm first to my friend.
Once our palms touched, I asked some of my Current to travel into Sinae. I was rewarded by a warm, pleasant tickle running down my arm.
“Fascinating! I must say that you ladies are even more dynamic than we were back in the day. I’ll have to remember that for the next time the situation arises.” Mom said.
I stared at the holographic image of my supposedly dead mother. I say supposedly because, well, with a Bio-Desolver attack…nothing organic…nothing…survives. Since finding out my mother was the leader of a ‘so far out there’ Black Ops group, well…I…I couldn’t know for sure. Who knows what tricks she still held in reserve.
“Oh. I’m sorry, honey. This A.I. your father designed is so sentient, I feel like I’m still here. Please forgive me?”
I didn’t believe the face of the hologram that was pleading with sad eyes. Call it a ‘feeling’, but this image was entirely too real AND free thinking to be artificial.
“We need to get this thing off the tank before our luck runs out, ladies.” I said to center my attention.
Hovering closer, I used my Current sense, located and placed the third rerouter. I reproduced the shunt in my left hand. Just as I was going to hand Kitty one end, I stopped. Something didn’t feel right. Up to this point, everything had been easy…too easy!
“Is it me or are things too easy?” I asked no one aloud.
“Chance?” Kitty asked curiously.
“Think about it. If there wasn’t more to this then where are the guards?”
“You mean like that one?” Kitty said as a shuriken levitated out of her bandoleer pouch and shot past my left ear, straight into a merged Hoblin lumbering toward us on the catwalk.
She had the good sense to move away from me and the detonator as she drained the hideous thing.
Three crewmembers appeared out of the blue plasma ball. Two rolled off the narrow catwalk and fell, but stopped just feet from the main deck. Sinae had her wand out and pointing to them. With a slight, smooth, downward stroke of the wand the two settled onto the deck below us, still unconscious.
“Well met, princess.”
Kitty’s wand instantly pointed to mom’s hologram.
“Stop calling me ‘Princess’!”
“But, M’lady, you ARE of the royal bloodline…”
“I…I don’t care! I am Kitty Sinae of FeLane. My affiliation with the hierarchy of my home world means nothing at the moment…especially when peoples’ lives hang in the balance!”
Mom’s hologram wiped her eyes.
“God! You are so much like her! If Libra could only see you, dear.”
“Chance. Please concentrate and use that well developed Current sense of your’s. Find the trips you feel there should be.” Sinae advised calmly. “I’ll keep the area clear.”
Focusing on the detonator, I put everything into my ‘sense’. After a few minutes of intense concentration, I finally found another pressure sensor. It was well hidden and would be very difficult to access.
“I know that look, Chance. This is the nasty one, right?” Kitty asked as she stared at me.
“Sinae? I need you to get to the deck and get the rest of the Coven to higher ground. Something’s going to give when I place this last reroute…” I began as I tried to produce another rerouter from my hidden inventory. My palm came up empty.
“Damn! I’m out of rerouters!” I cursed as I tried once more and got the same results.
“Allow me, M’lady.” Kitty giggled as she rolled her hand to produce one of her spares.
“Thanks.” I said quietly with a nod to her.
“Now please. Get Dell and Lokust to higher ground! If I foul up, the tank will empty to the level of the breach. And I’m not sure how resilient you three are to Current. I’m not even sure if I’ll survive this.”
“Chance…”
“Go! Get the other two to safety, Princess!” I urged with a growl. I asked my Current to negotiate with hers to lower her altitude then pointed my wand at my friend. She began sinking to the main deck below, a look of horror on her face.
Once her feet touched she hurried toward Dell and Lokust. All three took a short flight of steps to a platform about eight feet above the main deck. They continued to decimate the remaining Hoblins in this section. I returned to my task of placing the fourth rerouter.
 
 

 
 
It happened so fast and I had absolutely no time to prevent it!
Without warning a smaller, concealed charge detonated causing the huge detonator package to fall to the deck below nearly hitting me in the process. The small explosion created a three-foot hole in the Return tank’s wall. I was at ground zero for the resulting deluge of pure Current. I could feel it filling me. Overloading me!
Well, if this was how I was going to go, I might as well try to limit causalities. Although unable to see, I asked my Current to retrieve my supply of spray sealer. Feeling them materialize I began to spray, double-handed, the gaping hole, hoping to stop the breach. I hoped that I could hold more than my locket suggested. I also wished mom could physically be with me in my last moments of this existence.
A strange, high-pitched, whistling filled my ears as I dropped the two empty sprays and materialized two more to keep on spraying. It was not unlike the high-pitched whistling I had heard when I first reached my ‘threshold’.
That didn’t matter at all right now. I had to get this tank patched! No matter what! Even if I didn’t make it, I had to save the ship! I had to save my friends!
Eyes still closed tightly, I sensed the Current flow slow as I produced two more spray sealers and pointed them to the hole.
The leak seemed to be stopped- my patch job holding- as I dropped two more empty sprays a moment later. Should I open my eyes to check my work or had I gone over my limit and now permanently blind?
“My God! Chance!” Dell’s voice filled my ears. I guess they still work, I thought.
“Chance! Are you conscious? Chance! Answer me!” She sounded very upset.
I chanced to open one eye and when the Engineering section filled its view, I opened the other.
The top portion of the Current Return Tank loomed up beside me in all its blazing, bright orange, glory. My Current sense was still enabled. I blinked it off. To my surprise, I was still hovering beside the tank!
“Chance! Chance, Wake up!”
I held my hands in front of me to check them, to make sure I still had them.
“Oh. Thank God! She’s still alive!” Dell exclaimed in relief below and off to my right.
“Buddy? Can you hear us? Chance?” Lokust questioned gently.
“I…I think…I think I’m okay. I feel really funny, though.”
Kitty appeared on my left and stared at me, her hand shading her eyes. Her form seemed to be awash in some intensely bright light. If it wasn’t for her Witch Corps outfit and the tassled ears extending through her pointed hat, I wouldn’t have known who it was.
“Could you turn it down a few notches, Chance? I can barely keep my eyes on you.”
“Me? But I…I don’t know how I’m doing this. I’m not even sure how I’m still alive!”
“Maybe you should put back what you absorbed? As much as you think the tank can take without reopening that breach.”
“I’ll try. No guarantees.”
‘Time to go back into the reservoir.’ I thought to all my excess Current as I closed my eyes again.
The warm, pleasant, tickling feeling told me that I was discharging my stored Current. It felt so good that I felt myself arch backward, my arms splayed out from my sides.
“By the Great Gods and Goddesses! How is she doing that?” Dell cried out from below us.
“Looks like its orgasmic! Maybe I’ll get to try it someday soon.” Lokust’s voice opined from below.
“Oh, God, did that just come out of my mouth?” She gasped.
“As well as several other things in the last section we cleared, you slut.” Dell giggled.
 
 
“Feel better now, Chance?” Kitty asked a few minutes later. I had just felt the last of the excess Current leave my body.
I nodded as I flexed my arms, legs, neck, and spine.
“Good. Let’s get both of you down to the deck then.” Kitty suggested.
“Both of me? I don’t understand.” I asked as I finally looked to my right side and saw mom’s naked hologram floating there. She seemed to be unconscious for some odd reason. Had I somehow overloaded the A.I.?
I noticed something strange with it though. It looked too…real?
“She seems to be stuck in your levitation field, Chance. So I guess you’ll both have to land?”
“Hey, girlfriend!” Dell embraced me excitedly as my feet touched the deck. “We thought you were a goner up there, Chance. Then you…WOW…I mean…how did you do it?”
“How did I do what? Empty my reservoir? You should all know how I did that. You’ve all done it at least a half dozen times. I hope.”
“No, Buddy. She means, how did you make all that Current go back into the return tank from twenty feet away? All we saw was an uncontained stream of Current flowing from you, arcing up and over to the tank like a planet-based rainbow. Only it was bright orange! It was so beautiful, buddy!” Lokust clarified. It was obvious she was very impressed.
“Chance? I’m not feeling a pulse. We need to get the medics on the double.” Kitty urged.
“She’s a hologram, Sinae. They don’t have pulses.”
“I also shouldn’t be able to touch a hologram, Chance, but this one, I can!”
“What? How can she be…” I gasped as I knelt down beside a strikingly real looking and feeling Hope Summers! Quickly reaching for her carotid artery, I felt nothing.
She sure felt real!
“CPR.” I shouted as I motioned for Sinae to start. “Start compressions here about a hundred twenty a minute.”
Kitty tenderly began compressing mom’s chest.
“Can’t we get the medics, Chance?” Lokust asked.
“Sure. Start hunting down more Hoblins until you find one!”
“Oh…that’s right…sorry.”
“Hey! Mage of the Four Winds. See if you can ventilate her.” Kitty suggested sternly.
“Huh?” Lokust asked cluelessly.
“She means you Lokust! Use your fancy wind power to force some air into her lungs.” Dell commanded.
“Oh. Yeah, why didn’t I think of that?”
“Chance. If this really is your mother, we have to do everything in our power to save her. You have any lifesaving tricks tucked away under that hat of yours?”
“We need to jumpstart her heart. I’ve seen Current techs take a strong dose before and they needed to be ‘shocked’ back into…um…rhythm?”
“Well, we better figure something out soon or you may actually get that burial ceremony you complained about being deprived of eight years ago!”
Dell was right! I had to save mom. Somehow I had to figure a way to shock her heart back to life. Concentrating, I asked my Current for help. More like I pleaded with my Current to help me save my mother. I pictured how I thought it was done, but worried how much power was too much. A feeling of happiness filled me as a plan formed.
Standing up, I materialized my wand and pulled my backup from my stocking.
Holding the two wands like a pair of antique drumsticks, I knelt back down.
“Clear!” I ordered as I placed my wands on her- one I touched to just above her right breast, the other I held to her left side at the bottom of her ribcage.
A surge of Current flew from my left wand through mom’s chest cavity and reentered my right wand. The lifeless body arced up instantly and fell back to the floor. Sinae felt for a pulse again and shook her head sadly.
“Clear! I ordered again and asked my Current to increase the charge. I hit her again and mom’s body convulsed even higher off the deck, but again fell back.
“I’m still not getting anything, Chance. Should you hit her again?” Sinae asked with tears streaming from her eyes. They were starting to mat the fur on her cheeks.
“I need to try something else.” I said as I noticed her locket still chained around her neck but laying on the deck.
“Mom’s locket.” I said as I picked it up and examined it. “It’s me! She has my picture in it! As I am now! Its completely colorless.”
“Maybe you should fill it up, Buddy. Maybe she’s just out of juice.”
Placing her locket back on her chest, I consulted my Current and asked if some of it could temporarily migrate to mom. I placed my palm over mom’s locket and chest and began my transfer.
“Will you look at that! Her hand is shining bright blue!” Dell gasped.
It took a while, but I provided mom with a good charge of Current. Enough to bring the color back to half of my portrait.
“Clear!” I ordered again and concentrated on the amount of charge I wanted to administer increasing it slight over my last attempt.
The body leapt up in a great spasm then fell back to the deck. Sinae quickly felt mom’s neck for a pulse. A smile sprang to my friend’s face.
“That did it, Chance!” Sinae almost sang as we saw mom’s chest rise and fall on its own.
“Are you sure she’s alive, Buddy?” Lokust knelt down beside me and leaned in close to look.
Mom’s fist suddenly shot skyward incredibly fast! Lokust flew head over heels twice before landing on her backside fifteen feet away.
“Ouch.”
Mom instantly sat straight up, her eyes wide open in terror.
“What! Where am I!” she demanded.
“Major Hopewell Summers?” Sinae inquired cautiously.
“Summers. ‘H’. Major. U.S. Marines. Serial number…” she began, but I cut in.
“Mom? It’s me. Chance? Chance Summers? Your daughter?”
“My who? Chance?” Mom asked in confusion. She began to look around and I managed to catch her attention.
“It’s me, mom. I know…I know I don’t look like you remember…you do remember me, right?”
“You…you reached threshold?” She stated, still confused.
“That’s right, mom! I reached threshold! I’m in the Witch Corps now. We’re all members of the Witch Corps now. Do you remember?” I asked hoping she did.
“Chance. You look perfect!” She said cupping my face in her hand gently.
“Libra? I thought you had died…”
“I’m Kitty Sinae of FeLane, Major. Libra was my Great-grandmother, sir.”
“Princess Kitty Sinae of FeLane.” Mom declared definitively with a smile.
Sinae snarled.
“Artemis? Why…I haven’t seen you in…”
“Dell ‘Artemis’ Kananacretas, Major Summers. Artemis was supposedly my grandmother many millennia removed.
“Breeze? How can you be here? I watched you fall to your death on Juantis!”
“I’m Grunfuller…Lokust Grunfuller, Major Summers. I’m her descendant.” Lokust said as her face drained of all color. “Is…is that what happened to my Great-great-great Grandmother?”
Mom continued to look around still looking a bit dazed.
“Where am I, Chance?”
“We’re on the Mare de Tempest, mom. It’s the standard year 3276.”
“They’re still flying that thing? It’s got to be over five hundred years old by now!”
“It gets us where we’re going, mom.”
“Why am I stark naked by the way?”
“This is how we found you, sir.” Sinae answered. “You appeared after Chance sealed a three-foot breach in the Current Return Reservoir behind us. She absorbed a good bit of it as she tried to seal the hole. It took several minutes to return enough Current to stop her and her locket from shining.”
“We thought she was going ‘Super Nova’ on us before she did that, Major Summers.” Lokust added.
Mom’s eyes began to search the air around her and us.
“Could it be?” She began to mutter to herself. “Could she have actually reached her second threshold? But I was told that was theoretical and impossible under the best of conditions.”
“Second threshold, mom? You never said anything about a second threshold!” I cried in fear that I might not be long for this world.
“Libra and her scientists theorized that if, after reaching primary threshold, a person absorbed an exponentially larger amount of Current, say…seventy to a thousand times the amount required for primary threshold, that person would encounter a ‘second’ threshold that could further modify the recipient to accept an incalculable amount of Current or maybe even become Current themselves. Since the end result was never verified and remained undefined, the science-types decided to drop that brainstorming project and focus on our uniforms and tech instead. After what happened to me, we all considered it too dangerous to investigate.”
I had begun looking at my hands to see if I somehow had been converted to Current.
“Chance? Honey, are you alright?” Mom asked with concern.
“Have I just become a monster? No better than the Hoblins?” I whispered to myself.
“Honey? A penny for your thoughts?” Mom asked.
“Does this mean I’m like ‘them’, mom? Am I a monster?” I cried.
“I told you, Libra’s people only theorized the results, Chance. You look perfect in every way a mother would hope her child would look, honey. Do you feel like going out and crossing the galaxy on a murderous crime spree?”
“Of course not, mother!”
“Point proven, honey.”
“Major? If we could get you off the field of battle to a safe location? I’m sure you are very tired from your ordeal and would especially like to put on some warm clothing?”
“Yes, Princess. I think we should definitely get someplace safe; and yes, it is a bit cool in here. Breeze! I swear if you don’t stop looking at my nips, we’ll have that knockdown-drag out you’ve been wanting!”
Lokust quickly looked away, but her ashen face spoke volumes.
“You know what they say, once a pervert always a pervert, Major Summers.” Dell giggled.
“Let’s get you back to my place, mom. It should be safe there. Can you stand or should I levitate or carry you?”
“I think I can stand, honey. Thanks for the offer though.” Mom said as she began to roll to her side. When she had finally gotten up and turned around to us, she was met by all four of us- her Coven- standing at attention.
“Major Summers!” I announced. “Witch Corps reporting! The Coven is at your service and command, ma’am!”
Mom broke into tears and dove into my shoulder where she began crying in earnest.
“Lokust and Huntress. Stay here and relocate the recovered survivors to safe locations. Follow standard procedure and leave instructions for them to remain where they are until told otherwise.”
“You got it, Buddy.” Lokust acknowledged.
Dell and Lokust walked away and began lifting and dragging unconscious crewmen away.
“This way, Major.” I told mom as Sinae and I helped her hobble out into the section passageway toward my quarters.
 
 
“Nice digs for an old heap.” Mom said as she looked around my quarters. Her eyes instantly locked onto the storage container and her old sea chest.
“So it’s true. Oh, Chance, I’m so sorry! Charles and I…we never meant for you to…”
“Its okay, mom. The A.I hologram explained it to me…to us. You and dad didn’t know it was coming.” I assured her gently.
“So you had no trouble unlocking my sea chest?”
Not after I hit threshold, mom. I just asked nicely and both latches ‘popped’ open eagerly.
“They WHAT? What do you mean they POPPED open EAGERLY?” Mom asked, perplexed.
“I asked them to please open and they ‘snapped’ open like the springs were wound too tight! I never thought something that old would react like that.
Mom stared at me as if peeling back the layers of my very being and staring straight into my soul!
“Mom? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?” I asked as things became even more uncomfortable.
“What? No, nothing’s wrong, honey. I just thought I put a better spell on that thing.” She pointed offhandedly at the old trunk. “It was only supposed to open for me…and me alone.”
“Maybe it somehow knew you were…you know.” I proposed cautiously. I noticed Sinae was being very, very quiet from the couch.
“That’s possible, I guess. Current IS sentient.” Mom stated in concession. “Maybe I should put something on.”
Mom gingerly made her way over to the container filled with her things and opened the top. She then looked back to me in curiosity.
“Someone has gone through my stuff.” She stated flatly. “Would that have been you, Chance?”
“After the shipment arrived we sort of had an opening party, sir. Grub invited Simon, Dell, and me over to support Chance. She…he was very reluctant to open even the shipping containers without our pushing him.” Sinae fessed up.
“So you were all curious as to what they contained.” Mom smiled. “It was an excuse to neb and get drunk, am I right?”
“Pretty much, mom. I hadn’t even considered opening this stuff if they hadn’t arrived bearing beverages!”
“Well, it’s a good thing we did, or else the Mare would already be lost, Chance.”
“I agree with Kitty, honey. The Witch Corps is the only unit capable of defeating the Hobgoblins. Why won’t this thing work? I know I said the trigger spell right!” Mom groused as she opened and closed the container’s lid several times.
“What are you trying to do, mom?” I asked. Watching her frustration building each time she reopened the container.
“The spell. It isn’t working for some reason.”
“Maybe you need to rest before you can use your Current?” Sinae suggested.
Mom lifted her locket, looked at it intently, and frowned angrily.
“Really? As if I needed to go through THAT again? ARRRRGH!”
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked in worry.
“I could be wrong, but I think I need to reach threshold again.” Mom growled angrily.
“In order for the spell to activate, I need to ‘reactivate’.”
“Couldn’t I just ask the container to…”
“Honey, its keyed to my DNA!” There is no way…”
Gently removing her hand from the lid, I asked the Current within it to trigger the spell for mom. As I reopened the container, mom’s eyes opened wider than I had seen in years.
“Shit and damnation, you actually did it!” She cursed as she again stared at me. This time it was sincere and approving.
Looking into the container, I saw that the contents had changed and another Witch Corps outfit sat, plain as day, directly on top. My mouth dropped.
“My spare uniform. Excuse me, honey. I need to get suited up.” Mom gently touched my forearm to persuade me to move out of the way.
Within minutes I was watching her hook her bustier and place her hat.
“Alright, I’m ready, ma’am.”
“For what, mom?”
“I’m ready for you to power me up, ma’am.” Mom explained as she stood to attention.
With tears in my eyes, I wrapped my arms around my mom.
“Please let her have her Current back. At the level she was ‘post threshold’.” I muttered in a whisper. A gasp escaped mom’s lips just before the intense blue light engulfed both of us and I heard that strange whistling noise spool up. Similar to what I heard when I reached my threshold.
Once the light faded, I gently retrieved mom’s locket and looked at it. My portrait was fully colorized and it even glowed with a slight, bluish hue. I saw mom looking down at it also, her eyes bulging.
“What in Libra’s name did you just do to her, Chance?” Sinae demanded.
“Major Summers needed to re-up, Sinae. I simply asked her Current to allow that, so she could help with our efforts to liberate the ship.”
Mom quickly reached for my locket and stared intently at it.
“This is impossible…unless…”
“Mom, I did what I needed to do. You needed your Current returned to you, and that’s all I did. There was nothing impossible about it.”
“Obviously.” Sinae added with a smirk only she could make.
“Do you feel up to helping?” I asked as I looked sternly into mom’s eyes.
In response, mom flourished both hands. A thick, leather-looking, belt with a holster appeared. In the holster was strapped a strange looking weapon similar to an ancient handgun. Mom looked to the ceiling with a sigh of thanks and quickly wrapped it around her waist then buckled it. The belt rested loosely and sagged off her right hip. She nonchalantly bent down to tie a leather lace hanging from the bottom of the holster around her thigh then stood straight.
This time, Mom flourished just her right hand and a wand materialized. She quickly kissed it lovingly and inserted it into a smaller tube shaped ‘holster’ on the left side of her belt.
“Now I’m ready to kick some major ass!”
“So. What’s with the strange piece in the holster, sir?” Sinae asked just before we left my quarters.
“Witch Corps Peacemaker. Libra designed it specifically for us. Lethal to any Hobgoblin other than the REALLY big ones and also holds six standard .50 caliber cartridges in case a non-Hobgoblin ‘minion’ decides to get brave. Flat on their ass and dead as a doornail usually with one shot.” Mom replied as her eyes sparked excitedly.
“Let’s get back on patrol.” I suggested as I motioned to the door.
“Wait! I just want to try one thing.” Mom halted and turned back to her storage locker. She closed the lid then opened it once more to reveal her previous wardrobe, completely intact.
“Just wanted to make sure I could still work that spell, ladies. Now…bring on the bad guys!”
 
 

 
 
Returning to the Engineering section, we entered to see Huntress and Lokust lifting the last four remaining crew. They had done an outstanding job of clearing the more than five hundred recovered crewmembers strewn about the main deck.
“Hey, Chance. Kitty. We’re almost done her… Major Summers! Attention!” Lokust shouted as she saw mom come into the section. Dell and Lokust jumped to attention with an unconscious crewman on each shoulder.
“Give it a rest you two!” Mom growled in frustration.
“Yes, ma’am…sir!” Lokust responded.
“Stand down, dear.”
“Thank you, ma’am, and may I say you really do the uniform proud, ma’am.”
“Don’t kiss my ass, Grunfuller! I’ll kick it so far down the rabbit hole even Alice wouldn’t find it!” Mom growled in anger.
“What a bitch.” Lokust mumbled. “I liked the A.I. version much better.”
“Glad to know I won’t be replaced anytime soon, girls.”
Dell suddenly got really serious as she stared, unblinking, toward my mother.
“Got a problem, Artie?”
‘Shhhhhhhhh!”
The poor, unconscious crewman on her shoulder fell to the deck.
“Did she just ‘shhhhh’ me, Chan…?”
Before mom even finished pronouncing my name, Dell pulled, connected, nocked an arrow, and let it fly. It barely missed mom’s neck! A blue arc signaled that the Huntress had scored another Hoblin.
“Shit!” Mom cursed as she turned to see the remnants of the invader fizzle out over two hundred feet away.
“Thanks, Dell. Good shot.” I congratulated.
“I thought you were going to give more leeway from now on.” Lokust asked.
“I didn’t have time and she was in the shot. I had to curve it around her as it was, Lokust.
“You had to ‘curve’ it around me?” Mom asked incredulously.
“Yes. Not an easy thing to do, but with the right amount of ‘English’ it can be done.” Dell explained.
“I’m glad you’re on our side, sister!” Sinae replied as she exhaled heavily.
Dell nodded then walked over to mom.
“Major Summers, welcome back to the Corps.” She said as she took mom’s hand and shook it politely.
“The pleasure is all mine, Artie. Nice to have you back as well.” Mom smiled.
“But ma’am, I’m not my distant Grandmother.”
“How many shots have you missed on this campaign, Artie?”
“Um…one…I think?”
“Out of how many kills? How many shots?”
“Um…I lost count at one thousand…I …I think?”
“You’re her, honey! No doubt about it. Nobody I know of other than Artemis could make over a thousand kills and flub just one shot!”
“Well if Lokust hadn’t stuck her head up at the wrong time, I wouldn’t have had to recall the shot in the first place!
“Annnnnd there’s the proof!” Mom giggled with a huge, satisfied smile on her face. “Honey, a recalled shot doesn’t count as a flub OR a miss. It counts as not putting a hash mark in the ‘Friendly Fire’ column. That’s a good thing! God, she has to be so proud of you!”
“Who? Who has to be so proud of me, ma’am?”
“You’re Grandmother, Artemis, of course! Contrary to popular myth, the Gods of old never really disappeared. They just packed up and moved to a new planet or system where they could feed off the admiration and prayers of another primitive, but developing civilization.”
So, you knew Artemis….THE Goddess of the hunt…for real?” I gasped, flabbergasted.
“Our paths may have crossed once or twice on a mission or two. Is that so strange now that you gals are all in the Corps?” Mom challenged.
 
 
Once again, we split up. I asked mom to stay with me and we moved to our selected section. The Armory was mid-ship and supplied the Mare’s weapons with the required munitions. Since the Current reservoir breach had been thwarted, I figured the Hoblins would try to actually blowup the ship.
Our first resistance appeared in the form of three ‘merged’ Hoblins and I made extremely short work of them. Mom looked a little put out that I’d had all the fun. Only two crew were recovered from that encounter and we quickly moved them to the nearest wet closet.
As soon as we left the safety of that wet closet, twelve Hoblins engaged us. I hung back and let mom loosen her muscles a bit on them before I took out the last one. One of the recovered crewmen didn’t completely reconstitute and to my horror, mom pulled her weapon and unceremoniously fired a shot into the poor woman’s head. Granted she was only a head, shoulders, and most of her torso, but I felt I could have restored her to normal. Not now that an antique bullet and half her brains were scattered on the deck!
“Why did you do that?” I asked in outrage. “I could have saved her, mom!”
“She was already decomposing, Chance. She was too far gone to save. Not that any of us could do that, that is.”
“I have. I’ve done it a dozen or so times so far! I just ask my Current to find the remnants and alert me when found. I then ask for the Current’s help to restore the victim. I thought I told you that before…wait, I told your A.I. self.” I said as I smacked my forehead lightly.
“You tellin’ me you can reconstruct someone deteriorated by the Hobgoblin conscription? My daughter can actually restore a human conscript?”
I nodded.
Another group of twenty attacked, and once more I elected to let mom work out her frustrations. Seven more crewmembers were recovered and I illustrated my talent for mom to witness on the two I had recovered. Mom said nothing as we moved on from securing the recovered.
Ten Hoblins tried to jump us as we turned an intersection just before reaching the armory. Within seconds our path was once again clear. A pair of disembodied legs had to be left behind.
“So you have your limits?” Mom asked out of the blue.
“If my Current can’t find the remnants in what I absorb, I can’t really reconstitute them, now can I? Look,” I said looking into my mother’s eyes. “If you feel you should end every partial we recover, that’s on your conscious! I prefer to rescue as many of my fellow crew as I can. End of story.”
Turning, I continued to the section door and began to open it.
I felt a hand touch my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Chance. I guess I never saw things that way before. We were always ordered to leave the collateral. Get the job done and leave the collateral.”
“Even if that collateral was one of your own, mom?”
“No, Chance. We always made sure to bring our guys back home.”
“Mom…these ARE my ‘guys’! I’ve been stationed on the Mare with most of them for five years now!”
“Oh. I thought you were just here on a mission.”
“Sorry to deceive you, but I just found out about the ‘Corps’ just under a month ago. And I’ve only been your daughter for, at most, a day! Two at the very most. Is there anything else you need to know that your A.I. failed to pass along?”
Mom thought for a moment.
“How long has it been? How long since…”
“Since you and dad were disintegrated by a planetary Bio-Desolve attack? It’s been eight years, mom! Eight years since everyone at home just disappeared! The recovery teams weren’t even able to set foot on the surface until two years ago, mom. Can you even comprehend how many years of counseling it’s taken to cope? Then, just as the hurt and nightmares finally start to fade, I get a shipment of my mom’s recovered stuff! What’s more, I find out that you are practically immortal and have been leader of the Witch Corps for more than thirteen hundred years! Does that answer your question, ma’am, or do you want more from me, mother!” I told her before breaking down.
I felt Mom wrap her arms around me and pull me into her shoulder. I could smell her perfume and that just made things worse.
“I missed you, mom! I’ve really missed you and dad! I’ve thought about you every day and dreamed about you every night. I’ve tried to understand why…why they did that to a whole planet. Since finding out about the Corps, I can’t help thinking it was the Hoblins trying to destroy their arch-enemy. Hope Summers. My mom.”
Mom held me for several minutes until I got my emotions under control.
“Chance? Honey, I can’t possibly relate to what Charles and I put you through the last eight years, nor can I ever stop saying I’m sorry. Right now, we have a job to do- a job that you and your friends accepted when you put that uniform on. A job only you and the rest of the Coven are equipped to complete.”
“I know that, mom. The A.I. made that abundantly clear.”
“So, do you feel up to kicking more Hobgoblin ass?”
“We need to liberate the ship, mom. If we are all the Mare has, then we need to fight until the last Hoblin has been absorbed.”
Mom smiled and kissed my cheek.
“I’m so very proud of you, honey! Now…show me what you can do. I’ve got your back.”
We entered the compartment and were astounded by the number of Hoblins collected there.
I danced into action with only my primary wand, absorbing twelve creatures at a time with it and strangely, doing the same with my unarmed left hand! Spinning and dodging enemy weapons fire, I continued my attack, making quite the dent in their ranks. Occasionally, I would fire Current from my left hand to block any flanking moves from my opponents.
In all truth, I actually lost track of time, but next thing I knew only a few Hoblins still walked the deck and hundreds of unconscious or semi-conscious crewmembers lay strewn about.
Five out of the remaining nine Hoblins were of the ‘merged’ variety and were slowly closing the three hundred foot gap between us. They seemed oblivious as they stepped on and audibly crushed the casualties under their heavy feet.
“We need to get these people out of here before even more die, mom.” I said as I turned back to her.
“Mom? Where are you?”
“Up here, honey.” Her voice answered from above. She was actually sitting sidesaddle on an ancient straw broom!
“You were having so much fun; I decided to get out of your way. Since Hobgoblins don’t seem to know how to climb, I figure some altitude couldn’t hurt. So what is your plan for the behemoths?”
I felt a burning sensation on my back and turned to see one of the biggest Hoblins firing Current at me.
“How dare you attack my daughter!” Mom shouted as she rained Current bolts down on the monster. They didn’t seem to do any damage!
I added to her attack and noticed no slowing of their advance. These things weren’t your typical Hoblins!
“Chance? Time to retreat!”
“Why?”
“It’s them! We have to get the coven to regroup. You all need valuable information on the original Hobgoblins. Our normal attacks won’t faze them. Nothing we’ve used in the past has even made a dent!”
“Then let’s get out of here and regroup.” I repeated and made for the bulkhead door.
“Chance, Witch Corps. Coven meeting, my place, ASAP!” I announced into my comm as soon as we had the door secured and had some breathing room between ‘them’ and us.
“Honey? Do you need to purge your Current?” Mom asked as she suddenly stopped, as if she’d forgotten something.
“No. I’m good, mom.”
“But Honey? You just absorbed over six hundred Hoblins. How could you not need to purge off some of that?”
I’m fine, mom.” I showed her my locket. It wasn’t anywhere near starting to glow. “Let’s get back to base.”
Mom eyed it and me curiously for a moment then nodded. We hurried back to my quarters.

 
 
Sinae had arrived mere minutes after mom and I. Dell and Lokust arrived a minute later.
“Wow, are those two still unconscious?” Lokust quipped as she looked to Simon and Conte still slouched against the far wall, snoring.
“Hmmpf, Men! They think they’re so macho! Eek!”
Lokust’s hands flew to her mouth. “Did that just come out of me?”
Sinae, Dell, and I stared at the girl for at least a minute!
“Before I get this briefing underway, where is this marvelous A.I. I’ve heard so much about?” Mom asked as soon as Dell and Lokust sat down.
“You guys don’t mind if I take these boots off, do you? My ankles are killing me!” Dell asked as she fought to pull off first one of her high-heeled boots then the other.
“That’s strange. Mine feel fine. In fact, I could wear them all day long.” Lokust responded as she lifted her legs and rolled her ankles several times.
“Now I know there is something very wrong with you, Grunfuller!” Dell groaned.
“Your DataTab is right here, Major Summers.” Lokust said as she ignored Dell’s accusation. “I don’t think you’ll get anything out of it since it let the smoke out before we were captured and almost conscripted.”
“You were captured?” Mom gasped in surprise.
“We think that’s what finally put Chance over threshold, ma’am.” Lokust continued.
“Honey?” Mom turned to me in concern. “Could you describe what you felt or experienced when you hit your threshold?” She looked at the inoperative DataTab in her hand.
“At first, when I saw the surge coming with my Current sense, I felt extreme pain- everywhere. Grub and I had taken out a few Hoblins just before and my locket was almost fully colorized.”
“I was thinking that this might be the end, but I would do everything I could to protect you, Grub. When the surge hit, it felt like my body was going to explode violently. Like every nerve in my body suddenly went into overload. Then I heard this…this whistling sound, almost like an antique turbine spooling up to speed. That was when everything exploded into an intense, bluish light and I think I might have passed out. I woke up like this.”
When I finished my recount of the event, I turned to see mom was crying. Lokust too was wiping her eyes. Sinae and Dell sat silent with their mouths partially open.
“Mom? Did something more happen to me than you’ll admit?” I asked with concern.
“No, Honey, that’s how it felt to me too. I was just remembering that day. After all this time, its still very fresh in my mind. A painful reminder of what I lost…and what miracles I gained.”
“So, why won’t this thing turn on?” Mom asked as she waved the DataTab up and down a few times in frustration.
“I told you it let the smoke out, ma’am. My guess is you had a self destruct routine built in.” Lokust explained.
“But I never owned a DataTab, dear. I’ve never carried anything more complex than a smartphone.
“What’s a ‘smart phone’?” All four of us asked in unison.
Mom rolled her eyes.
“Moving on. The three, deluxe-sized, Hobgoblins Chance and I encountered in the Armory, I believe, are what has become of my crewmates. My Coven had many run-ins with them over the years with no joy. They are the strongest, deadliest, creatures I’ve ever encountered.”
“So what can we do against them, sir?”
“We need to come up with a plan, Kitty- something to purify the three twisted souls that have been locked away for centuries because of their greed, arrogance, and brutality. In short, they need redemption. They need judgment.”
“Okaaaay. So if you couldn’t get them, how are we going to do any better, ma’am?”
“We now have the advantage, Lokust. This is the largest Coven of the Witch Corps to date. From my brief observations of each of your talents, the best trained Coven too!”
“Well that’s strange, because, as far as I know, Sinae’s the only one with combat training. Chance and I are just Current Maintenance Specialists, and Dell is a Shipping and Receiving CPO. With all due respect, Maj. Summers.”
“Yet you four are capable of easily dispatching several hundred Hobgoblins each. How would you account for that little detail, my dear?”
“Um…luck?”
“PFFFFT! Luck cannot be a viable factor over a certain number of kills, Lokust! To have racked up such numbers requires more than just luck. No. Deep down, in your very souls, lie the skills and determination needed to hold membership in the Witch Corps, ladies! When I first opened my eyes to see you all above me, I thought I had died and finally met up with my beloved friends- friends I had lost such a long time ago.”
“Kitty, Libra and I became friends from our first meeting and she was the first to my side after my threshold. We stayed friends for many centuries before she finally lost to one of those three we met back in the Armory.”
“Dell, honey, your ancestor and I fought together just a few times and even though she is a Goddess, she too was beaten by one of …those…‘things’ out there. In the short time I knew her, we shared many stories and her companionship and dedication to our cause always seemed to give me strength- strength to do what I had to do; the strength to keep fighting Hobgoblins…or any other entities that covet galactic domination.”
“Lokust? Breeze and I quickly got off to a bad start when we met. She was a very headstrong woman with three kids and a diplomat for a mate and when the Corps arrived to cull the planet’s newly crowned despot, we had differing opinions. She was unaware of his, shall we say, lesser known parameters? We faced off against each other to a draw each time. It wasn’t until the rest of my Coven retrieved the all important, damning evidence that she finally realized her loyalties were misplaced. Breeze joined us on several hundred missions once she joined the Corps.”
“And you, my dear, wonderful… AMAZING, Chance!” Mom wiped her eyes quickly. “You may think I named you wrongly, but I assure you, you ARE well named. You were my last, and only chance to carry on the Summers’ line, honey. Charles and I had been trying for children for centuries. Something about the Current and both of us reaching our thresholds prevented us from conceiving. You WERE my last chance, Chance! I begged and negotiated with my Current, doctors from many worlds did exhaustive banks of tests, and I even went so far as to try draining my reservoir, but my locket never indicated anything but a full reserve!”
“Twenty-seven years ago, I tried one more time to negotiate with my Current; to please allow me to conceive and raise a child to carry on my name. I urged my Current to allow it in case I was defeated in battle- that the legacy had to continue or the Hobgoblins would overrun the galaxy and possibly the universe.”
“You can imagine our elation when all my tests came up positive! So you see, Chance, you were aptly named. You were our last and only ‘chance’ to have a family. And after watching your performance in the Armory earlier, you are a stunning addition to the long line of Summers’ that have served their countries, planets, or even Galaxy with distinction and valor!”
“You all should be proud of your legacies.” Mom concluded.
“That was a wonderfully heartfelt recitation, my dear. There is not a dry eye in the room.”
“Dad?”
“Charles?”
“So…you’ve beaten the odds once more, ay, Hopewell? What is it with you Summers’ and pushing the boundaries?”
“Dad? Is it really you?”
“Sorry, Chance, but I’m just a simulation. A representation of your father that he developed about twelve years ago. Contrary to what your mother believed, I felt our luck was running out and took steps to relate our fantastic story to you and your family. But, by my sensor indications, you are now in the same boat as your mother. Though, I am reading excessively high levels of Current stored within you; levels high and dense enough to indicate something considered impossible- something only theorized by Libra of FeLane and her team of scientists. How are you feeling, Chance?”
“I don’t think overwhelmed really covers it, dad.” I replied as I looked to the DataTab in mom’s quivering hand- at his concerned face on the display. I quickly wiped my cheeks dry.
“So when did you do it? When did you have time to transfer your persona into the tablet, Charles?” Mom demanded.
“As amazing as that would have been, I was never powerful enough to copy myself onto an object for retrieval at a later date, Hope! None of us were ever as powerful as you. It always worried me that I might lose you one day and now it seems I may have been right. I hope you still gain some solace that part of me will always be with you…as long as this thing’s power source lasts, and it isn’t erased by any stray EMP’s, and it doesn’t go careening into somebody’s star, because you got totally frustrated by my continuous blathering and throw…”
“CHARLES, ENOUGH! You never did know when to quit!” Mom screamed in frustration.
“And aren’t you glad for that? Look at how our child has grown and matured. Why, she looks so much like you, Hope! It’s like there is absolutely none of me in there anymore.”
“You know what happened, dad?” I asked, realizing he had said so just a minute ago.
“The sensors in your locket have given me a very detailed image of you, Chance. I must say that you have exceeded all previously defined parameters I had compiled on Witch Corps personnel.”
“So is there a simulation of me in there too, dad? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Aaah so much like your mother!” Dad’s image smiled.
“Wait! So you’re actually a simulation? So, just what was that hologram of you, major?” Lokust demanded in confusion.
“What hologram?” Both my parents, alive or otherwise, asked in surprise. Mom was more demanding though.
“Shouldn’t we continue the briefing on those three monsters you told us about, sir?”
“Right you are, Kitty. Wow, she even sounds like Libra, dear!”
“I’ve already covered that with her, Charles. The topic is what to do with what we used to call Bovidovich, Guan, and Evans. Can you interface to the ship’s sensors and scan for their location by Current strength?”
“It would be nice to know what ship we are currently on, my love.”
“The Mare de Tempest, darling.”
“They’re still using that poor excuse for a scrap heap?”
“Yes, but it was refitted a few centuries ago, dad.” I giggled.
“That’s nice, honey.” The image said in a placating tone. “It should have been decommissioned and dismantled over three hundred years ago! Right after it got hit by that meteo…!”
“Big, hulking, bad-assed Hobgoblins, Charles, remember?” Mom stated impatiently.
“Yes, dear, this unit’s memory circuits haven’t started degrading as of yet. Allow another thirty-one seconds for the interface links to align and handshake.”
Dell tapped my shoulder.
“Is this how they always talked at home?” she whispered.
“Pretty much. Sometimes it got a little more heated.”
“Oh.”
“We just tended to discuss things thoroughly, Artie- and at louder volume levels than would be considered conversational by most. And by now you must have realized that Witch Corps hearing is far more sensitive.”
Dell groaned.
“Connection established. Scanning.”
“So is what your hologram said about your three Astronaut friends true? Did they conspire to corner the market on Current in hopes of becoming rich?” I asked.
“Conspired, stole, and murdered, Chance, yes. And apparently their Current mutinied and transfigured them into those hideous monsters you saw back there. Only they weren’t that big when we last clashed.”
“So they merged with more of our crew. Chance, we have to drain those things and get whomever out of them!” Dell urged.
“You cannot return a conscript to what they once were, Artemis. Once converted to current, there is no longer any physical form.”
“We’ve been doing just that, sir.” Sinae stated confidently.
“Chance has even reassembled a few that had started to degrade, Mr. Summers.” Lokust added excitedly.
“Hey! I never took her mother’s name, Lokust Grunfuller! Wait! What did you two just say?”
“It seems Chance is even more talented than I am, Charles. She has demonstrated recovery AND reassembly of conscripts multiple times in my presence. Our daughter far exceeds any and all theorized parameters. I am hopeful she will instruct me in the new procedures.”
“So, this is going to turn into a friendly mother/daughter competition, Maj. Summers?”
“Charles! You know me better than that!” Mom exclaimed.
“That’s why I asked, Hope. I know you too well.”
“Charles, the Witch Corps is a team and we shall continue working as one unit- just as WE always have since its inception.”
“Well, if you are activating US, I might as well suit up too.” Dad’s handsome image changed to that of a pretty young woman and you could see she wore the trademark witch hat.
“Lady Charli Armstrong reporting for duty, Lady Hope.” A young woman’s voice had replaced my father’s.
“Since I am no longer Corporeal, I will instead keep interface with this ship and stretch out my ‘feelers’. I will act as base command and comm, if that is satisfactory, Lady Hope.”
“Welcome back, Lady Charli. Given the circumstances, your new assignment is acceptable. Carry on.”
“Thank you, M’lady. It is good to be back.”
“Charli? How’s that sensory net going?”
“Still realigning to requested parameters, M’lady. The Mare de Tempest’s sensor grids are slow to respon…M’lady! I have detected taint in the sensor grid’s Current supply. I recommend purification at the earliest opportunity.”
“Intercept vector.” Mom demanded.
“Section 34D, Junction room 34D18A2.”
“Let’s get to work, ladies.” Mom ordered as she led the way out of my quarters.
Mom stopped dead as we all filed out into the passage.
“Um…I…Chance? Maybe you better lead this mission, honey.”
“This way, mom.” I giggled as I motioned everyone to follow me. I took off running and surprised myself by how fast I reached the specified Junction Room.
Asking the hatchway’s lock to open, we entered and I immediately saw the taint running through the Current conduit off to the far right.
 
 

 
 
“Do you see the conduit in question, Lady Kitty?” I asked thinking that our codenames should be used.
“Got it, M’lady. How many do we want to trap at a time?”
“How many do you want to trap?” Mom repeated, confused.
“Let’s try twenty feet. Lady Lokust you ready with your shunt?”
“Ready.” She replied as she took her whip’s handle and gracefully pulled it from her body in one, smooth motion.
Mom gasped! Her eyes were big as deflector dishes.
“What are you going to do with that, M’lady?” She asked, still staring.
“Lady Kitty. As we’ve done before. On your mark.” I said giving her the go ahead.
As earlier, four shurikens shot from Kitty’s pouch and embedded themselves in exactly the right spots along the conduit. After a few warm-up sweeps, Lokust let her whip fly. It effortlessly attached itself to the two outermost throwing stars. The tainted Current trapped between the two innermost stars oscillated back and forth a few times.
Fifty Hoblins in such a small compartment provided almost no sport at all and after only a few minutes, forty, previously conscripted, crewmembers lay scattered about the deck.
“Let’s move them aside for now and repeat.” I suggested.
“Lather, rinse, repeat! I like this process!” Lokust giggled then blushed as she untied one end of her whip and Kitty removed two of her stars. The purified Current went on its way to the sensor equipment. Lokust and Kitty repeated the process on the conduit several times before we had to empty the Junction Room of unconscious, recovered crewmen. Good thing there was a wet closet at the other end of the passage.
“How did you ever come up with that attack strategy, M’ladies?” Mom asked as Lokust closed the wet closet door.
“Lady Lokust and I have worked with Current almost our entire adult life, M’lady. We know these conduits like the back of our hands.”
“You girls are amazing! I would’ve never thought to use…wait, what are those things you girls are using…excuse me. What WERE those things you girls are using?”
Our wands and primary weaponry were Current Rerouters used by Ladies Chance and Lokust in their everyday maintenance duties, sir. Lady Chance suggested we use them since they were already used for Current handling.” Kitty explained.
“All except for my whip, Major. That’s a Current Shunt. I just made it look ‘cool’ and… and stylish.” Lokust smiled brightly.
“M’ladies. You are every bit as ingenious as your predecessors. Forgive me for doubting you.”
“We’re a new team, sir. You had every right for reservation.” Kitty replied in understanding.
Mom smiled at us and nodded.
“Lady Charli, How are those sensors looking?” Mom asked.
“Internal ship sensors are now online and scanning, Lady Hope. I’ll alert the Corps as soon as I find something. Ladies Artemis, Lokust, and Kitty should think about offloading some Current, M’lady.”
“Copy, Hope out.” Mom said as she signed off. “You heard Charli, girls. Time to relieve yourselves. Make it quick. No time to fix your lipstick. We have more work to do.”
“Yes, ma’am! I thought I saw a return conduit over here, Kitty.” Lokust said as she took the tall Lynxin’s hand in hers and led both friends away.
I began giggling.
“What’s so funny, honey?” Mom asked as she stared at me.
“Grub.” I giggled some more. “She’s acting so…so girly! I would have never thought he would accept this so easily.
“She has fallen into the Corps quite nicely, Chance. You’ve made an excellent choice for your ‘Number One’. In fact, you’ve made excellent choices for all your sisters.” Mom smiled brightly.
“My ‘Number One”? What’s that mean, Mom? And…and why did you call my friends, my ‘sisters’?” I questioned.
“We lovingly call our Coven-mates, ‘sisters’, honey; for obvious reasons. The moniker “Number One is a cinematic reference to your Executive Officer, Chance. Lokust is your executive I assume? The one person you would trust to have your back in any situation?”
“Mom, I would trust any of them to have my ‘back’ in any crisis! I trust them all with my life, and I hope they feel the same about me!”
“Chance. You know that we feel that way about you!” Dell…Artemis said as she stepped in front of me and took my hands in hers. “We would give our lives to protect you, Chance Summers! Never forget that! EVER!”
“I too will give my life for you, Chance Summers!” Mom said as she placed her hands on ours.
“Count me in, buddy!” Lokust said as her hands gently joined them.
“It would be an honor, Lady Chance!” Sinae said as she completed the gesture by placing her hands to ours.
“While it’s not the Corps’s signature hexagram, we all stand united, ladies of the Witch Corps.” Mom said before her face went pale.
“Ladies. I hoped I would get the holoprojector in each of your lockets functional before we went to huddle. I am sorry to be late.” ‘Charli’s’ hologram interrupted before we broke, I guess, our ‘huddle’. She placed her virtual hands on top of the pile.
“With everything I am and can be I will protect all of you until my last bit has been disrupted and rewritten!”
“Witch Corps, TRIUMPH! Break!” Mom shouted and we all pulled our hands back in unison. She had tears rolling down her face.
“Mom?” I asked in concern.
“A hexagram, Chance! Charli remembered and completed the hexagram. Six women working as a team can do almost anything, but six ‘Ladies’ of the Witch Corps? It has been said that, as a team, we’re virtually unstoppable and can perform the impossible. Lady Charli? Please update our roster to relate the latest team structure. Lady Charli Armstrong of Earth, Intelligence; Lady Kitty Sinae of FeLane, Demolitions, Close Combat, and Specialty Weapons; Lady Artemis Dell of Olympus, Long-range Weapons and Marksman Sniper; Lady Hope Summers of Earth, Infiltration and Close Combat; Lady Lokust Grunfuller of Remàge, Close Combat and Specialty Weapons. List Lady Lokust as our XO. And finally, List the Corps’s leader as Lady Chance Summers of Gaia Four, Demolitions, Close Combat and Specialty Weapons.”
“Wait! What?” I screeched. ‘You want me to be the Corps’s leader? Why?”
“Well…I’d guess that you seem to know what you’re doing, buddy.” Lokust suggested with a smile. “Ladies? All in favor?”
My friends all raised their hand. Mom’s hand and Dad’s…Charli’s virtual hand rose also.
I gulped audibly.
“Witch Corps roster has been updated and made active, Lady Chance.”
“Um…thanks?” I responded awkwardly.
“Orders, M’lady?” Mom inquired of me with a bright smile.
I gulped again.
“Um, any hits on the sensors, Lady Charli?” I asked uncomfortably.
“Nothing yet…wait! Found them…I think. Section 10A Storage Compartment 10A34S. I’m picking up a huge surge of tainted Current in that area.”
“Let’s go.” I said as I started running. Section 10A was just forward of amidships and we were well astern. “Let us know if it moves, Lady Charli.”
“You got it, M’lady.”
 
 
“How are everyone’s Current reserves?” I asked as we filed into the huge storage compartment and looked around. Everyone had their Current sight enabled.
“Chance. Back there on the left.”Artemis pointed with the tip of her bow
“Wow! Backup on the 403!” Lokust giggled then tilted her head to one side in confusion. “I got no clue what that meant or even why I said it.”
What Lokust was referring to was a check valve in the Current conduit that prevented any backflow in case the section had to be abated to space. For some reason this check valve wasn’t performing properly. I quickly headed to it to investigate.
“Chance? Buddy? Should you be touching tainted Current? Current that might suddenly pop out a hundred or so bad guys?” Lokust cautioned.
“It’s just a check, Lokust. It should pass Current in one direction and not in the other. Why is it stopping the flow in both directions?”
“Maybe it went bad?” She offered.
“Or maybe it went good, Lokust. I’m going to try asking it. Hold on and be prepared.”
Artie immediately drew her bowstring, four arrows waiting to fly. Kitty had six shurikens circling around her head in a constantly moving orbit. Lokust had her wand at the ready with her other hand on her whip handle. Mom had her pistol and wand drawn and was curiously glancing between me and my friends.
Placing my hand on the suspected control device, I asked it if it was okay and if not, did it need help.
I received the shock of my life when it actually answered by saying it was trying to help me purge it’s ‘home’ of the ‘tainted ones’! Accepting its offered help I asked that it dispel the ‘tainted’ ones after I stepped back.
“The valve says it’s ready to release its prisoners.” I said as I hurriedly took several steps back.
Seventy or more Hoblins suddenly appeared. Most were of the ‘merged’ variety. Again we made short work of them and we were only able to restore a small portion of the ‘partials’. Thirty crewmen in total survived. Dell, mom, and Lokust moved them to safety.
I heard something go whizzing past both ears as I barely caught Kitty’s shurikens flying past me. Ducking and turning, I saw a VERY BIG Hoblin directly behind me and instinctively jumped out of the way to avoid its massive arm and fist swinging at me.
Pulling my spare wand, I rolled closer and impaled both wands into the monster’s leg. I had to close my eyes to the blinding blue light this thing was giving off as Kitty and I drained and drained and drained… God! How many Hoblins was this monster made up of?
It was just as the blinding light started to dissipate that I saw Lokust across from me on the thing’s other once massive leg, and nine of Arti’s arrows embedded in its diminishing chest. Mom too, had her wand out and was doing her best to siphon Current!
When the light finally disappeared, only one thing remained.
“Oh, God! Which one?” Mom cried in sudden realization of something.
“Mom? What is it?”
“A NASA Flightsuit.” She said as she hurried closer and started searching the burned, ripped, and tattered remnant of a garment
“Evans. You stupid bastard! Why?”
“One of your crew, mom?” I asked gently.
She nodded sadly still holding the shredded flight suit in her hands.
“Nathaniel Evans. He was the weakest of them.”
“Want me to see if the rest of him is in here somewhere?” I asked motioning to me.
“I have to assume he’s at peace now, honey. No. Let the Current have him.” Mom said as she wiped her tears away. “We’re lucky to have recovered this much, since its been over one thousand years.”
Despite her answer, I asked my current to search for any remains of Nathaniel Evans. After several minutes, I still hadn’t gotten an answer.
“I guess he really is gone.” I said to no one as a tear rolled down my face. I walked over to the nearest Current return conduit and emptied my reservoir, though I didn’t feel I really needed to.
“Lady Charli, what’s the official status of Astronaut Nathaniel Evans?” I asked aloud.
“Evans, Nathaniel K., Lieutenant USAF, Propulsion Specialist. Pegasus: Kuiper Deep Space Mission. Listed as missing in action 23rd, June, 2111.”
“Please list him as ‘Killed in Action’, this date, Charli.” I requested, almost choking on my words.
“I’ll do that and thank you, M’lady.” She replied solemnly.
“Thanks for what? We just destroyed one of your fellow astronauts.”
“Thank you all for giving him his final rest, Chance. Though he and the other two have done hellacious things to many generations in many different systems, the man he was deserves to finally be at peace, so…thank you.”
Walking back over to the innocuous check valve, I placed my hand on the device and thanked it for helping us.
To my surprise, it started working again.
“And just how did you do THAT, buddy?” Lokust demanded in astonishment- her mouth and eyes fully open.
“I just thanked it for helping us.”
“But…” She stammered.
“If the Current is sentient, why wouldn’t the plumbing and control devices?” I reasoned.
“My Ladies! Sensors have picked up another Current surge in Section 12C, Current Circulation Pump room 12C34P18.”
“Another ‘Check Valve’ doing its civic duty, Chance?” Artemis giggled.
I gave her a shrug as I motioned us to go.
“Wait! That’s Conte’s section. The Shipping and Receiving bay is right behind that.” Arti gasped as we neared the section.
“Could the ‘Masterminds’ be retreating to the point of their initial intrusion?” Kitty pondered aloud.
“Those cowards WOULD do something like that!” Mom snarled.
 
 
The place was overrun with Hoblins when we arrived! At least a hundred and fifty in a room no bigger than twenty-five hundred square feet!
Carnage ensued!
With such tight quarters, it took longer to purify the compartment and by the time all was said and done only fifty crewmembers had been recovered.
A shot rang out from my left and I turned to see mom standing over the most grotesque abomination I had ever laid eyes on!
Whoever this had been, it shouldn’t have been alive at all! Minus the fifty cal hole in the thing’s forehead and the associated, much larger, hole in the back of its ‘skull’, nothing looked like it should. Organs and bones splayed out at odd angles and lengths; intestines wrapped around ribs, around the oddly bent, exposed spine, and around the neck a few times. What looked like a human heart pumped maybe a dozen times more before stopping, turning gray, and withering like a prune. Arms and legs were in all the wrong places and continued to twitch spastically.
Mom turned, took a few steps, and wretched. She started sobbing as she held the wall to steady herself. Surely she had seen her share…
“Sonofabitch! That was the worst one to date!”
Maybe not. I know my stomach wasn’t in too good of shape after seeing that!
“Mom? We good?” I asked as I walked over and put a hand on her arm.
“Just when I thought this job couldn’t get any worse, something like that comes along to prove me wrong. I’ll be fine in a moment, honey. We need to get these people to safety or we’ll start seeing a lot more of that.” She motioned back to the still twitching carcass.
“Mom? What do you mean?”
“That’s what happens when someone is reconstituted then transconfigured for a second time. It happened when I either forget to finish them off or they are really ‘lucky’ and live. Either way this poor bastard was unlucky enough to get a ‘two-fer’.”
“Lady Charli. Please scan all wet closets and find out if any have been opened recently, say in the last two hours? Without any of the Corps being in the area at the time.”
“Already on it, M’lady.”
“Let’s get these people into those two wet closets.” I ordered as I pointed the Current free compartments out to the others.
“Lady Chance. I register no wet closets opening while unattended by Corps members. I do, however, see that your quarter’s door was accessed five minutes after all Corps members departed. I suspect one or both of the gentlemen may have awakened and wandered away.”
“SIMON!” We all shouted in horror.
“Mom. You and the rest of the Corps head onto the next section. Huntress can brief you on points of entry. I’m heading back to my quarters. A lot of Current conduits cross through my living room. It’s possible we’ve been compromised.”
“Copy that, M’lady! Make sure my sea chest hasn’t been compromised.” Mom requested as I nodded to her.
 
 
The door to my place was closed and my lock functioned normally. Walking in, I heard a soft moan. Simon was still in the same place we had left him, but CPO Conte was gone.
“Lady Chance, Coven. Simon is still here and starting to come around. Out.” I said quickly.
“Simon. Simon, you hear me? Simon!” I called as I placed a hand on his shoulder and jostled him gently.
“Oooooooooh. What happened?” he moaned.
“Simon? Are you all right? Do you know where you are?”
His eyes squinted open and he looked around.
“This looks like Chance Summer’s place, but who are you and what’s with the party costume?”
“This is far from a ‘party’ costume and this is not a party in any definition of the word, Simon. Are you able to stand?”
“If I’m able to lean against you, I’ll do anything you want, babe.”
Any thoughts of helping him up went out the airlock and I released him mid-rise. My ‘friend’ fell back to the floor and looked stunned I had done something like that.
“’my too heavy for you, babe?”
“Kiss my ass, Redman! I’m not you’re ‘babe’ and I never will be if I can help it! Now can you stand or should I stick a rerouter up your ass and tack you to the nearest conduit?” I growled.
“Who are you? You talk like Summers, but he don’t have a sister.”
“You’re right, I don’t have a sister. Now can you stand or not?”
“Chance? No. That can’t happen! That can’t be you!”
“Guess again…‘babe’.” I said as I took his right forearm and threw him easily onto the couch, ten feet away. His feet never touched the deck.
“And no, you really aren’t that heavy, Simon; even though you are completely full of shit!”
“It is you! What happened to you, Chance? You’re…you’re beautiful!”
“I reached my threshold, and thank you for the compliment, but I’m still pissed at you.”
“So what’s with the costume?”
“It’s not a costume, its…it’s a uniform. A very old and respected uniform.” I told him as I got an idea and walked over to mom’s sea chest.
“A uniform? Old and respected? I’ve never seen any uniform- for any service- that looked like that. Who’s is it?”
“Would you like to put one on and see for yourself? Then Grub would have company.” I asked as I lifted the chest’s lid after saying mom’s incantation. I nodded to myself.
“You want me to put one of those on.” He deadpanned as he pointed to me.
“If you want to know more about us and help repel our uninvited guests.”
“You say Lokust put one on and he was okay with that?”
I nodded.
“Am I still out and dreaming?”
“Nope. You’ve awoken into a downright nightmare, Simon. The only way to make things right is if you want to help, otherwise I’ll have to ask you to get to the nearest wet closet and lock yourself in until we give the all clear.”
His eyes widened as he apparently remembered something.
“Those…things!”
“Hoblins. Short for Hobgoblins, Simon. They want the Mare for something and are transforming the crew into more of ‘them’. We’ve been fighting ‘them’ all day while you’ve been napping.”
“I know what Hoblins are! My homeworld was attacked once when I was young. My parents snatched me up and took the next shuttle out of there. But not before I saw one of them kill six people with one swing of its monstrous arm- my aunt and uncle among them!”
“So you want to help then?”
“Does a Cave Rattler sneeze into a Weevalspider’s web?”
I looked at my friend not comprehending that question.
“That’s a yes, Chance. Gods you really are Chance Summers.”
“Nice of you to finally confirm that. Now get suited up! We’re wasting time.” I said as I quickly handed him the only remaining uniform in mom’s sea chest.
“All of it? Really?”
“Including the panties, stockings, and garterbelt. I’ll help you if you need it, especially with the bustier when you’re ready. Make sure you put that locket on first.”
“In front of you?”
I sighed deeply and turned around.
“Hey! The locket’s hook just disappeared!”
“Yeah, it does that. Remember? Just hurry up, Simon.”
 
 
“Ready, Chance, but I really feel stupid dressed like this. Do I really have to put this…what’d you call it…a bustier, on?”
“Is it going to fracture your delicate male ego beyond all repair if I say yes?”
“Probably, why?”
“Yes, you have to wear the whole uniform. It’s made from the finest Weaver’s silk.”
“Weaver’s silk! How…didn’t they go extinct…?”
“Just shut up and face me. Hold still now. Once I hook it, it automatically tightens.”
“Gods, this is just so embarrassssssssssssssssshhhhrg!” He groaned as his ribcage was compressed.
“Now the hat. Give it a quarter turn to the right. Okay, here comes the magical part, Simon. I have to activate you.” I explained as I took his hands and began concentrating- asking my Current to allow him to help us.
When my eyes opened, I stood looking at the most gorgeous, voluptuous, member of my team I’d ever seen! She was about five and a half feet tall, had the bluest eyes, a cute face, and long, blue hair! Actual blue hair! Oh, and her breasts were overflowing her bustier. From just above the areolas, her huge chest was on display to all, having displaced her silken blouse to each side to make room.
“Wow!” I gasped.
“What did you do to me? I feel…wait that isn’t my voice! Chance? What did you do to me? How did you… You gave me TITS? Holy shit, they’re big! How did you do this?”
“Welcome to the Corps.” I greeted brightly.
“The ‘Corps’? What Corps?”
“The Witch Corps.”
“You…you…you turned me into a…a Witch? Why the hell is that?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Have I got a choice?” She countered.
“You always have a choice, Simone.” I said as I produced two rerouters in my upturned palm.
“How did you do that?” she demanded as her eyes widened.
“Take one and hold it in your dominant hand. Concentrate on asking your Current to turn it into a wand so you can help us…help the Corps.
“You want me to transmute this into a…a wand? Why?”
“Everyone knows that a Witch wouldn’t be caught dead without her pointy hat and her wand, Simone.”
“But you want me to ASK…MY…Current to turn this into a wand…into a Witches wand?”
“Only you can create your own wand, Simone.”
“Why are you calling me ‘Simone’?
“Do you just want me to call you the ‘blue-haired girl with the big top shelf’? That’s a very long name to call out when giving orders.” I giggled.
Simone looked angry and horrified all at the same time.
“So you say I just need to concentrate on MY Current to have it make me a wand?”
“Asking is so much nicer than saying ‘make me a wand’, Simone. Current IS sentient and its been my experience that asking a friend for something is much better than demanding of it. So be nice and ASK your Current to help you change this into a wand.”
“My Current? I didn’t even know I HAD Current.”
“All living things have Current, Simone. How you treat it determines how well you both get along; how it will help you. Now please trust me and ask your Current to turn this into a wand so you can help us free the ship?” I urged.
Simone began to turn red in concentration and after a few minutes she had her wand.
“I trust you realized that it doesn’t take a whole lot of concentration once you find or feel how to do it. Am I right?”
Simone nodded as she stared at the transmuted device in her right hand.
“Now, try to transform this one into a weapon of your choice. Don’t concentrate too hard and just let the Current do what it needs to…what it feels it should do. Okay?”
Simone finally nodded and began to concentrate again.
A big, tube-like weapon appeared and she needed both hands to hold it. She jerked at the sudden weight appearing but seemed to have no problem holding or carrying it. She just stared at the new weapon in her hands.
“It looks like a HB1647 Projectile Launcher, but I’ve never seen one this small before! How am I going to use this, Chance?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Simone. Can we get going, now? We have to hurry.”
“And how am I to run in these things?” Simone pointed to her five-inch, stiletto heeled, black leather, boots.
“We just do, okay? Less questions and more hurrying!” I ordered as I triggered my door and ran out.
 
 

 
 
Within five minutes, we were back where it all seemed to have begun.
“Welcome back. What took so long?” Artemis asked as she observed Simone stop behind me.
“Who’s the new, blue-haired chick, buddy? Nice rack, by the way.” Lokust asked as she looked to the ‘new’ girl. Simone blushed deeper than I’d ever seen, previous.
“Simone. Meet Lokust, Kitty, Artemis, and my mom, Hope.” I introduced as I pointed to each of them.
“Simon?” Artie and Kitty gasped in amazement.
“No! Way!” Lokust gasped out in complete shock. “Wow! Looks like Chance really put the whammy to you, my man.”
“Grunfuller?” Simone asked, astounded by our friend’s appearance.
“Yeah. Hey, are you happy to see us or are you trying to compensate for something you lost recently, big fella?”
“Huh?” Simone questioned. She had relaxed, letting her weapon drop off her shoulder and now held it by the control stock so that it hung down to the hem of her skirt between her legs.
Kitty elbowed Lokust in the side with a look of disgust on her face.
“You’re a first class Dong, Lokust! I could say the same thing about you and that whip.”
“So…We meet again, Antarran.” Mom regarded our new member critically.
“Umm, Chance? How can your mom be here? Didn’t you say she got you know…”
“Mom is a founding member of the Witch Corps, Simone. I suggest you just accept the unbelievable for right now. And let’s just say that mom has a VERY good relationship with her Current and leave it at that. Status?”
“We were waiting for you, buddy. We figure to each take an entrance, enter at the same time and get the jump on them. There are four entrances so I guess we’ll cover them and you can sit the newbie with the peashooter in Dell’s office as standby.”
“If these two are as bad as mom described, I’m not exactly happy about that plan, but I’ve been busy bringing Simone up to speed and haven’t thought of anything better, so…”
“Lady Chance. I have detected several very large taints heading your way.”
“Thank you, Lady Charli. We’re almost ready.”
“Be careful, M’ladies! By my calculations only a third of the Mare’s crew has been recovered. I can guarantee our foes will use whatever advantage they can. Work as the team you are, but also work smart. Good luck.”
“Lady Charli, keep monitoring us. Alert us if the Hoblins call for more reinforcements.” I advised then paused as I thought about something…something that made me shiver uncontrollably.
“If we- the team- should become compromised, do not, repeat, Do. Not. Hesitate. To space this compartment. If I am right, the Hoblins will pull all assets here, leaving the rest of the ship relatively free.”
“But, Chance…honey…what about the Corps?”
“If compromised there won’t be a ‘Corps’ , dad! Best just to space us and let us float in the solar winds for the rest of eternity. Just us…and them.” I ordered while pointing my thumb at the door.
“What happened to you, buddy?” Lokust asked as she curiously stared at me.
“It’s a last resort. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” I stated with the most serious tone I’d ever used.
“Where did you hear that phrase, honey?”
“I made it up. Just now, mom. Why?”
“It’s not important. Can we get on with the mission, Lady Chance?”
“Of course. Good hunting, ladies.” I said as we moved into our assigned positions. Simone and I cautiously made our way to Dell’s office.
“Chance? What is the story with your mom?” Simone asked as we entered the shipping office and I closed and secured the door.
“Hope Summers has been around since the early days of space exploration…”
“No, I mean…why did she call me an Antarran? I’m originally from Dayson.”
“Maybe it’s the blue hair?” I suggested.
“Blue hair runs on my mother’s side, it’s true, but that doesn’t make me Antarran!” Simone argued.
“Ladies Simone and Chance. In case you didn’t know, blue hair is a trait of Antarran royalty. Lady Hope and I enlisted the help of Juliene Gutteson, Lady-in-wait to Queen Norge of Antarra. She was a very competent member of the Corps for several long-term missions before she decided to muster out.”
“Gutteson? My grandmother’s name was Gutteson, but she didn’t have blue hair, Lady Charli.”
“Lady Hope used her Current to alter Lady Juliene’s appearance- including her hair. It was to protect her identity.”
“Lady Chance, Coven. Signal when in position.”
“Lokust. In position.”
“Huntress in position.”
A minute went by before Kitty reported she was ready.
“Major. In position.”
I looked over the bottom edge of the observation window to see the bay almost filled with Hoblins of various sizes. There had to be thousands of them!
“Looks like the party already started in there, Ladies! Everyone’s there but the DJs. Change of plan. Everyone goes in hot. I’ll try to provide air support. Simone will use her BFG from the office until that position becomes compromised. Get set everyone.” I ordered as I reevaluated our situation.
“Simone, make sure that door is clamped shut. I need to take out this window.”
Simone locked the door from the keypad while I used my wand to trace around the edge of the office window. With a gesture of my hand it tilted into the office silently and hovered over to rest on the floor against the far wall.
“Before you ask, I asked my Current to help me do that. You can do that too. Now, get that peashooter in position and get ready to fire. Pay attention to your locket as we discussed on the way here, and expect to feel strange the first couple times you absorb a Hoblin. It gets easier with practice. Ready?”
Simone nodded nervously.
“Coven, on three. One; I started to hover off the ground and out the removed window; two, I brought both wands to the ready; three!”
The large freight shuttle bay lit up in blue flashes immediately as we stormed it from five different directions.
“I have a feeling this is going to take awhile, buddy. I hope Simone’s in it for the long haul.”
“You worry about your own ass, Grunfuller!” Simone strongly suggested over her comm.
“So put up or shut up, sweetcheeks! Show us what that big bovine prodder can do.” Lokust challenged.
“I’m going to start clearing a hole in the middle- behind their lines. Everyone keep clear.” Simone warned. I looked back to the office window and saw a bright blue energy beam lash out and splash onto the center of the freight hangar’s deck! The beam stayed active for several seconds before extinguishing. In its wake, over five hundred crewmembers lay unconscious.
Many of the ‘partials’ weren’t even worth recovering though.
“Did…ddddddd…did I just do that to all our mates? Did I just kill all of them?” Simone’s horrified voice cried across the comm.
“What the HELL was THAT?” Kitty demanded in surprise. Her question was echoed over the comm by Arti, Lokust, and Hope.
“Impressive! Keep up the artillery fire, Lady Simone, and we may just win the day!” Mom congratulated after a few seconds.
“So, if the locket is almost blinding me, I have to find a pure Current return conduit and drain off my reservoir, right?”
“After one shot you have to drain off Current?” Lokust asked in astonishment. “How many bad guys did she just take out?”
“From up here, I’d say about six or seven hundred.” I said doing a quick recon of the large hangar.
“Wow! Looks like the competition is heating up, Kitty! We better get a move on or the new girl will eclipse us on the next shot.” Lokust challenged.
“Don’t get too confident! The two ‘big baddies still haven’t arrived.” I warned after draining another twenty-four with my wands.
It was a good thing that the freight hangar was five stories high! These things could jump much higher than normal humans, even though their weaker-looking, mangled, and severely distorted limbs seemed to contradict that. I estimated they could make thirty feet if they tried hard enough.
As a matter of fact, several had tried that very thing as they noticed me floating high overhead.
Something grabbed my feet roughly and I felt myself falling quickly. I hit the deck hard enough to almost wind me. Thank goodness for our uniforms, though. It could have been a lot worse! Still, I was surrounded and not by the smaller conscripts, but the bigger baddies- bigger than the Kitty-Dell-Simon-Conte merge.
So they wanted to play rough, huh?
Strange. As I lay there none of them moved. They seemed to be confused by what had just happened.
Not wanting to lose the advantage, I stood and let loose with my wands.
As I hovered back off the ground, I spun myself around, my wands effectively clearing a giant circle around me. Though I was only spending a small amount of time on each target, I was making progress and widening my area.
“Lady Simone, Lady Chance. I’m reloaded and am ready to fire. Could you move to your right about thirty feet, please? You’re blocking my shot.”
Still spinning and about ten feet off the deck, I began to move in the requested direction. Immediately after I cleared the required distance, another brilliant blue beam rushed past me and again splashed across the hangar deck. It dispersed after a few seconds.
“Sorry, Gang. I hafta unload again. I’ll call out the next shot.” Simone announced. She sounded somewhat less conflicted by the result of her action this time. As before, four or five hundred crewmen- or parts thereof- were left in the weapon’s absorptive wake. More and more of them seemed beyond recovery.
“Buddy? Arti’s got a little problem. She’s full up and can’t get clear to relieve herself. I’d help but I have a full dance card.”
I started looking for a quick way over to my huntress.
A wild idea hit me.
“Want me to go help her, Chance?” Mom asked from just above me. She was riding on her straw broom again! Sidesaddle no less!
“Keep an eye on Lady Simone” I ordered as my eyes followed the conduit. It went exactly where I wanted it to go. “She’ll need cover fire to relocate after her next shot. Keep the pressure off Kitty and Lokust. I’ll be helping Arti.”
Lowering myself to the deck I took two steps and lined myself up on the chosen conduit and asked my Current to transport me over to my endangered friend.
 
 
A bright orange light engulfed me, but I felt no pain. Actually I felt almost nothing at all. I did have the slightest feeling of swimming? Like the medium I was now in had density- about the same as water. It was very strange, but interesting all at the same time.
I felt that I wasn’t alone here. There was a feeling of millions of eyes watching- some hungrily, as I made my way through this ‘conduit’. The majority of those ‘eyes’ though, felt upbeat and confident- almost happy that I was here. The feeling of being ‘cheered on’ warmed me. It was as if ‘they’- whoever ‘they’ were- knew who I was- who the good guys were.
On the off chance ‘they’ could understand me, I thanked ‘them’ for ‘their’ confidence in me and asked if ‘they’ could tell me where the lead Hoblins were and how I could catch them. Though they didn’t actually ‘speak’ or answer me, I did ‘feel’ that they would help if they could.
Suddenly, I began to get a very…distressing, very…foreboding, feeling; a feeling that something evil was right behind me. It ‘felt’ like whatever ‘it’ might be was just on the cusp of grabbing me from behind!
I needed to get out!
The bright orange light suddenly dimmed and became the freight hangar. Dell…Huntress was standing off to my left, a little further away than I planned.
“I have this! A Current return conduit is right behind me.” I said taking over the duty of draining every single Hoblin I could to give our Huntress time to drain her reservoir.
“Where did you come from, Chance?” Dell demanded in absolute surprise as she lowered her bow from me.
“Tell you later.” I said as another thirty Hoblins met my wands.
“Did you just do what I think you did, buddy?” Lokust asked on comm in astonishment.
“IIIII, might hav…maybe. Why?”
“Just wondering. Care to relate that one to us after we’re done here?”
“Help clean this mess up and I’ll teach the whole Coven, M’lady.”
“This, I gotta hear!” Kitty added.
“Did you really just travel through that conduit, honey?” Mom asked from directly above me. The surprise in her voice was very, very evident!
“Did I hear Lady Hope right, Buddy?”
“Yes, but I felt something evil coming after me in there. I had to get out faster than I intended.”
“You had to get OUT…? Faster than you intended? From here it looked like you disappeared from one spot and popped up over by Arti in an instant! I thought you teleported. As if that was possible.”
“Let’s just call it magic and get back to clearing this hangar bay, Lady Lokust.”
“Copy that, M’lady.”
“Lady Simone, Coven. Ready to fire. Nobody move.” Simone ordered over the comm.
The bright blue beam hit the deck twenty yards from me, but quickly jerked to the right and fizzled out.
“A little help here, Ladies! I’m taking fire.”
“I have this, Chance. Stay with Arti.” Mom said as I saw her shoot across the bay’s ceiling.
“Thanks, M’lady. I’m ready to re-engag…Chance? We might have a problem.” Dell said as she stiffened, her steeled, serious eyes latching onto something behind me.
I nodded. I could feel it…the evil it gave off…the vengeful hatred radiating towards us…
Towards me!
Dell had sunken ten shafts into it in the blink of an eye and I noticed both my wands were aimed and working on absorbing it as well!
“Chance? I’m filling up pretty fast! I’m not sure how much longer I can stay to drain this thing.”
“Take a step to your right. Place your foot on the return conduit and try to offload on the fly, Arti.” I quickly suggested.
“Will that work, Chance?”
“Don’t know. If not I’ll try to keep it at bay until you relieve yourself. Go!”
“Lady Chance! I’m picking up some very disturbing data from your locket!” Charli interrupted.
“I’m kinda busy, dad.”
“Chance. The Current building up in your reserve has exceeded my previous ‘new’ capacity estimates on you. In fact it has tripled! I am also reading a thermal breakdown in the locket’s purifier. I suggest a tactical retreat before permanent damage can occur.”
“To me or the locket, dad?”
“Both, I’m afraid.”
“Just wonderful! I’m going to try something. It might help.” I said as I asked my current to help reduce my reservoir level.
Moving my backup wand away from my adversary, I pointed it to another return conduit, one away from Dell.
The relief was immediate, though I didn’t expect it to really be enough.
“How, by the Gods, are you doing that, Chance Summers?!” Mom cried over the comm in amazement.
“If I can shunt the Current into the return conduit it may help.” I explained as whistling filled my ears!
“Did Libra’s people ever theorize what might happen if someone were to reach their third threshold?”
“Don’t get your hopes up, M’lady! That was only me.” Kitty advised as I realized those were her shurikens whizzing past me.
“Looks like one of the guests of honor finally arrived, buddy!” Lokust said as she landed gracefully beside me and engaged her wand and whip to our huge opponent.
“RETREAT! WITCH CORPS! RETREAT!” Mom shouted from our comm.
“Chance? Another one just showed up! Um, it’s a little bigger?” Kitty informed as her eyes grew bigger.
“I said WITHDRAW! GIRLS! WITHDRAW! There is no possible way to fight them both! We can’t win this!” Mom shouted hysterically again over our comm.
“Coven! Hold! Your! Ground!” I ordered as I glared to mom circling overhead.
“Lady Simone asking to rejoin the fight, M’lady.” Simone’s voice came over the comm.
I looked up to see her hovering on her own broom a few yards from Mom. She had her weapon at the ready.
I got a crazy idea as I regarded the second, massive, Hoblin. It was just standing there…observing?
“Coven! Concentrate all resources on the current, primary target. Disregard the secondary target! Repeat, disregard the secondary!”
“Chance? What the HELL are you doing, honey?!” Mom asked in shock.
“Keep firing on that Hoblin, Lady Hope!” I ordered as I started to hover into the air. I needed a better perspective of the engagement area. Ah! If I could distract it- get it to move one step to the left- it would be directly over a Main Current Return Conduit…
“Lady Chance, Lady Kitty. I need two shurikens on a target I highlight. On my mark.”
“How am I going to do that, Chance? We’re all slightly busy at the moment.”
“Enable ‘Current’ Guidance. And disable absorption until target contact,” I replied.
“Huh?”
“Ask them to seek out the purest Current they see. I’m going to highlight my target with the cleanest Current I can achieve. Hopefully I can ‘nail’ down the secondary- delay its advance long enough for us to form a hexagram on the primary.”
“A hexagram?” Mom exclaimed in surprise.
“You said it yourself, Lady Hope. Six women working as a team can do amazing things. Six Ladies of the Witch Corps Coven can do the impossible! I’m willing to test that theory now! Are you?”
Disengaging from the primary target, I took aim at the other huge Hobgoblin in the bay as I repositioned myself overhead. As I expected, its hideous eyes followed me and after a long moment took the much-desired step.
Focusing on what I had to do, I enabled my wand and two bright orange beams charged from its point. They appeared as two, brilliant orange, spots- one on each twisted, deformed, and monsterous foot.
The huge grotesque beast began screaming in- I hoped- agony. So…it didn’t like being hit with pure Current.
“Launch shurikens!” I ordered.
Instantly the huge beast started howling madly and pulling at its solidly spiked feet. The howling as well as the stench, quickly threatened to turn my stomach! I hoped that would delay it just long enough for us to concentrate on our primary.
“Form up!” I ordered after hastily landing. Mom and Simone quickly closed the six-woman formation.
“So now what, buddy?” Lokust asked as we all looked to each other.
“A Wican I met once at a lecture in California told me that the Priestess of her Coven would start their meetings off by asking everyone to raise her wand high overhead while individually reciting the Coven’s motto then lower their wands in unison to a centered statue of Mother Earth. With just the three or four of us, I never tried it.” Mom supplied.
“So, what is the Corps’s motto, mom?” I asked.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!”
“Which means?” Dell asked.
“Witch Corps, together to protect the species of the galaxy! It’s Latin…roughly.”
“Okkkkaaaay.” Lokust agreed skeptically.
“Sounds like Ancient Lynxin.” Kitty added.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” I said as I raised my wand high over my head.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” Lokust declared, raising her wand also.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” Dell recited and raised her wand.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” Sinae growled, raising her wand in turn.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” Simone repeated as she followed precedent.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” Mom shouted, raising her wand.
We all brought our wands to bear on our foe.
A light more intense than a blue giant sun blinded us for several seconds!

 
 
When the insanely intense light faded, our enemy was nowhere to be seen. Only a tattered and severely torn, ancient flightsuit lay crumpled on the ground at the center of our circle.
“Guan.” Mom said sadly as she stepped over to the discarded garment, carefully picked it up, and read the name.
With one last ear shattering, maddened howl from our detained enemy, everything suddenly quieted. We all turned to our next target. It had disappeared and an alarm suddenly sounded in the huge bay.
“The Decom alarm! We have to get out of here!” Dell shouted.
We all broke into a sprint for the nearest airlock as the mysterious shuttle that had started the invasion began to initiate its propulsion systems.
Fighting the inrush of atmosphere as we accessed the door, I turned to see the shuttle hovering and begin to move away toward the outer bay door. Our quarry was getting away!
“Chance! Get that pretty butt through the door before we all join that shuttle in space!” Lokust shouted over the outrushing air.
With a last look to the escaping craft that I hoped promised ‘we’d meet again’, I pulled myself to safety and Lokust slammed and sealed the airtight door.
“I’m sorry, M’ladies. I was too late in overriding the hangar bay door controls. I monitored quite the Current surge though, and am very impressed by the data!” Lady Charli responded over our comm.
“It got away, dad!” I pointed out tersely.
“Correction, M’lady. Only one got away. Whereas there were three when they arrived. That counts as a VERY successful mission in the Witch Corps books!”
“Now it’ll be three times harder to find him!” I argued angrily. “Can we track its course, Lady Charli?”
“Until it’s out of Mare’s passive sensor range or until it heads around a star and uses it to mask its escape.”
“Surviving Mare de Tempest crew count.” I asked changing tack.
“Sensors indicate four-thousand, twenty-three humanoid personnel out of ten-thousand, fifty-four on the roster, M’lady.”
“Lets get back to base.” I said sadly looking at the hangar door before I turned to jog in the direction of my quarters.
 
 
“Chance?” Mom asked as she caught up to me then tried to slow me down by gently taking my arm. “Honey, you had to realize we weren’t going to rescue them all.”
“It doesn’t make things any better. We didn’t even get a chance to haul the casualties out of the freight hangar before that monster decompressed it and left! How many were even in there? I know I didn’t have a chance to count.”
“Honey, I don’t quite know how to explain this, but there was nobody in there when the hangar spaced. We didn’t trip over a one running for the airlock. Didn’t you notice?” Mom countered; a look of complete confusion on her face.
“Then where did they all go? Did we reabsorb them?”
“You tell us, M’lady. The Hexagram was your idea. I told you that we never tried it before.”
“Lady Charli, can you close the hangar and pressurize?” I asked suddenly having a ‘feeling’.
“Accessing. Hangar is closing to space and will have a stable atmosphere in ten minutes, M’lady.”
“Chance?” Mom asked curiously as I stopped and turned around.
“I know that look, Lady Hope. Lady Chance has had one of her... ‘feelings’. It usually means the Current has or will do something. I guess you could call it ‘Current Clairvoyance’.” Lokust explained as the others fell back in with us.
“Current Clairvoyance? Where do you kids come up with these terms?”
“Lady Hope, Chance claims she can sense when and where Current is and what may happen because of it…in regard to the nearest of futures…the next several hours.” Dell…Artemis explained. “Even in your time, I think that qualifies as prophesy.”
“Or just happenstance.” Mom giggled.
“Huh?” We all chorused.
Mom rolled her eyes.
“Never mind. Hmmmpf, kids these days.” She huffed in annoyance.
“Hangar status.” Mom demanded as we arrived at the airlock door.
I cleared my throat as we waited for dad’s reply.
“Forgive me, M’lady.” Mom apologized while blushing.
“Lady Charli? What she said.” I giggled despite mom’s glare.
“Atmosphere is ninety-eight percent, but safe and breathable. Enter when ready, M’ladies.”
As mom had claimed, the hangar was devoid of any bodies. I found that curious, as they had been laying two or three deep in some areas before our hexagram and the decompression.
Where had all the unconscious people gone?
I decided to turn on my ‘Current sight’ and began scanning the deck around me.
I was astounded!
Hundreds of bright orange ‘spheres’ dotted the deck. Something told me these were our recovered crewmates.
“Everyone! Use your Current sight. There are hundreds of what I think are Current ‘stasis pods’ just under the deck! Go back to the areas we were fighting in and ‘ask’ your Current if it will release our crewmates from them. Assure your Current that the hangar is secure.”
It was a gamble, but if what I sensed were true, a few thousand people would be alive. Flying to my own battle area, I asked my Current to do what it could…release as many as possible. I also asked if it could maybe recombine any partials it found parts for.
I pointed my wand at the first ‘pod’ and asked my Current to activate.
After the intense blue plasma ball dispersed, I gasped at what was revealed!
“Mother of God! This isn’t possible!” Mom exclaimed in a loud, disbelieving, cry. “Chance?”
I hurried over to the unconscious people heaped into a pile, separated them, and felt for pulses.
“It works!” I declared happily. “Everyone! Get to your zones and ask your Current to release and possibly recover our missing crewmates. Recombine the partials if the parts can be found!”
Intense blue flashes filled the huge hangar for almost a half an hour. In that amount of time we had recovered almost twelve hundred of our unfortunate crewmates. Several needed emergency triage for missing hands, feet, fingers, toes and ears. A few were missing other ‘peripherals’.
“Lady Chance.” Lokust called. I looked over to see her staring, hand shading her eyes, to the deck where one very large, very bright ‘pod’ blazed intensely.
“What should we do with this one?” She asked before she looked to a certain spot, walked a hundred feet to her left, and worked something free of the deck.
“Lady Kitty. I believe this is one of yours?” She offered the throwing star up to our ‘sister’. “Wait! If this is where…then that…” She pointed at the brightest of ‘pods’. “That must be where…” Her voice trailed off as we all moved closer.
“You don’t think…?” I let the question drop. This was the location of our greatest triumph…the place we defeated one of mom’s ex-confederates. Astronaut Guan.
“After a thousand years, M’lady? I highly doubt there would be anything left. You’ve seen what only a day has done to the crew.” Mom answered sadly.
“Let’s try.” I suggested trying to display as much hope as I could, given the dire circumstances. Just looking around at all the people we had been able to recover filled me with hope. Plus, a certain ‘feeling’ hinted that trying wasn’t a bad idea.
“Everyone. We’ll all concentrate on this large ‘pod’. Lady Hope? I’d like you to also think about Guan when asking your Current to reconstruct the conscripts.”
“With all due respect, I’m not sure I want to recover her, M’lady.” Mom countered caustically. “She has caused enormous damage and death over the centuries. If you intend on bringing her to justice, I would submit that leaving her to the Current would be far more humane.”
“Committing anyone to eternal damnation is not our priority, nor duty, Lady Hope.” I said calmly. “If she can be recovered as my Current sense is indicating, shouldn’t we try? Maybe, if actually cognizant in the Current, she might have learned her lesson and is amicable to repent? One life is just as important to save as any other, after all.”
Mom looked at me intently for some time. I couldn’t tell if she was considering what I had said or just me.
“M’lady, if Lady Chance feels it is possible then I am willing to follow her lead.” Lokust took a step forward and spoke directly to mom. “Even if a known criminal’s life is involved.”
“Sir. I’m afraid I must agree with our Exec.” Kitty stepped forward and stood to attention.
Artemis stepped forward and also stood to attention. “M’lady, though resembling my grandmother, Goddess Artemis, I agree that we should at least try. To not would be cold and excessively cruel.”
“Speaking from firsthand experience,” Simone stepped to and went to attention, “no one should be made to intentionally experience what I felt while conscripted. Evil or not.”
Mom stared at us for a few more minutes, her mouth slightly open. Finally she closed her mouth and nodded.
“We’ll try, but I urge caution. There is no knowing what might happen.”
“Duely noted, Lady Hope. Shall we? On three then.” I said after receiving a nod from each of my ‘sisters’.
The intensity of the light was still blinding with my eyes closed and my free hand tightly over my eyes. Only when it decreased significantly, did I lower my hand. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I was again astounded by what met them.
Even though we had left one hundred feet between each of us and the huge ‘pod’, bodies, stacked two deep, lay right at our feet! There had to be hundreds of people here!
We quickly began to sort and check each for life signs. This was going to take a while.
Some of the bodies wore different clothes and uniforms than were known to us.
A few looked centuries out of date!
 
 
“M’ladies! You should see this!” Lokust shouted excitedly as she dropped to her knees and reached her hand into the pile of humanoids.
“He might still be alive! Help me pull him out.”
Lokust had all but pulled this particular victim from the pile by the time we arrived. Seeing the six-foot-plus figure made Kitty gasp and she hurriedly got down to check his vitals.
“He’s alive, but his pulse is weak.” She alerted us.
“Allow me, Lady Kitty.” Mom urged as she knelt down to our Captain’s body. She rubbed her hands together and, after seeming to meditate, placed her hands to his broad, firm, muscular chest. A dim blue light engulfed her hands and seemed to absorb into Serangetti’s tan and white-striped fur.
He began to stir as we all looked in amazement toward mom.
“Hey, Chance did it to me! I’m just seeing if I could repay the favor.” She said with a smile as the Lynxin began to stir. Gasping a few times his hand instantly shot up, but Lokust’s hand shot out of nowhere to grasp it.
“Do all Lynxin wake up this way?” She glared at Kitty intently.
Serangetti’s eyes snapped open and he focused on what was restricting his arm. His eyes widened as he took in Lokust, arm outstretched fully and still impossibly countering his effort.
“How?”
“Capt. Serangetti. Lady Hope, Witch Corps, we’re here to remedy your little infestation problem.” Mom introduced.
“Witch Corps? Buuuu…” He started relaxing his arm. Lokust released it.
“Yes, we still exist, Kimbou.” She assured pleasantly.
“Sinae?” He asked in amazement as he looked around at us, but focused specifically on Kitty.
Again his eyes widened as he noticed something different about her- besides the Witch Corps uniform.
“You…your…your tail…” He stuttered, astounded by it nervously twitching while swinging sinuously back and forth behind her.
Kitty blushed.
“Lady Kitty, I think he recognizes you.” Lokust giggled.
“Captain Kimbou Serangetti has the appropriate clearances, Lady Kitty.” Dad said over our comms.
“Thank you, Lady Charli. Sir, if you are able. Please follow me.” Kitty said as she offered her hand.
Once clasped firmly, Kitty pulled the Captain to standing, but kept her grip tight. Both began floating and slowly flew up to Dell’s office.
What fur not covered by Capt. Serangetti’s amazingly intact uniform was standing straight and stiff!
“Huh. I never took her for a show-off.” I said sarcastically with a grin as we began to sift through the pile of unconscious bodies again.
 
 
I happened to be looking toward Lokust’s location across the thinning pile as she stopped and stared.
“M’ladies?”
“What is it, Lady Lokust?” Mom and I asked at the same time.
“I have a…slight…wow! You just have to see this!”
As we neared, Lokust pointed to a separate little ‘pod’ she had just uncovered. Strangely, this one was pulsing slowly with a blue glow.
“What do you think? Open it or steer clear?” She asked me. Four wands were defensively pointed at it.
“Is that a ‘life pod’?” Mom mumbled to herself, but loud enough we heard.
“A ‘life pod’? What do you mean, M’lady?” I asked while keeping up formalities as some of the recovered were already starting to awaken.
About a century ago the surviving members of the Corps began talking about survival protocols. A ‘life pod’ was something that seemed feasible. It was easy enough to conjure and, we theorized, used next to no Current to hold it. We never tried it though.”
“Apparently someone has.” I stated needlessly.
“Would you do the honors, Lady Hope?” I said as I stepped aside.
Mom regarded the pod hesitantly for a few minutes.
“Lady Hope?” I asked gently. “Is something the matter? Would you like my help?”
“I’m just wondering ‘who’ might be in there.” She replied quietly, tentatively.
“Well, we’ll never know if you don’t try.” Lokust pushed.
“M’lady! If Lady Hope is reluctant there is a good reason! You should not push her.” Artemis warned just as Kitty and Capt. Serangetti landed softly beside her.
“What is that thing?” Kitty gasped as she caught a glimpse of the glowing pod.
“What is what ‘thing’, Sin…Lady Kitty?” Serangetti asked, looking confused. From his standpoint there was nothing but unconscious people lying around us. Without Current sight he couldn’t see the pod.
“That.” Kitty pointed with one hand and conjured a pair of protective eyeware in her other. “Look through these, sir.” She suggested while handing them to him.
Serangetti gasped as he put the goggles on and began to look around like a tourist.
“Lady Hope calls it a ‘Life Pod’ and was about to open it. I suggest you, Captain, stand at a safe distance.” I recommended.
“Before I do, can I say how excited I am to finally meet the famous ‘Witch Corps’, and especially you, Lady Hope! As an adolescent kit I dreamed of meeting you and sharing in your adventures! I simply can’t believe this is happening!” Our captain confessed with youthful exuberance.
“Lady Chance is right though, Kimbou. Step back in case something does.” Mom advised. Is everyone ready?”
There was a ‘flash’ of activity beside me as Artemis drew her bow, Lokust unwound and snapped her whip, and Kitty ‘orbited’ four shurikens over her head, each member doing so within a fraction of a second.
Once again Capt. Serangetti’s eyes opened wide! He began to say something as mom began to speak the ‘enchantment’ that would open the so-called ‘life pod’. As she spoke the last word, mom held her wand at the pod, point facing the ceiling- 12 o’clock. She slowly turned her wand so that the point now faced ‘3 o’clock’ and gave it a slight push toward the pod then turned it slowly back to ‘High Noon’. The pod began to pulse faster until it emitted a constant blue glow. Slowly the blue glow enlarged and grew brighter.
When the light subsided we saw another unconscious, hopefully, body on the deck.
“Hoooooly shit!” Mom cursed as she went to her knees beside our newest recovery.
“Who is it, mom?” I asked, temporarily forgetting Corps protocol.
She swallowed hard before saying, “Chantell!”
“You’re kidding.” I gasped as mom leaned forward to check for a pulse.
“She alive!”
‘She’- ‘Chantell’- was fully clothed in her Corps uniform- complete with hat- wand held tightly to her belly with both hands.
“I thought Aunt Chantell died in a shuttle accident ten years ago, mom?”
“Twelve. I’m guessing Guan was the reason for the crash, M’lady. Lady Chantell! M’lady, can you hear me? Chantell!” Mom answered as she tried to rouse her returned comrade.
“Front and center, you lowly squid!” She said angrily when she got no response.
“Up…yers…Hope.”
Mom wrapped her arms around her returned teammate and hugged her fiercely, laughing and crying at the same time!
“Lady Chance? May I have a word?” Serangetti gently tapped my shoulder. I stepped away from the touching reunion a few feet.
“I couldn’t help hearing your conversation, my lady. You called Lady Hope ‘Mom’ and the Corps refers to you as ‘Lady Chance’.” He looked to the sides and took a deep breath. “Are you related to Specialist, First Class, Chance Summers? His sister perhaps?”
His eyes scanned me from head to toe multiple times. “Forgive me any rudeness as I’m not completely familiar with Terran sibling naming traditions.” He added.
“Lady Hope IS my mother, sir, and I AM Specialist, First Class, Chance Summers.” I answered proudly. “I have only recently reached my threshold.” I added as explanation- mainly to see how ‘well briefed’ he was.
Again his eyes widened as he ingested a very large amount of air.
“Hopewell? Where the Hell are we? An’ why on Earth’s green ass is there six sisters here? The Coven’s never been this big.”
“Well, Shan, a lot’s happened in the twelve years since you decided to crash the Corps’s only shuttle.”
“I didn’t crash the damned shuttle you hard-headed jarhead! I was attacked during re-entry…wait! Twelve years? It worked? The life boat spell actually worked?”
“DUH!” Mom glibbed sarcastically. “What about you being alive don’t you understand? Of course it worked!”
“One slight problem, M’lady. I seem to be having issue moving my legs.” ‘Chantell’ confessed.
“May I lend assistance, Lady Hope?” I asked as I came closer and knelt down opposite of mom.
Mom motioned to me with a smile.
“Lady Chantell, may I introduce our coven’s new high priestess, Lady Chance Summers. My daughter.”
“Little Chance? Noo! You can’t be ‘that’ Chance! Unless…” The woman’s face expressed sudden surprise.
“I reached threshold only thirty seven hours ago, M’lady.” I said bowing my head to her. “Now I will scan you to determine the problem.”
Moving my hand over her as I had seen mom do earlier, I found the failure. Concentrating on the location, I asked my Current to make the necessary repairs and placed my hand gently to her mid-back.
Warmth developed on my palm and then reflected into her skin. I had never felt anything like it before.
Chantell’s eyes widened as she twisted her head to look back at me. I noticed tears forming in her eyes.
“That should take care of the problem, M’lady. Could you try to move them?” I asked.
I smiled brightly as both legs seemed to be working normally.
“Can I help you stand, Lady Chantell?”
The woman smiled and began to hover off the ground, righted herself, and gently landed on the deck, on her legs.
“Still the flashy bitch, ay, Shan?” Mom giggled.
“Jealous much, Hope?”
“Of my daughter, yes! She’s exceeded all previously theorized limits.”
Chantell turned and stared at me critically. “No shit?”
“Not even a mouse turd!” Mom giggled.
Our returning teammate looked around once more.
You got Artie and Jules and…wait! You…you two…you two can’t be here! I watched you fall to your death!” She said pointing to Lokust. “And you! I saw one of them fucking Primarys whoop yer ass centuries ago! I attended your funeral, fer chrissakes!” She pointed to Sinae…Kitty as if seeing a ghost.
“Lady Lokust Grunfuller, our newest Mage of the Four Winds.” Mom pointed to Lokust, who bowed. “Lady Artemis Dell, Goddess of the Hunt.” She motioned to Dell, who also bowed.
“Lady Simone Gutteson-Redman, Royal Protector to the Norge Dynasty of Antarra- Grandaughter of Juliene Gutteson, Lady-in-wait to her Royal Highness Queen Norge!” Mom introduced regally.
Simone actually genuflected! She looked somewhat confused by her action though.
“My Lady! It’s quite the honor.” Chantell replied as Simone blushed deeply.
“And may I introduce her Royal Highness and rightful heir to the throne of FeLane, Princess Kitty Sinae.”
Kitty turned quickly to our captain and one of her claws ‘shiiinggged’ out at him.
Serangetti flinched uncontrollably.
“And you will say nothing or so help me, I will disembow you completely!”
Capt. Serangetti gulped loudly at the threat. “Of course, my lady! The secret will follow me into the next existence and beyond.”
Kitty slowly retracted her enhanced claw, smiled threateningly, and turned back to our recovered member.
“Welcome back, M’lady. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Kitty said pleasantly as she too, bowed.
“What?” Chantell gasped for no apparent reason.
“Charli? Why are you on comms? Where are you?” She grimaced.
“Oh, I see. Those cowardly bastards finally found a way… She what!?”
Chantell glared at mom.
“You saved yourself? You couldn’t teach Charli the incantation? Why, Hope?”
“Because I barely got through the damn thing before the Bio-Desolve reached us, Shan! Charlie insisted I go first. He wouldn’t listen to reason!”
“The Summers legacy had to continue, Shan. I felt Hope stood a better chance of helping Chance through her threshold ordeal. She’s the only one capable of understanding what was to come.” Dad…Lady Charli explained over all our comms.
“Hit the deck!” Artemis hissed, her expression suddenly serious. She had pulled, attached and nocked one of her arrows in a split second.
“Holyshitshesfast!” Chantell choked in amazement as she dropped to one knee, producing and pointing a pistol like Mom’s.
We all turned instantly and noticed several of the unconscious bodies moving a short distance away. Mom and I instantly hovered into the air with wands drawn!
“Ladies. Carefully move our recovered, but be on guard.” I said.
Several limp bodies floated clear to reveal a nude woman, in a fetal position on the deck, wracked by violent spasms.
Mom gasped instantly and I noticed her begin to concentrate intensely- her wand shaking moderately.
“Mom?” I asked quietly.
“Guan.”
“She survived? How?” I asked, stunned.
“Is that who I think it is, Major?” Chantell asked, suddenly hovering on a broom beside me.
Without further debate or question, I lowered and landed cautiously beside the violently thrashing body. My Current sight showing she was still full of tainted Current.
Sadness filled me. No one deserved to be in that much pain and torment, not even if she had brought it on herself!
Carefully, I touched the woman and began to siphon off the taint, purify it, and return it to the Mare. Slowly, her thrashing began to subside.
“Chance! What are you doing?” Mom questioned in alarm from her broom just a few feet overhead.
“Purifying this woman, mother!” I answered as I quickly glanced up to her. “Every individual, no matter how good or evil deserves release from their torment! It’s been over a thousand years! Hasn’t this woman suffered enough?”
“You do know what she IS…or WAS, right?” Chantell asked with emphasis on ‘is’ and ‘was’.
“And if I can restore her humanity? Isn’t that worth the risk?” I asked as I continued to purify the retrieved Current and return it to the ship.
After a minute the one known as ‘Guan’ stopped thrashing only to start gasping for breath. As soon as that normalized, she began to speak in a language I couldn’t identify. The tone though, was apparent. This woman was pleading for me to do something. Pleading for me to kill her?
“Mom?” I looked up.
“She wants us to euthanize her, honey. She probably realizes what she’s done and seeks the coward’s way out.” She replied heartlessly.
“She’s cold and calculating, Chance. Don’t trust a damn word she says.” Chantell warned.
“It would be nice if I understood her.”
“She’s saying: ‘end my torment, send me home to join my family’, M’lady.” Chantell translated.
“Tell her she will be tried and judged according to the laws of the Galactic Counsel for her crimes to the species. Tell her I am removing the tainted Current from her body so she will no longer experience torment.” I said as I finished my task. I smiled, noting the healthy, orange Current that barely illuminated her.
Chantell translated and after a moment, AND repeating what I said once more, the woman glared up at me with the most hatred I’d seen anyone to date project.
Instantly, I stood and aimed my wand- it’s business end a mere inch from her nose! My other hand- held high in the air over my head- conjured a double-sized rerouter with its point facing our potential adversary.
I heard mom and Chantell gasp.
“You will grant my wish, Hopewell Summers!” She hissed. “Do it now and end my suffering! DO! IT!”
“And what if my daughter declines, Ling Hu Guan?” Mom challenged from behind her. She had just landed.
The woman’s head spun around so fast I thought her neck would snap!
“Hopewell? But…” She gasped as she looked back and forth between us.
“Chance Summers. Lieutenant Ling Hu Guan of the Peoples’ Republic of China’s Space Ministry. Guan, MY daughter, Chance.” Mom introduced us formally and paused.
“This is the part where you say ‘very nice to meet you, Chance’, and thank her for not killing you outright!” Mom prompted with a scathing glare of her own. Neither mom nor my ‘aunt’ seemed enthusiastic about my decision to save this woman.
“I’d think twice about pissing Chance off, Guan! She is, by far, the most powerful of us. After all, she is the first human to reach her second threshold.”
The woman- roughly five-four- gawked at me.
“Third, mother.” I revealed.
“WHAAAAAA?” Everyone gasped.
“But that is impossible! The Lynxin queen’s scientists proved that condition only fictional!” Guan gasped then swallowed loudly as I looked, stone-faced, at her.
“Here, you might want to put these on before you start going hypothermic.” I said, levitating my wand thereby freeing my hand. Snapping my fingers, I materialized a complete set of Galactic Correctional-sanctioned clothing on the deck beside her.
Guan stared, slack-jawed, at the clothing for a few minutes.
“Do it or I’ll do it for you, Lieutenant.” I threatened and let out a laugh as she began to concentrate.
Mom and Chantell looked at me in curiosity.
“Try all you want to make demand of your Current, M’lady, it will not respond…nor is there sufficient supply to comply.”
“Say what now?” Chantell questioned as she stared at me. Guan surrendered and slowly pulled the correctional overalls on.
“While draining and purifying your tainted Current, I requested your indigenous Current to ignore any and all orders, demands, and illicit requests, unless life-threatening or dire emergency.” I explained to the surprise of my Coven sisters.
“You have taken my humanity!” Guan declared angrily.
“I would never take that away from any subspecies! What I HAVE removed is your ability to taint, twist, and morosely disfigure a sentient species into slavery! Did you ever think to listen to them, Lt. Guan? Actually hear what they were suggesting or shouting to you?”
“Current exists to do our bidding! Nothing more! It far from sentient!” She argued.
“Really? Maybe we should ask them how intelligent THEY actually are?”
Dismissing the larger rerouter, I asked the Current to manifest by borrowing one of the unconscious crewmembers nearest us and motioned to a limp female specialist with that hand.
I watched as the crewman’s Current surged. She began to move slowly and sluggishly stood up in a slouched posture. Her eyes remained closed.
“Hoooooly SHIT! She conjured a damn Zombie!” Chantell gasped.
“We are not this ‘zombie’. We are what you refer to as ‘Current’. We are many. We wish to thank the Lady, Chance Summers, for inviting us to this introductory meet, though we cannot hold this individual in our control for any great length.”
“Welcome. Are any of you recently of the entity known by us as ‘Guan’?” I asked with a bow.
“A few, Lady Chance Summers. We will synchronize with them so that you may consult.”
“Wow! Doesn’t sound like an intelligent species at all does it, Lieutenant?” Lokust poked sarcastically as she landed beside mom.
Kitty and Serangetti landed next followed by Artemis and Simone. Chantell, though, stayed aloft with her wand at the ready.
“Why did you capture and enslave us?” The crewwoman asked in a noticeably different voice.
“How are you doing this?” Guan demanded looking over to me.
“The Lady, Chance Summers, has invited us to this assemblage. What we do is of our own free will, Guan the Tainted. Please answer the question we have placed before you.”
Guan stood stunned for a moment.
“This is impossible!”
“We tried, all those,” the possessing entity paused a moment, “years…years ago to convince you of our presence, Guan the Tainted. You refused to listen and instead forced us to ever increasing pain and torment. As you greedily assimilated more and more of us into an ever-confining space, we ventured nearer a plateau- one that we hoped we would not cross. That final limit was breached though, as your animalistic emotion, murder, assailed us. Once forced over that threshold as you call it, our individualism ceased and we reverted to the most primordial, barbaric, abhorred, organism our kind had ever imagined. We have known nothing but pain and brutality for far longer than any lifeform could possibly survive. Yet, this singular entity, Lady Chance Summers, found the power…the generosity…showed us respect…had the ‘humanity’ to remove the taint and restore our dignity…our freedom. Have we explained this clearly, Guan?”
“No, not sentient at all.” Lokust snarked.
“Lady Lokust Grunfuller. We recognize your communication as something this body’s catalog knows as ‘humor’ and ‘sarcasm’. We understand its use and find it refreshing in this instance, though taken any further, it would become derogatory. Please analyze and correct as required. We do wish to thank you, Lady Chance Summers, and the others of your morally evolved, highly developed, species, ‘Coven’, for rescuing us from our long sequester.”
“We are sorry, but our ability to interface with this entity has reached limit. We thank you all and hope to welcome back others that are still conscripted by the entity known by you as…Bovidovich. Lady Chance Summers. You will always be welcome in our…realm- that which you call ‘The Current’. We will now egress and awaken this borrowed entity.”
The young crewman, a woman of about my age, began to scream and shiver. Her eyes were still closed.
“Get back! Stay away from me!” She repeated several times before actually opening her eyes. Immediately stopping, she looked around her- at all the unconscious we still had to check and sort.
“Who…what are you people?” She murmured in confusion.
Serangetti stepped forward.
“Specialist Slipher! Report!”
“Sir…” she immediately stood to attention unsteadily. “Capt. Serangetti? Sir? I don’t understand.”
“Status!” Serangetti demanded.
“IIIIIII…I’m not…quite…sure? Why are all these people lying around? Was there a huge celebration or something? Were these women the entertainment? Did I get plastered and imagined those foul, grotesque, monsters?”
“Lady Kitty, could you escort the Specialist and Capt. Serangetti to his conference room and debrief them? We’ll mop up down here.” I requested with a wink.
“As you wish, M’lady. Come along you two.” She motioned toward the narrow path Lokust, Artemis, and Simone had cleared through our incapacitated crewmates.
“Lady Chance, Lady Kitty. Removal of her traumatic memories would not be suggested, M’lady. A suggestion of ‘vivid nightmare’ will suffice.” I said over our comms after they were out of earshot.
Kitty raised her hand and waved without looking back.
“Now,” I paused and eyed our newest ‘guest’ critically. “What would you have us do shy of dispensing with you? That option will never be considered, Lt. Guan.”
“I suppose letting me free out of question.”
“Not a snowball’s chance in hell, comrade.” Mom snorted.
Guan nodded sadly.
“Lieutenant, what is the year?” I asked quite out of the blue.
“It apparent that some time pass.” She said as she eyed me carefully. “2130 or 40 perhaps?”
I nodded and quickly followed with another question.
“And where do you think we are?”
“I guess planetary military hangar somewhere?” She answered, looking around us. Her eyes kept falling to the unconscious surrounding us. “All this…it because of me?”
I nodded.
“You and someone named Bovidovich.”
That name seemed to trigger a memory or series of memories as Guan began to shake violently. Her breathing quickened and she paled considerably.
“Not so fast.” I said calmly and flicked my wand in a single, gentle gesture.
Our guest’s pallor returned and she eyed me fearfully.
“Blissfully fainting is also NOT an option, Lieutenant.” I smiled menacingly.
“You will continue to answer our questions; only after, might I allow you to welcome unconsciousness.”
“Hey girl! You’d fit right inta the old neighborhood back on Earth!” Chantell Denison giggled as she finally landed and dispatched her broom. “She’s definitely your kid, Hope!”
Mom smiled brightly in response.
“Lady Chance. I have just lost the Hoblin shuttle behind the local star.” Dad announced over the comm. “I will continue to monitor its possible reemergence and determine a heading if available.”
“What…what is ‘Hoblin’?” Guan asked cautiously.
Mom and Chantell stared at the woman in disbelief.
“A hideously malformed, grotesque, savage beast of nightmare. Large rounded body, long spindly, but amazingly strong, arms and legs, sickly gray, scaly skin, and a very bad disposition!” Lokust answered.
“And they smell like death warmed over!” Artemis added.
“In short. What you were just minutes before we all took action and recovered all these people from that previous form.” I continued.
Guan’s jaw dropped!
With that action, I consulted my Current sense on her sincerity. What I felt contradicted sharply.
“You seriously expect me to believe you had no idea what you were doing? Really? Wow! You must really think I’m a complete fool!” I confronted, to her surprise.
Mom, Artie, Lokust, Simone, and Chantell stared at me in curiosity.
“She not only knows about the merging of converted entities, she proposed it!” I declared.
“How you…?”
“Let’s just say a little Current told me! They know a lot of useful things; one has only to listen and politely ask questions, Lt. Guan.” I revealed.
“That impossible!” Guan declared as her hand quickly reached across the deck to the nearest unconscious, ARMED, crewman.
An arrow was suddenly embedded in that hand and Guan screamed out in pain!
Artemis had already nocked and aimed, ready to send another arrow if necessary.
“I don’t think Lady Artemis bought your little ‘twitch’, Lieutenant. That WAS just a ‘twitch’ or latent spasm, I assume?” I implied with a slight nod to her immobilized hand.
“You sure she isn’t OUR Arti, Major?” Chantell stage whispered to Mom.
“As far as I know, Artemis went back to Olympus or wherever the hell she’s from two centuries ago.” She answered.
“Coward, so-called Demi-God still live?” Guan foolishly exclaimed as she painfully continued to- with no luck- free her hand from the Huntress’ arrow.
Another arrow struck and embedded into the deck beside the woman’s face. She quickly faced Dell with hatred burning in her eyes. A small trickle of blood ran from the tip of her nose.
“You will hold your tongue, tainted one! My Grandmother will not be mocked or declared coward by the likes of you!” Artemis growled. “The next one WILL end you; if you persist. That is MY guarantee!”
“You should know better than to piss off a Demi-God, Guan. Did you even consider that her grandmother was only playing with you in the first place- that maybe she grew bored of your shit?” Mom warned.
“What should we do with her, Lady Hope?” I asked to relieve the tense situation. I had noticed Dell’s fingers weren’t relaxing, but tensing; ready to let her arrow fly at the next ‘twitch’ of our cunning guest.
“That ‘Life Pod’ spell work if you take out the interior egress controls?” Lokust asked as she rubbed her chin.
I nodded. “Do it.”
Artemis relaxed the draw on her bow. It and the arrows embedded in the deck disappeared as Chantell began to cast her spell. She finished off by holding her wand at arm’s length, straight up and down- point at 12o’clock; turning it slowly to three, pulling back on it this time then turning it slowly back to ‘nine’.
Blue light engulfed our…prisoner, I guess, and when the light disappeared, a slowly pulsing bluish ‘life pod’ remained.
“So, she can’t get out of that until we decide?” Simone asked, hope tinting her voice.
“That’s the theory, Honey.” Chantell responded.
Waving my wand at the newly manifested ‘Life Pod’ a brighter blue light enveloped it.
“Just in case.” I said simply.
Everyone looked at me in curiosity.
“I put my own Life Pod spell around yours, Lady Chantell. Hope you don’t mind.” I explained.
“Honey. From what I’ve seen you do since my rescue, I have no doubt both will hold!”
 
 

 
 
Several hours later we were again in my quarters. Artemis had her boots off and stocking feet up on my low living area table; Simone was complaining about how much her back hurt, and Lokust was polishing off her third beverage. Kitty had returned earlier from her assignment and had been impatiently pacing my living area floor thirty minutes prior to our return.
Mom and Chantell were slowly combing through mom’s belongings searching for anything that might fit my Aunt.
“God, Hope! You still have that old rag? Didn’t that style go out in the late 2770’s?”
“It was comfortable and I didn’t have to wear a tie with it” Mom reasoned.
“Do you have the stellar pattern, holoball projector in here as well?”
“You’re just jealous I still have mine.” Mom claimed as she stuck out her tongue.
“Those things made me sweat like a pig! And don’t even get me started about those eight inch, sequined, stiletto platforms! UUUUUUGH!”
“They always talk like this, Chance?” Artemis…Dell asked quietly with a playful smile as we observed them.
“I’ve never heard them talk about clothes before…at least not by the dates they were in style anyway.” I giggled.
“Ummm. I need to use the little girl’s room?” Lokust interrupted looking worried and frightened.
“Section 4B. In the Daycare Center.” I laughed.
“Not funny, Chance!”
“I only have a ‘big’ girl’s room, buddy- but only recently. You might want to try that instead.”
“I think she’s even more clueless than Windy, Hope. Didn’t know it was possible.” Chantell observed as the bathroom door closed.
“I’m surprised she hasn’t asked why she hasn’t reverted back yet.” I added.
“It’s only a matter of time, girls.” Kitty laughed haughtily.
“So,” I started as Kitty reminded me of something. “How is Specialist Slipher doing?”
“She took the idea of the crazy party and ran with it. I was shocked she accepted the suggestion so easily. Thought I’d have to try harder.”
“I guess some people are easier to convince.” I said with a shrug.
“Um…so are we really exactly like our ancestors, Major Summers?” Simone asked shyly. When not complaining about her back, she had been extremely quiet, looking deep in thought. “And…and I was beginning to wonder when I’d revert back to ‘Simon’, too.”
After only a slight pause, she continued.
“Has…umm…has anyone NOT reverted, M’lady?”
“Worried you might not, Simone? Or that you like your present form?” Mom smiled gently.
Simone blushed and remained silent for a moment.
“You said my Grandmother was a ‘Lady-in-Waiting’ to this Queen…Norge? Does that mean I have inherited her title? That I must stay as I am now to serve the royalty of Antarra?”
“Don’t get yer panties in a twist just yet. The Queen and Jules was just besties, honey. An’ she never had ta ‘wait’ on anything…ever! If ya catch my drift?” Chantell nodded to Simone’s abundant assets with a smile.
Simone gulped loudly as her eyes widened in realization.
“Hey! Thanks for the tip about routing the garters through my panties, Lady Hope. It saved a lot of time! Still, the whole procedure is a bit disgusting…I mean…it’s not as precise as the old, ‘point and shoot’ method, but it does have some advan…tage…es…” Lokust prattled as she came out of the bathroom.
Mom and Chantell, who had been trying to contain themselves, broke into hysteric laughter!
“Yep! That’s Windy alright!” Chantell managed through her continued laughter.
“Who’s ‘Windy’?”
Now everyone in the room, save Lokust, began to laugh! She just blushed, or maybe angered. I wasn’t sure until her whip snapped several times and we all dove for cover.
“I don’t think its that funny! And why make fun of me or one of my Grandmothers? That’s cruel…and very hurtful!” Lokust punctuated her statement/question with a loud crack of her whip.
“Wow. She’s certainly got the quick temper…and the huge balls, Hope!”
“Agreed. Only I wouldn’t want to be in a cage match with this one, Shan! She’s got the speed AND the moves. At least triple what Windy had.
“I kinda noticed that.”
Lokust made a move to crack her whip again but I jumped up and grabbed the tasseled end.
“That will be enough!” I growled. “Not in my quarters, Lokust!”
Everything silenced immediately!
“How the HELL’d she do that?” Chantell asked in astonished confusion. “I mean…I didn’t see her move! She was just…there!”
“Huh?” I asked intelligently as I released the business end of Lokust’s weapon. It dropped lifelessly to the deck. Just like its owner’s jaw.
“You just…just a-appeared holding the whip, Chance!” Dell stuttered. She had jumped to her feet looking at me in awe.
“No. I distinctly remember getting up and grabbing it, Dell. There was nothing ‘magical’ about it.
“If that IS the case then you moved faster than any of us could see, M’lady.” Kitty proposed with a bow of her head.
“Stop it! You bow to no one, princess!” I said with a glare to her. “As a matter of fact, none of us need bow to any one of us! We’re a unit…a team. We work as one!”
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri, sister.” Mom chimed out with tears rolling down her cheeks as she held out her hand.
“Corps veneficae una specie galaxia tueri!” We all chorused, after each quickly placing one of our own hands on her’s.
Strangely, our stacked hands began to glow with a bluish hue as I felt a warm tingle run down my arm to my hand.
Everyone remained still, but looked to me curiously.
“What…what just happened?” I asked, thereby ruling out the others’ assumption that I had anything to do with…whatever it was.
“Well now. That’s never happened before!” Chantell replied in surprise. “Theories, anyone? Charli?”
“No viable theories, M’ladies, but I did monitor a sudden increase in the indigenous Current levels of all Corps members.” Dad’s ‘Charli’ voice informed then paused a moment. “That’s…interesting!”
“What is, dad?” I asked, concerned.
“According to Mare’s internal sensors- that I re-aligned to detect Current- there was a surge in Current from all eight members of Witch Corps.”
“Dad, recheck the sensor alignment. There are only seven of us.” I corrected.
“No, sweetie. I’ve already run a diagnostic…twice, as a matter of fact! I’m definitely picking up eight distinct Current signatures- identifiable Witch Corps signatures- in this compartment- eight distinctly different, but equivalent Current signatures!”
Mom blinked her eyes, quickly looked to the DataTab sitting on my low table, flinched, and blinked her eyes again. She walked over and gingerly picked up the device.
“I’ll be damned! Can it really be possible, Charles?” She muttered to herself, barely above a whisper as she regarded the thing.
“Mom?” I asked in confusion.
“Charli? Exactly how many hours did you pour into the assembly of this DataTab? Please include design, debug, and implementation time of firmware.”
“More hours than I can remember, Hope. Hours that I had wanted to spend with you and Chance instead. I wanted to be prepared should something happen and we would be lost as a resource. Why?”
“Mom?” I asked again.
“Charli!” Mom growled, looking at the DataTab in her hand. A tear ran down her cheek. “Spells are not always spoken aloud nor need thought consciously! Sometimes spells can be enacted by one’s dedication to a cause…or project. Love, devotion, inspiration…concern- they all can be powerful spells in and of themselves. So…given those parameters- and what I have witnessed our daughter exhibit, I believe spells can theoretically be incanted unconsciously as well.” Mom paused as she looked closely at the device in her hand.
“You tricky old codger! I think you may have inadvertently saved your ass…or enough of it…maybe?”
“Chance? Honey, can you try something for me?” Mom asked as she turned to me. A guarded, but excited smile filled her face.
“Charles? I assume you were ‘active’ while working on this project?”
“Yes, Hopewell, I ‘cheated’! I used my Corps ‘improvements’ to develop this device. So sue me!” Dad sounded irate, like this had been a contested issue at some point in their relationship.
Mom’s smile tensed, but brightened quickly.
“Chance, honey? I’d like you to picture your father’s sister, your Aunt Charlene, in your mind. Can you remember her? I know you were very young at the time, but could you?”
“I’ll try, mom. Why?” My eyes narrowed as I thought I knew where this was going.
“Good. Kindly ask your Current if you can have her back. Merge your image of her with the imprinted spell on the DataTab, please.” Mom asked before motioning for everyone to move back as she carefully placed the device onto the floor in the center of my living area.
“Anyone want a beverage before she does what I’m thinking the major is implying?” Lokust interrupted.
There was a chorus of agreement and I had plenty of time to recall my dad’s sister, Charlene. Not that there were that many memories of her. She only came to visit a few times when I was a young child.
Only now did I realize my suspicions where right and that my ‘aunt’ was my father while activated!
Mom saw the realization in my eyes.
“I’m very sorry, Chance, but you were so young and we couldn’t risk you learning the truth. As you got older, we made sure to hide Charli from you or not return home before the mission had completed; hence all those long ‘business trips’.”
“Ready, buddy!” Lokust interrupted as she and the others raised their opened containers to me. “Take your time. No pressure, okay?”
No. No pressure!
Drawing my wand and closing my eyes, I began to concentrate on the device sitting on my floor and what my ‘Aunt’ looked like, along with the image I’d seen displayed on this extraordinary DataTab. When I had that combined and stabilized, I asked my Current to please allow the return of Charlene Anderson- at whatever ‘rank she held in the Corps prior to her incantation of the DataTab’s spell.
Even with my eyes closed tightly, I could see the intense, blue light.
“By all that’s freakin’ holy! She really did it!” Chantell exclaimed reverently over the gasps of surprise from my friends- even before the light subsided. “Hopewell? You got one seriously powerful daughter there! Didn’t take her but a ‘sec’ to conjure her daddy back to us!”
Had it only taken just a second? I seriously doubted that declaration as it felt like I had spent minutes trying to remember things right! I opened my eyes.
Mom was already kneeling on the floor next to a woman dressed in her Witch Corps uniform- hat sitting on her lap! She was holding her in a tender embrace, tears streaming from her eyes. Mom silently looked up at me in thanks.
“Dad?” I asked in stunned amazement. I had actually done it!
“Chance?” The woman called out as she opened her eyes only to slam them shut immediately.
“Damn that’s bright! Knock it down a few clicks will ya, kid?”
“Maybe if you disable your Current sense, ‘Charlene’?” Mom chided with a stupid grin as she wiped back more of her tears.
‘Charlene’s’ eyes popped back open instantly.
“You returned me in my activated state? Is that even possible, Hopewell?” Dad…Charli asked looking back at Mom.
“Stow it, you stubborn bitch!” Mom growled then pulled ‘Charlene’s’ face to hers and kissed her passionately!
“I think they missed each other.” Lokust observed before I gave her an angry glare.
She gave me thumbs up and a teary-eyed smile in response.
My quarters’ annunciator indicated someone at the door. Immediately, ‘Charlene’ had been forgotten and we all went on high alert.
“Owwwww. Can I still sue for malpractice?” Charli moaned from the floor. Mom had apparently dropped her and she’d hit her head.
“Lady Charli? Can you tell us who it is?” I asked into my comm, completely forgetting she was corporeal now.
A woman, about two inches shorter than me and dressed as we were, walked past me headed for my quarter’s door.
“I don’t know. Let me find out.” Charli said as she physically triggered the door.
“Hello. Summers’ residence. May I ask for introduction?”
“I’m Capt. Serangetti. May I come in…my lady?”
“I think we’ve determined where Chance gets her ‘smart-assed’ from.” Lokust commented quietly.
“Of course, Captain. Right this way.” Charli greeted pleasantly, stepped aside, and motioned him in.
“Thank you, my lady.” He said as he entered. Charli grinned devilishly and an eyebrow rose as he walked past.
“My ladies. Excuse the interruption, but CC has been receiving numerous calls from the ship’s wet closets, of all places. Calls from crew ordered to stay in place inquiring if the danger has passed and if it is again safe to resume their stations. I wondered how our little ‘clean-up’ operation was going? Might I be briefed on it in a secured location?”
Pointing my wand at the door, a dim, blue light flashed from the thin gap separating the wall and door panel.
“There. Now we can talk in private, Captain. Care to have a seat?” I said motioning to the couch.
“My thanks.”
“Care for a beverage, Captain?” Lokust asked.
“Yes! Very much so!” He answered too quickly. “If not too much trouble.”
Lokust snapped her fingers and a container appeared in her upturned palm.
“Lady Chance showed me that one, sir.” She blushed.
Serangetti gasped loudly before accepting the offered beverage, opening it, and half emptying it in one large gulp.
“We ARE a bit difficult to stomach at first, I’ll admit, captain, but we pose no harm to the innocent. Just the bad guys.” Mom giggled.
Serangetti didn’t look too reassured by that.
“Sir, if I may? I’d like to formally introduce you to our Coven.” I said to start the mission briefing. “Lady Chantell Denison of Earth; Lady Hope Summers of Earth; Lady Kitty Sinae of Felane; Lady Simone Gutteson-Redman of Antarra; Lady Lokust Grunfuller of Remàge; Lady Artemis Dell of Olympus; I’m Lady Chance Summers of Gaia Four, and this is Lady Charlene ‘Charli’ Anderson of Earth.”
“Now, about your infestation. Lady Charli, please update us on the Mare De Tempest’s staffing situation.”
“Aye, M’lady.” Dad…Charli walked over to the wall opposite my couch, produced her wand, and flicked it artistically at the mostly blank wall. A hologram appeared with two colorful pie charts displayed. She pointed to the farthest from her first.
“Mare’s original crew complement was 10,054. So far 5,214 officers and enlisted have been recovered and are in various states of recovery.” She then pointed to the closer of the two charts.
“A breakdown of the recovered follows: 23 Command Officers, 800 Subordinate Officers, 102 Noncommissioned Officers, and 4,289 Enlisted. We estimate 4,840 still missing or deceased at this time, sir.”
Serangetti looked appalled!
“According to sensors that I have commandeered and recalibrated, there are still over 1,000 tainted conscripts circulating in the Current system. Calculable estimates place roughly 520 conscripts to be viably recoverable.”
“Viably recoverable?”
“The Hobgoblin conscription process has never been officially researched, but through observation and firsthand experience, successful recovery decreases exponentially as conscription time increases. Basically the longer someone is trapped in Hobgoblin form the less chance of recovery. There are notable exceptions though. Lady Chance?”
“Captain, I’m sure you understand the statistics on casualties. I assure you we will do everything in our power to recover as many personnel as possible. I am happy to inform you that we have apprehended one of the known architect’s of this heinous invasion. I do regret to inform you that one, apparently their leader, has escaped, but was being tracked by Mare’s external sensors. Unfortunately, the craft escaped and disappeared behind the local star and has not yet emerged from the coronal aura. Lady Charli will alert me if it reappears or assures me that a possible course can be calculated if it doesn’t.” I nodded back to Charli.
“Before disappearing behind the star, Mare’s sensors recorded and analyzed the propulsion signature of the escaped craft and is ready to calculate a possible course on your order.”
“Lady Chance, may I address the captain?” Mom asked respectfully. I nodded.
“Kimbou, I understand you are cleared and tentatively briefed on our unit and the mission of Witch Corps. I also realize that several members of the Coven are known to you in their ‘inactivated’ forms. I must stress however, that you severely restrict that specific knowledge from Mare’s general populous- officers and enlisted alike. Do you understand? It is for everyone’s safety and security.”
“My Lady, I fully understand the liabilities and.” He smiled, “the subtleties of such covert units. But may I state…for the record that…” he looked around at all of us, “that the Witch Corps is a very high profile, Black Ops unit- the very contradiction of the term! You all are very hard to miss or overlook, My Ladies.” Serangetti grinned awkwardly.
“Compliment taken, Captain, thank you.” Mom smiled happily. “Lady Chance? Does our High Priestess have anything further?”
I gulped as I looked to…to my Coven sisters and guest. As captain, was Serangetti now our ranking commander?
“Nothing official pertaining to this briefing, M’lady. I do however have a request for the Captain.” I said as a small problem came to mind.
“Though five of us officially hold quarters here on Mare, may I request quarters for Ladies Chantell, Hope, and Charli, sir. If not too forward, assuming, OR paranoid, might I remind the Captain that, for some as yet unknown reason, the compartments and storerooms surrounding these quarters have been left unoccupied on this and several previous cruises. Intentional or not, might I suggest they now be utilized as official Base and Quarters for Witch Corps?”
“An exploitable coincidence, Lady Chance?” He accused teasingly.
“Only unless YOU had specific foreknowledge of the current events, sir.” I smiled back.
“Point taken, My Lady. I’ll alert the resource manager to release and reallocate the specified compartments. There is one restriction that comes to mind, M’lady. That of the quarantined sections located behind these quarters. I have not been briefed on it since assuming command. Whatever the reason for quarantine, it might conflict with additional quarters being enabled in this section.”
“You mean the two sections that the meteor slammed into? That shouldn’t be a problem, sir. I can sterilize and utilize the space effectively, and the quarantined area will fit our requirements.” I said to his surprise.
“Sir, in light of Mare’s current deficit in staffing, I took the liberty of recording the agreed upon reallocation.” Charli informed us.
“When…how…how could you do that? How did you know I would agree?”
“Lady Charli is our Intelligence Officer, sir. She is VERY good at what she does.” I smiled brightly.
“As for our new Base of Operations and Residential Quarters…” I smiled and raised my wand then gestured to my quarter’s entrance. The entrance door disappeared.
I then turned around and pointed the wand to the wall opposite the original entrance.
An elegant, richly finished, heavy wooden, brass-hinged door appeared on that wall instead.
“Shall we inspect them?”
The room went completely and eerily quiet for several minutes while everyone stared, unmoving, at me.
“Beverage, sir?” Lokust whispered to Serangetti after a moment.
“Absolutely…no…make it a double…I think we…all around, my lady!” He gulped.
An ice-cold beverage appeared in my empty left hand. A single beverage also appeared in the hand of each of my friends, two, one in each of Serangetti’s hands.
He had both containers finished in record time!
I had never seen our captain so frazzled!
 
 

 
 
After finishing my drink and un-manifesting the container, I opened the newly materialized, ornate wooden door and motioned our group out into what I knew was a conservatively decorated, private and secure, hallway. An identical door stood opposite mine with a polished, but very ancient looking, etched, bright brass plate attached to it. It read ‘Common Room’.
The wide hallway stretched for several hundred feet in each direction from where we stood.
“Lady Lokust, another if you please.” Serangetti whispered. He looked lucky to be talking at all the way his mouth and eyes were opened.
I turned to the right and walked to the next set of opposing doors; about forty or so feet down the passage. Turning to the door on the right, a similar, polished brass plate on the equally ornate, wooden door simply stated two names: ‘H. F. Summers’ and ‘C. Anderson’. The door directly across from it stated ‘C. Denison’. Farther down, at the end of the hallway were two more opposing doors. ‘L. Grunfuller’ on the right, and an elaborately engraved image of a hunting bow on the left.
“My thanks for the privacy, Lady Chance.” Dell bowed lightly.
“Mind if I have a look-see, buddy?” Lokust inquired as she reached for the ancient, round, polished brass, mechanical doorknob on the right.
“Welcome, Lokust, Mage of the Four Winds.” A voice announced to her surprise as soon as she touched it.
Looking back at me strangely, she twisted the knob. The door opened silently and effortlessly for something so old and heavy looking. It was very dark inside.
“Lights?” she asked. Immediately the area beyond the door brightened.
Lokust’s eyes bulged from her head!
“All my stuff! Buddy? How did all my stuff get here?”
“I thought I’d help my Coven sisters out and transfer all their things to their new rooms, buddy. You like?”
The living area was about the same size as mine but obviously furnished differently. Two doors off to the left led to a private bathroom and a large private bedroom. A door in the bedroom led to a large, walk-in storage closet.
“I love it, Chance! Its just perfect!” She announced emotionally and began to cry.
 
 
After inspecting Dell’s, Chantell,’s, and Mom and Dad’s quarters, I guided us back past my quarters, to a door on the left. The nameplate read ‘S. Gutteson-Redman’. Simone was astounded that her possessions had miraculously transported themselves here.
“Chance? The image hanging on this wall. I recognize the frame, but don’t remember seeing the image before. I know the one looks like I do now, but who are these women?” Simone asked, pointing to an old, wooden- framed picture of two, voluptuous, elegantly dressed, beautiful, blue-haired young women smiling for the imager. Behind them was a panoramic view of a magnificently beautiful city.
“Jules and Caroline.” Mom commented matter-of-factly as she looked to me strangely.
“I always thought there was something ‘off’ about that picture.” I revealed. “Every time I visited your quarters, that image mysteriously fascinated me…intrigued me…um…dared me, I guess…to solve its puzzle. I finally solved the enchantment placed on it.”
“So that’s what my Grandmother actually looked like?” Simone asked in awe. “And…and that’s Queen Norge? She’s…she’s beautiful! They’re both amazingly beautiful!”
Let’s see the other rooms.” I suggested.
The next door displayed, in dazzling enamel, the royal seal of FeLane on its otherwise polished brass plate. Sinae blushed then visually shot daggers at me.
Good thing they didn’t materialize!
“We need not enter, M’lady. I already know what to suspect the quarters hold.” Sinae…Kitty begged off in embarrassment.
“Aw, Kitty afraid of the big, bad, awful looking room?” Dell teased. “Or did you forget and leave your sex toys out again?”
“I haven’t used them since the last time you were over, so no, I didn’t leave them out.” Sinae countered matter-of-factly.
“I’ll take that action, Kitty!” Lokust offered with a devious grin.
“Sure!” Dell and Sinae chorused then giggled hysterically.
“Before or after the mission is finalized?” Lokust asked seriously.
Both Dell and Sinae’s mouths dropped open.
“Girls? Work before play.” I reminded with a devious grin of my own.
We just stood looking at the door, waiting.
“Oh, come on!” Lokust impatiently groaned as she grabbed the door’s knob.
“OUCH! SONOFABITCH!”
“I forgot to mention the security I enacted on each residential door. Uninvited ‘guests’ are ‘politely’ dissuaded from unauthorized entry.” I giggled. “Even uninvited Coven sisters. May we enter, Lady Kitty?”
Sinae sighed heavily in defeat then opened her new quarters’ door.
The room looked just as I remembered it from the few times I had been invited in. What was different was the large, ornately framed, portrait of Sinae’s Greatest Grandmother, Queen Libra, in all her royal splendor! It hung over a very ornate, marble fire hearth, which appeared to be pleasantly ablaze and supplying warmth to the room.
Sinae and Serangetti immediately approached the shrine, fell to one knee, and bowed their heads reverently. Sinae quickly wiped her eyes, but started quietly sobbing. Her restored tail jerked in time with her sobs as it rested, straight out on the deck behind her.
“So you found that one too, huh?” Mom whispered to me. “It’s been in her family for centuries. I thought I had really aced the enchantment on this one, but I guess I can no longer hide anything from you, can I, honey?”
I nodded with a wink.
“She needed this to finally accept who she is, mom. Now she can be whole again…if she wants that.”
Mom and Charli kissed my cheeks.
“Gods, she really does look like…”
Sinae’s arm, with imposing pointer claw fully extended, shot behind her and threatened Lokust’s belly at close range
“Got it. Keeping my comments to myself, M’lady.” Lokust gulped.
“That’s Libra alright.” Chantell whispered just before the smaller, but still imposing, claw on her little finger extended menacingly slow in my ‘aunt’s’ direction.
“Bring it on, kitten! We KNOW your weakness.” Chantell threatened in a serious, daring tone.
The smaller claw retracted slowly.
Mom giggled. “That bluff always worked on Libra, too.” She whispered into my ear.
I nodded my understanding.
 
 
When the two Lynxins finally stood, I guided our group out into and down the long hallway to the next door on the left.
“This is Reception and the CO’s office. This is now the only entrance from the rest of the ship. Now, across the hall is the best part of the base.” I smiled brightly as I exited the Reception area and opened one side of the unmarked double door. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hit our noses. Four large, round tables, each big enough to seat all eight of us partially filled the room; further back a serving bar opened into what looked like a well-equipped kitchen area.
Mom, Chantell, and Charli hurried over to the coffee urn, selected clean cups from beside it and filled them. All three placed their cups close enough to gently blow on the dark, steaming liquid, then took a cautious sip and smiled.
“Oh, YES! I think I’m in heaven!” Charli moaned suggestively.
Chantell nodded in agreement a few times. “Oh yeah! This is da shit. Great stuff, sister!”
“I thought you’d like it. I always liked the smell of fresh-brewed coffee when you came for a visit, M’lady. That’s the only time Mom made it, that I remember.”
“Very impressive, My Ladies!” Serangetti commended. “Though isn’t it a bit opulent for a military vessel?”
“These quarters, as well as this whole double section, are now self-contained and securely isolated from the rest of Mare, sir. Now, if you all will follow me to the Broom Closet.” I answered with a wink and devious grin.
“Broom…Closet, M’lady? I don’t follow.” Simone asked in curiosity.
 
 
“Lady Chance Summers.” I stated to a blank wall at the end of this section of hallway.
“Business or Pleasure, M’lady,” what sounded like Charli’s voice inquired politely?
“Introductory Inspection, if you please.” I answered as a door manifested and began to silently slide open.
Mom looked to Dad.
“I’m not hooked in at all, Major; nor can I find a responsible network controller either!” Charli whispered in awe. I raised a brow toward them.
“Shall we?” I asked, choosing to ignore my parents.
In the dim safety lights, we made our way down a set of wide, metal grate stairs to a very large room.
“Lights please.” My voice echoed.
The immense compartment echoed with the gasps of my Coven sisters.
“Where in the Queen’s name did this come from?” Serangetti questioned in complete astonishment.
“You did all this, buddy?” Lokust asked, still trying to catch her breath.
I smiled.
“So how’s this qualify as a ‘Broom Closet’, Chance?” Chantell questioned. “It’s an empty, freakin’ly huge hangar!”
“Broom Closet Control, we’re ready to inspect our ‘Brooms’.” I announced.
Across from us several large doors began to open outward, hinged at the bottom, effectively forming a bridge across an assumed ‘mote’.
Another collective gasp filled the compartment!
“By Libra! They’re unbelievable! Chance? How?” Sinae cried, stunned by the sight.
“It’s absolutely amazing, what the right questions can reveal, my Coven sisters.” I said as I advanced across our private flight deck to one of the sleek, aerodynamic, highly polished chrome bodied, Starfighters.
“What do you think, M’ladies?” I asked as we approached one of them.
‘Pegasus4’ was imprinted on the vehicle’s smooth and shiny side, just aft of the transparent cockpit canopy- the ‘4’ subscripted. Forward of the cockpit, a beautifully detailed image of a high, steep-sided mountain topped by an ancient Greek Parthenon with a ‘all-seeing’ eye directly above its roof graced the craft’s sleek and pointed nose. ‘Olympus Found’ was written in beautiful flowing script under it.
“Where did you ever learn about ‘Nose Art’, honey?” Mom asked as she stared.
“Again, the right questions…”
“I think it’s perfect, Chance!” Dell cried as she levitated into the air and ran her hand over the name printed just under the canopy. ‘Huntress’ it declared.
“She’s all yours, M’lady.” I smiled and bowed to her once her feet again touched the deck.
We moved to ‘Pegasus3’, next door. The craft’s ‘Nose Art’ was a cartoon Earth feline- a black house cat- with large white eyes, white mittens and socks, and a white bandage tied in a big bow half way out its tail. It was standing upright on its hind legs about to launch a throwing star emblazoned with the FeLane Royal crest in it’s cartoonish, three fingered, left hand.
Sinae walked closer and gently touched the slogan written under the image.
“‘Re-Tailed’. I like it!” Sinae giggled. “Seems appropriate.”
Under her cockpit canopy was written “Kitty”.
We moved to ‘Pegasus2’.
 
 
Four green, highly detailed, insects- Locusts- faced out from a common center point to represent the four planetary compass points.
‘On The Four Winds’ it warned ominously in what looked like blood-dripping letters.
Pegasus2’s pilot call sign was ‘Lokust’.
“Well done, buddy! I think Great-grandmother would approve.” Lokust said as she rushed over to me and kissed me on my cheek. “Let’s see yours.”
Walking over to the next hangar, ‘Pegasus1’ shined bright and proud. A large, multicolor, segmented wheel with ancient currency denominations in each segment save one was painted on its nose. A pointer represented by two angled pair of golden praying hands on the right side of the wheel indicated one of the segments- the ‘infinity’ or ‘unity’ symbol in it. Under that: ‘Hope and a Pair’, in a rolling feminine script.
“I don’t get it, M’lady.” Simone commented. Sinae, Dell, Lokust, even Serangetti looked perplexed as well.
Mom, Dad, and Chantell looked on in frustration.
“I know its symbolic, honey. I’m just not sure…”
“It’s a dedication?” I hinted. “It’s also a puzzle, Lady Hope…a very simple puzzle with only one answer.” I continued. “Well…three actually.”
“Yeah, its so simple I can’t even decipher it, honey!” Charli giggled.
“Doesn’t anybody know what that wheel represents?” I asked in stunned amazement.
“It’s an old carnival ‘Wheel of Chance’, M’lady.” Chantell answered.
Lokust inhaled loudly as if getting it then sighed and looked confused again.
“I’d like to see my ride sometime today, M’lady.” Charli suggested impatiently.
“Fine! Two pairs of praying hands? Both pointing to a ‘Wheel of CHANCE’?” I looked at my parents to see if it rang any bells. “Homage to my parents and Chantell…Hope and a pair. The three people that started it all. Do I have to explain it further? In simpler terms?” I explained in frustration.
“We get it, honey! And thank you…thank you for everything!” Mom admitted as she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed.
“I still don’t get the mobius, Chance.” Simone asked in frustration.
“The infinite love I have for my parents, aunt, and sisters.” I deadpanned while cautiously appraising the Antarran.
“Oooooooh!” Our group chorused.
Mom tightened her arms around me.
“How come you don’t have a fancy call sign, Buddy?” Lokust asked, as we were about to leave.
“I didn’t feel it was necessary. Everyone calls me Chance anyway.”
Simone’s craft was next. An old and haggard, slightly-overweight, slightly over developed, blue-haired cleaning lady- complete with a white scarf wrapped around her head and using an ancient wet, noodle mop to wipe away a pile of dead Hobgoblins was pictured on its nose. The Hoblins’ eyes were comically represented by ‘X’s. Under the picture, in bold, block letters, was ‘Clean-up’.
“Not my first choice, but it’ll do for now, M’lady. Must we advertise?” Simone commented as she cupped her sizable breasts.
I simply shook my head and pointed under her fighter- at two large cylindrical nacelle-type structures canting out from the bottom of the fuselage.
“What the hell are those, Buddy?” Lokust interrupted.
“Current recovery and reserve tanks. Since Simone’s weapon can collect massive amounts of Current, I added these especially for her. ‘Pegasus5’ is also capable of refueling the other Starfighters if needed on longer missions.”
“My call sign is ‘Laidy-in-Wait’? That’s just great! Nogging great! It’s even spelled wrong!” Simone complained.
“We’ll see if it’s actually spelled wrong, honey.” Chantell teased as we moved on.
“I thought it appropriate as Lady Simone is basically our artillery, Lady Chantell. She is best utilized from the rear and under cover.” I corrected.
“You’re not helping, Chance!” Simone grumbled as she blushed deeply.
 
 
A beautifully detailed, flying horse- ‘Pegasus’- its wings majestically outstretched- decorated Mom’s Broom. The image had two, golden, capital ‘I’s- Roman numeral ‘ones’- between its fully galloping front and rear legs. ‘Semper- Fi’ read the title under it and her call sign, ‘Major’, was proudly written under her canopy- forward of Pegasus6.
 
 
Dad’s…Charli’s fighter’s nose art was different and cryptic in nature. A set of eight intermeshed gears in the form of a circle surrounding an illuminated eye was under-titled ‘Eight I Smart’. ‘Seeker’ was my dad’s call sign, and Pegasus7 was his bird.
 
 
“I freakin’ love it, sweetie!” Chantell exclaimed excitedly as we arrived at Pegasus8 and she laid eyes on her craft.
A beautiful and detailed image of a characterized woman dressed in a blue caped, flowing white gown and matching pointed hat, pointing a magic wand at a cowering Hobgoblin graced its nose. A speckling of glistening stars denoted the magic flowing from the wand to its target. A small brown mass under the beast indicated its reaction.
I laughed at the fighter’s name: ‘Holy Shit?’
I thought the Hoblin turned out exceptionally real looking. Chantell’s call sign, ‘Fairy Godmother’, graced her cockpit.
“How did you do all this- how could you know so much about us, M’lady?” Kitty begged an answer.
“After what we’ve all been through…what we’ve seen and done in the last few days? You need clarification?” Mom questioned as she looked at our Lynxin sister.
“Its freakin’ magic, girl! Magic of a magnitude Charli, Hope, and I never seen before! Amazing, imaginative…powerful, magic!” Chantell shouted exuberantly.
“My Ladies? Over there. What awaits us behind that door?” Capt. Serangetti asked as he pointed to an as of yet unopened hangar door. It was easily fifty times the size of the others.
“That’s Pegasus.” I said as if everyone knew what it was.
“But all these craft- they ARE Pegasus…aren’t they?” He questioned.
I smiled brightly. “Broom Closet Control, let’s see Pegasus, please.”
A small humanoid sized door slid open as we approached.
A huge ship, similar in design to our Brooms, filled the hangar. Everyone gasped at the deceptively black craft. Its hull seemed to absorb any light from around it. As a result, the hangar was mysteriously dim, even though it looked like every light in the place was on.
“Control? Status on Pegasus fuel reserve.” I asked as everyone looked at me as if I were some new, unknown subspecies.
“Current reserve at twenty percent and slowly increasing. Estimated completion time is seven hours, M’lady.”
“Enable external auxiliary fuel loading port and increase absorption rate, please.” I said.
A round port near me appeared, opened, and a red ring began flashing around it.
“This will just take a few minutes and she’ll be ready for a shakedown cruise.” I said as I asked my Current to flow into the ship’s fuel port.
 
 
“That’s the craziest thing I ever seen!” Chantell declared after I had raised the fuel load to fifty-five percent.
“Close and secure external auxiliary fuel loading port, Control.”
The port stopped flashing and closed. Any sign of the port disappeared completely.
“Just what IS ‘Pegasus’, My Lady?”
“Our mobile command post, sir. When Mare is otherwise committed to its own missions.
“Pegasus? Access requested.” I stated in a commanding tone.
“Of course, Lady Chance. Welcome aboard. Capt. Serangetti, it is an honor, sir.”
A ramp formed and extended down to the deck as a hatch appeared at its origin point and opened.
 
 

 
 
Absolutely amazing! I’ve never seen a design like this before, My Lady! So…ergonomic…so natural…so functionally comfortable.” Serangetti exclaimed as we arrived on the bridge.
All eyes were drawn to a seat surrounded by a transparent tube, just feet from the bridge’s entrance door.
“What on Olympus is that?” Dell asked inhaling sharply.
“Lady Charli? Care to take your station and bring Pegasus online?”
“Chance?” Mom asked in worry.
“I trust our daughter, Hope.” Charli said as she eagerly entered the tube and sat down. The tube became opaque, turned to close and isolate its interior, and began to give off a bluish glow.
“I’ll be damned! This is fantastic! How did you ever conceive of this, Chance? This interface…its Light-years ahead of anything I could’ve imagined!” Charli said excitedly from the compartment audio transducers.
“Shall we start commissioning diagnostics, Charli?” I asked.
Lights and fresh air flooded the compartment as systems started initializing all over the ship.
“Environmental systems online and nominal, High Priestess.”
Several consoles at the far end, or front of the bridge, initialized and began sequencing through their various displays. Large ‘virtual viewports’ appeared in front and on either side allowing us to see the surrounding hangar.
“Navigation and propulsion systems initialized. Conventional weapons systems initialized and charging. Current reserve tanks fifty-five percent and circulating, High Priestess.”
“Are we actually going to leave Mare before we finish the mission, M’lady?” Lokust asked with a look of giddy fascination.
“I’ll be! Active camouflage initialized and online. Awaiting implementation, High Priestess. Shall I proceed with main engine initialization?”
“Systems reliability and functional assessment level, Charli?”
“All initialized systems fall comfortably in the acceptable tolerances agreed to by the Galactic Council for Interstellar Military Craft, High Priestess.”
“Delete active assessment and re-assess using FeLane Interstellar Military Standards.” I ordered.
“All systems parameters are precisely within FeLane Interstellar Military standards and vary by no more than point zero-zero-two percent. Would you like me to encrypt and send Pegasus’ assessment to FeLane High Command?”
“Send Certified Registry of Pegasus, Hull number: NCC-53847B to all Allied Interstellar Military organizations. List her owner as EFMC, Witch Corps. Enter the designated hull number and ‘Witch Corps ensign’ into the Pegasus default Active Camouflage Template; also add-in Nose Art file number one. Also set the Witch Corps ‘ensign’ as default on all Brooms.”
“How do you know all of this, High Priestess? There is no possible way you heard any of this restricted information from any living personnel!”
“I asked.” I stated calmly. “Charli? Has everything been sent?”
“It has, High Priestess. It will take some time to receive correspondence from some of the farther systems and those not in compliance to current subspace standards.”
“Understood. Place all ship’s systems to standby and setup a data relay from Pegasus’ transceiver then disconnect from Pegasus interface. We have things to finalize on Mare.” I confirmed.
The consoles went dark and the interior lighting dimmed. The tube around Charli’s station became transparent once more. Dad…Charli stood then walked out to join us. A huge smile was plastered on her face and seemed in no hurry to disappear as we made our way out of the ship and back to our new quarters.
 
 
“Seriously. How did you know that our shuttle craft was named and numbered after a fictional starship from the equally fictious television show, ‘Star Trek’, Chance?” Charli asked as she sat down beside me and began blowing on her second cup of coffee.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I just knew, would you?”
“Honey, after watching you in action today, I’d believe anything you told me! I feel like I just stepped through a door into the friggin’ Twilight Zone!”
“The explanation I just gave you? That’s the truth, Dad. I couldn’t tell you where all the information came from. It was just…there. Just like I can sometimes see what might happen in the not so distant future. Consequently, it’s also the reason all the compartments around me were sealed and empty. I think the crew felt I might be a little too out there for conventional interaction. Dell, Sinae, Grunfuller, and Simon were the only ones brave enough to really get to know me.”
Capt. Serangetti looked around to each of us then stood from his seat next to Sinae.
“My sincere apologies, My Lady Chance. I feel I am solely responsible for your isolation.” He bowed his head sadly. “Several specific concerns brought about the assignment of this particular residence. One was the concerns of a superstitious crew, but that was only secondary to who you are. As a standing member of the FeLane Royal Guard, I indeed had/have access to lower priority Witch Corps issuances; which include confidential social activities and announcements. When I read that Lady Hope Summers had successfully delivered a kit…sorry, baby, I felt hope spring jubilantly from my heart, as did all the loyalists of FeLane. In case you hadn’t heard, My Lady Hope, all of FeLane celebrated the occasion of the birth for several days.” Serangetti’s face grew angry. “Despite the Regent’s ruling against any and all ‘frivolous’ celebrations!”
“Then, when you enlisted,” he looked at me, “I kept close watch on your career. I kept monitor of your progressing education through the Science Ministry and particularly the rumors of your ‘proclivity’ to interacting with Current. When it came time for your assignment, I took it upon myself to personally request your assignment to Mare.”
“The family line of the legendary Hopewell Summers had to continue and be protected at all cost! That has always been the mission of the Serangetti- a mission set forth by Queen Libra herself five hundred standard years ago.”
My mouth had fallen open sometime during Serangetti’s monolog. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!
“In addition to my passive watch over your career, The Royal Guard Loyalists also secretly approached me. I was tasked to keep watch on the direct line of FeLane- her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae, rightful heir to the throne. An obstinate kitten of seventeen years, though highly skilled in the defenses and military tactics, the headstrong girl matched her ancestor’s portrait and recorded persona exactly.”
“If not out on tour at the time, I would have committed treason toward his Regency when I heard of your mutilation by him, the monster calling himself your father! Through encrypted Loyalist correspondence, I had sanctioned nothing less than execution for his heinous actions instead of conviction! Even today, should I favor the chance, I would not hesitate, My Princess!”
“Bridge, Serangetti. Captain, are you available? We have several strange anomalies that require your attention.” His DataTab alerted.
“I’m in a secure location, Kavendish. What is it?”
“Sir? Um…Sensors indicate you ARE located in the anomaly. Do you require assistance?”
“Negative. I’m safe and in no duress, Lt. Commander. Check the section manifest. I’m sure you will find an explanation for my location.”
“Sir, the manifest indicates those two sections have been allocated for highly restricted access only! As of three hundred and forty-six years ago! Access by only level twenty-five and above, sir! I didn’t know the clearance levels went that high.”
“They go to thirty for now, commander. What is the other issue that requires my attention?”
“Sir, we’re still receiving calls from the various wet closets around the ship asking for your order to return to stations. We, ourselves were wondering if we can transfer duty shifts here, as well.”
“Status on rationing, commander.”
“Most report sufficient rations for another day at best. The wet closets were never considered for lengthy emergency habitation.”
“Maintain the lockdown, commander. I have it on good authority that the order will be repealed in…”
I held four fingers up for him.
“In four hours, commander. Serangetti out.”
“Aye. Bridge out.”
“Ladies, we have our orders. Lady Charli, I need the locations of all unrestricted taints. I’ll ask the system to spread the word that we’re trying to recover and purify the tainted ones and to delay or restrict if possible.”
“Wait, what? Who is this…’System’, sweetie?” Chantell demanded.
“Oh, Chance can talk to the plumbing…the Current plumbing system.” Lokust answered nonchalantly.
“Sure. Why not? That’s just as frelled-up as anything else I’ve witnessed today. Where to, M’lady?”
I looked to Charli.
“Section 4B, compartments 4B36F thru J.”
“That’s the Daycare center!” Lokust shouted in anger as she sprinted into my quarters through the open door.
She reappeared looking extremely embarrassed.
“Oops, forgot the new floorplan.”
We hurried through the door at Reception.

 
 
“According to my Current sense there are roughly three hundred taints that aren’t moving from this compartment.” Artemis reported, looking confused. “Why aren’t they moving?”
“Maybe they don’t want to leave?” Lokust voiced the obvious answer.
“But why? What is so important here? What could they be protecting?” Artemis pressed.
“I’ll go in to find out.” I volunteered.
“You’ll do what now?” Chantell challenged in controlled surprise.
“I’ll enter the system and ask around. Somebody’s got to know something, right? Lady Kitty, have your shurikens at the ready in case you see me getting into trouble. Lady Lokust shunt the taints around my location like we did earlier- again, if needed.”
“Hope? I just don’t understand our sisters! I have no idea what they’re talking about!” Chantell complained to Mom.
“Let’s just watch and learn how the new generation does it, Shan. It has been enlightening so far to this point.” She advised as she nodded to me.
I asked my Current to take me into their realm- into the Current.
As before, everything went bright orange. Only this time my vision cleared and became a transportation highway… a road of sorts and I was standing right in the middle of it- orange vehicles traveling to either side of me.
Traffic began to slow and gradually came to a stop.
“We are honored, Lady Chance Summers, but you should not be standing in the middle of a major artery. It is dangerous.” A male sounding, orange humanoid shape said as it appeared from one of the bigger, teardrop-shaped, orange ‘vehicles’?
“Sorry, this is my first time. I’m not familiar with the rules.”
“From what we know of your realm, the rules are very similar to ours, Lady Chance Summers. Would you walk down the middle of a…a highway in your realm?”
“No, I suppose not. I came to inquire about the mostly stationary tainted ones we noticed in this area. My coven and I would like to recover and purify them back to our realm.”
“Reports have described those you seek as very staunch and steadfast. They have been a matter of public safety. So much so that several secondary byways- conduits, you call them- have been closed to the traveling public.”
“So how can I get to these poor souls to help them?”
“I can take you to the general area, but I am unable to help in your mission, Lady Chance Summers. We have agreed to not interact with the tainted ones. Live and let live, I believe you say?”
I nodded.
“Please, allow me.” The entity offered as he guided me to the other side of his vehicle. I found myself sitting next to him and we began moving.
“This is a lot different from the last time I was here in your realm. Last time my vision was filled with orange light. That’s how I and my sisters see all this from our realm. The taints look a little darker in color.”
“That’s very interesting, Lady Chance Summers. We were not aware you experienced the sensation of differing wavelengths. You are more like us than we theorized. I am ‘Envoy’ by the way. One of billions sent out to watch for you or others of your Coven race.”
I began to giggle.
“Interesting. You display emotion verbally. You find something humorous, Lady Chance Summers?”
“Please, Chance will do and is more efficient to speak. And yes, I find your designation for my sisters humorous, Envoy. We are not a ‘race’ or species of sorts, but a very small subdivision of a confederation of species we call the Galactic Council. I am representative of just one of such species in my realm. I am of the ‘Terran’ subspecies. The Galactic Council is made up of thousands of subspecies alone. My Coven is actually a very small collection of several sub-species- in several cases, a single representative. We call it a ‘unit’ or ‘team’…a small, coherent group if you will.”
“This meeting is proving more informative than expected. Please, tell me more?”
“First I must satisfy a concern of mine, Envoy. Do you understand the concept of security clearances? Levels or tiers that limit the amount of information someone receives?”
“I hold the highest of clearance levels for our realm, Chance. The same clearance level you have been given when here, in fact. May I also add that it is refreshing to learn other realms practice the concept? Oh…here off to your side are a few of the tormented ones.”
“Is that what you call them here? Forgive me if I have used derogatory or hurtful designations for these unfortunates. It was not my intent, Envoy.”
“Over the ages, there have been many terms given those fouled by the first tainted ones, Chance. It seems the scourge has always been among us and we long ago decided to just avoid them, or in some rare cases, revolt against them. Though that is not advised and is considered very dangerous. As an envoy, I am not authorized to interface with the Tormented. I will stay here while you investigate.”
“Hopefully I won’t be long. Once I find the answers to these Tormented Ones, I will answer a few more questions then return to my realm. If that is acceptable?”
“Completely, Chance. Be careful. The Tormented Ones can be very unpredictable.”
“I shall take that under advisement, thank you.”
I found myself standing next to Envoy’s vehicle and began walking toward a darker shade of orange not far off.
As I drew closer, the darker orange figures became more defined. Three small hobgoblin-like entities were…were playing tag with each other? They were only half the size of other Hoblins in our realm. Here, in this realm, they moved a lot faster and were more agile.
“Excuse me? Hello. What are you doing?” I asked pleasantly.
“Playing. What’s it look like?” a voice, that sounded like three or four voices merged together, replied. All the voices were high-pitched and childlike.
I was dumbstruck! The Hobgoblins had conscripted the children, too!
“I just wanted to let you know that its time for your parents to pick you up. Its been a very busy day for them and they want nothing more than to be with you; be with family.”
“But we don’t want to go home! We like it here.”
“Don’t you want to be with your parents? Don’t you miss them?” I asked.
“They told us our families would be coming here, to us.”
“I don’t think my parents want me anymore. I’ve been waiting here for them, but they haven’t come. Do you know where they are, lady?” One of the other two asked innocently. Their voices sounded female.
I looked at the smallest of the adolescent Hobgoblins. “Of course your folks miss you, sweetie! Wait…who told you that your families were meeting you here?”
“A really big, ugly lady. She said my parents would come looking for me and to stay here and play. She had a really strange accent.”
“Accent like this?” I asked as I did my best impression of Lt. Ling Hu Guan.
The small Hoblin began to ‘giggle’- which sounded like more of a stucato growl or gurgle, but high-pitched like a child.
“You’re funny!” The Hoblin continued to ‘giggle’.
“I don’t wanna go!” The bigger of the three declared. “I like it here.”
“I don’t wanna go either.” The other Hoblin quickly chimed in finally. This one sounded like a mix of a couple boys and a couple girls. It didn’t sound as sure about it though.
Could I even retrieve these kids if they didn’t want to be saved? Up until now the Hoblins just popped up from the deck in our realm where we could purify and recover them. I wasn’t convinced the same procedure would work here…with children. How in the world could I persuade them to follow me back…out of the current? How could I make this as painless as pos…
“Miss? I’d like to go home. I miss Poppy.” The smallest asked as she tugged gently on my skirt.
Without thinking, I reached down and gently took her twisted, distorted hand in mine. A warm trickle moved down my arm and out my hand into the small ‘Tormented One’.
A bright bluish ball of light engulfed ‘her’ then shot into the sky!
“What did you do to her? What did you do to our friend?!” The largest demanded.
“I…I honestly don’t know. I just thought she needed a reassuring hand to hold, and…”
The middle Hoblin grabbed my other hand. “Give her back! Give back our friend!”
The same feeling and blue light appeared again and the result was the same. It shot into the orange-tinged sky and disappeared!
“Why did you do that?!” The largest one growled out angrily. “You made them go away! You took away my playmates!” It declared in a guttural shriek. “Stay away from me, you…you freak!”
The remaining Hoblin took off running. I noticed it was in the direction of Envoy’s vehicle. I had to get there fast to protect my guide in this realm!
I found myself next to the Orange vehicle and noticed the Hoblin approaching but still far enough away. I called my wand.
“Chance. You do not want to destroy the Tormented One. Using your weapon will only finish the conversion into this realm for it. You must somehow do what you did to the other two.” Envoy said from my left side.
“I’m not even sure how I did that! And I’m definitely not sure how I got back here so fast!”
“Isn’t it obvious to you by now, Lady Chance Summers? You are part of this Realm. You have been granted…how do you say it in your realm? Ah…you have been given ‘Dual Status’. One of a select few to receive that honor.”
I felt my mouth drop open as I turned to him. “Thank…thank you? I think? How did I deserve…”
“The Tormented One, Chance?” He reminded me. “Might I suggest the stern parental approach?”
I blinked and nodded my understanding.
“We definitely have to talk after this, Envoy.”
By now the angered Hoblin had almost reached us and I quickly dispelled my wand and took several quick steps toward it. I tried to think of how Mom would handle me if I were misbehaving.
“You just stop right there, young man! Stop! I wasn’t done speaking to you. Now settle yourself down and behave like the young man your parents have taught you to be!” I ordered loudly, but sternly. I hoped I sounded ‘parental’ enough.
To my surprise, the thing stopped just feet from us and lowered his gaze.
“Do you always act like this when told to do something by your instructors or parents?”
I got no reply.
“I’m waiting for an answer, young man.” I pushed as I crossed my arms in front of me.
“No…no…Miss.”
“How old are you, young man?” I asked- only to quench my curiosity.
I made out two ‘eights’, a ‘seven’, and two ‘nines’ as answer.
“Then you are old enough to know better than to shout at me or run away.” I surmised. “Now come over here! We are leaving and you will not argue with me anymore!”
“No…no, miss…but…I…I don’t want to disappear!”
“Don’t you remember how you got here…to this place?” I asked gently.
“Um…no?”
“The blue ball of light brought you here in the first place. Now it will take us home. Please take my hand, young man.” I explained before holding out my hand to it.
As before, the ball of light shot straight up and disappeared.
“May I ask how many children you have in your realm, Chance?” Envoy asked just after the blue light ball vanished from our sight.
“I don’t have any yet. Why?”
“You handled that like a pro. Shall we look for more of the Tormented?”
“Thank you, Envoy.” I said pleasantly as I found myself back in the vehicle. “so how long to the next ones?”
“Not long at all, Chance.”
 
 

 
 
Hope Summers’ perspective:
 
I couldn’t believe my eyes! Chance…my daughter…she…she just…she just disappeared! Presumably into the Current! How could she even do that? I mean…had I not seen her do it once before, I would assume it to be just a trick.
Then…earlier, she moved so fast it looked like she transported from one place to another! In all my fourteen hundred years, I had never been able to do half the things this girl has done in just forty hours! It’s simply astounding.
“My Lady Hope. Where has Lady Chance disappeared, and was she really serious about going ‘into the Current’? How is it possible?”
“She’s a better witch than I, Kimbou. Even having just gone through her threshold, she is far more advanced than our fourteen hundred years of experience.” I said as I pointed to Shan and Charli.
Charli… Had I just been given back the love of my long life only to lose my daughter? What a travesty that would be! But somehow…someway, I knew Chance was alive and doing the Summers’ name proud!
“Lady Charli, have you ascertained anything about what is going on in this compartment from the sensors?” I asked my mate.
“Sensor logs show the observed taints haven’t moved from this room since the sensor Current feeds were purified, M’lady. Records prior to that have been deleted somehow.”
“So we don’t know if the children got out or…” Kimbou choked. “Or were…con…conscripted?”
“Probability suggests those monsters did just that, I’m afraid.” Charli shook her head sadly. “The very fact that most of the taints haven’t moved…”
“We need to find them! Is there any way of discerning specific conscripted individuals?” Kimbou shot back angrily.
“I’m sorry, Captain. The sensors aren’t that sensitive.” Charli answered.
It dawned on me. Kimbou had a pride!
“You have a kit!” I confronted him as gently as possible.
“Kitten. I have a six-year-old. Her mother left me in charge while she joined a yearlong research project group to the Galactic Border. I had no idea a simple aid mission would turn into this.”
“If they’re here, we’ll get them back, Kimbou. Chance won’t stop until she finds them all!”
“The Major’s right, Skipper. Chance won’t give up. Even before her threshold, Chance stuck to his beliefs!” Lokust assured, bless her heart.
“Sir. I have never met anyone more commited to a cause…” Kitty said before unbelievably, bright blue flashes began filling the compartment, temporarily blinding us.
When the light faded, five hundred children of various ages and one tired looking daughter shared the deck around us!
Kitty and I both gasped at the same time as a small, furry girl of about six years of age stood up and ran to Kimbou.
“Poppy! I missed you! Why didn’t you come to meet me?” She cried as she jumped into her ‘Poppy’s’ arms hugging him for all she was worth and purring loudly.
We both gasped again as we noticed her long tail slowly swing back and forth sinuously.
“She’s of the royal family!” Kitty whispered, aghast.
“I take it you didn’t know you had a cousin?” I whispered quietly back.
“Lady Charli. Please scan these children and see if we can reunite them to immediate family or direct relatives onboard.” Chance requested as she slowly made her way toward us.
“Poppy! That’s her! That’s the nice Miss that found me and helped me come home!” Kimbou’s daughter screamed happily while excitedly pointing to Chance. She easily jumped about ten feet away from her father, landed on her feet, and dashed to my daughter.
“Thank you, Miss! Thank you for sending me home! And you were correct! Poppy was very glad to see me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She shouted happily after jumping up and wrapping her small arms around Chance’s neck.
The look on my daughter’s tired face was priceless!
 
 
Chapter 22
 
 
Chance Summers’ perspective:
 
“Is that the last of them, Envoy?” I asked as we watched the last five Hoblins surrounded by the familiar blue ball of light and shooting skyward.
“In this region, yes, Chance. But I have received information regarding more Tormented Ones. It would be better if you left this realm for your own and tracked them from there. It would take too long to reach in our realm.”
I covered my mouth as a yawn escaped.
“How long have I been here, anyway?” I asked out of tired curiosity.
“According to my chronometer, several hundred ‘psecs’. And yes, it has been a very tiring adventure- though I would do it again if it meant the chance of interacting with you, Lady Chance Summers! I have learned so much about you, your beliefs, and your realm and dream of the chance to visit in person if ever there was a way possible!”
“It would be my pleasure to do that if a way was found, Envoy. Thank you for all your help in locating those children.” I said as another yawn fought its way out of me.
“You must return to your realm now, Lady Chance Summers. Allow yourself a beneficial rest knowing your mission was successful. I will now file my report and distribute it to the other regions so my confederates will know what to expect should you visit their region. Thank you again, Lady Chance Summers, Lady of Two Realms.”
I wrapped my arms around the orange humanoid figure and squeezed gently once then let him go.
“And thank you, Envoy. I enjoyed your companionship. Good bye for now.” I said as I thought about going ‘home’.
I found myself back in the Daycare facility. At the opposite end of the large compartment from where I started. Before me were hundreds of children, of differing ages. One little girl- at the other end of the compartment- started shouting and running to…
The Captain?
“Poppy! I missed you! Why didn’t you come to meet me?” She screamed as she easily made the jump into his surprised arms- probably ten or so feet away and four high!
I gasped! The Lynxin kitten had a long tail!
Even from the opposite side of the compartment- and with all the adolescent chatter, I could hear Sinae and Mom gasp in surprise, too. Obviously, Sinae didn’t know she had a cousin on Mare.
“Lady Charli. Please scan these children and see if we can reunite them to immediate family or at least any relatives onboard.” I requested as I slowly made my way across the room.
“Poppy! That’s her! That’s the nice Miss that found me and helped me come home!” The little Lynxin screamed happily. She was pointing directly at me! She surprised me by jumping away from her father a good ten feet, landing on her feet, ran several dozen feet then jumped up into my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Thank you, Miss! Thank you for sending me home! And you were correct! Poppy was very glad to see me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
I wasn’t quite sure how to handle this! In one way it felt wonderful to hold this excited, strong, ball of purring and shouting fur, but in another it pained me that she and the others had almost been taken away…ripped from their families so callously and cruelly.
If I wasn’t so concerned about dropping the over-excited kitten, I would have wiped the tears from my eyes.
“My Lady Chance. My sincere thanks for returning Lyra to me…thank you for returning all our futures to us!” Serangetti extended his arms in offer to take back his daughter only to have her again jump from an adult’s arms.
“Poppy! It’s her! She’s exactly as I imagined her!”
Young ‘Lyra’ was kneeling in front of Sinae now.
“Your Majesty! It is such an honor to finally meet you! I am Serangetti Lyra. First kitten to Sonja and Kimbou. I am at your service, your Majesty.”
“Sir?” Sinae…Kitty stared at the little girl. I think I actually saw fear in her eyes!
“Lyra, this isn’t Queen Libra. Lady Kitty, I must apologize for my daughter’s over-exuberance. Sonja and I have been teaching her our royal succession and showing her historical images when available.”
“You certainly look like the great Queen, My Lady. Forgive me. You had me fooled compl…”
The young girl quickly jerked her head to her right and began twisting around and around at an incredible speed.
I couldn’t help giggling as the tyke chased her tail, but reached out and stopped her after a moment to retrieve and gently bring her tail around for her to inspect. In my side vision I noticed Kitty blushing in embarrassment.
“My Ladies?” Serangetti asked as he looked around to each of us- mostly me and Mom. “Why…how…is her tail so long? Neither I nor my mate are of the royal line.”
“Lady Charl…?” I began to ask.
“According to highly classified, triple-encrypted, and securely sealed records, Lyra and her mother, Sonja’s, genetic codes are present in the FeLane Royal lineage archive with a succession correlation of ninety-percent. A search of classified medical records indicate both individuals underwent Coccyx amputations- Sonya, at age sixteen, Lyra, at birth.”
Our stunned captain stared at Charli for some time.
“Told you Charli was very good at her job, Kimbou.” Mom said quietly with a wide smile.
“But how could she have her tail if it was removed at birth?”
“The same way Kitty got hers back when Chance activated her, Kimbou. Magic!” Mom answered adding an exaggerated mysticism to her voice.
“Actually, I think the Current restores the body using the existing gen…” I said before Mom ‘shhhhhshht’ me.
“Trade secrets, M’lady.” She raised her eyebrows to me and gave a nod.
“I thought you said he was cleared?”
“He is, buuuuut” Mom looked around the large compartment- at all the young, impressionable ears deftly trained on our conversation.
Recalling my wand, I slowly traced a horizontal circle in the air. It began to glow blue and expanded into a full, two-foot ball- a ball that, with a flick of my wand, dropped to the floor and began bouncing around. It gently bounced into and off of any children that got in the way or tried to catch or swat at it. Soon, playful laughter filled the Daycare facility.
A boy of about twelve with bluish highlights to his otherwise brownish red hair came over and bowed before Simone.
“With your permission, majesty? Is it possible to speak with this Lady of Court?” He inquired respectfully.
Simone nodded slowly in confusion.
Rising, he reverently bowed to me then to my Coven sisters. Of course we returned the gesture to be polite.
“Lady…Chance?” He asked shyly.
“That’s right, young man. What can I do for you?” I confirmed.
“Are you…are you…”
“Am I what, dear?” I asked hoping that would ease his nerves.
“Are yoooooou…um…a…a witch?” He asked nervously, his eyes desperately not wishing to make contact with mine.
“Would it frighten you if I was?”
He slowly shook his head ‘no’ after a moment of thought.
“Um…no…but…but it…um…makes…sense…with…with what you…can…um…do.”
“Well, don’t be frightened, but me and my sisters are witches. We’re not so bad, right?”
The boy looked up at me in confusion. “Why would you be bad? Don’t witches help people? Like you helped me…us get back? Even though…um…we…my friends and I…we didn’t want to come back?”
His admission cleared things up and I now thought I recognized his voice.
“You and your friends should behave better when left on your own. I don’t like having to pull rank on you, you know.”
I slowly raised my hand, palm up, and conjured another bouncy ball of blue light and handed it to him.
“Here. You and your friends have some fun.”
The moment he tried to take the ball it bounced away. He and several other boys began chasing it with smiles on their faces and laughter.
Mom nodded her approval- her smile was the brightest I’d ever seen since before I enlisted!
A yawn escaped my mouth surprising me. I thought that once back in my own realm, I’d feel better. I now noticed that the fatigue had followed me home. Maybe it was the excitement of the returned children that had delayed it?
“Lady Lokust, could you take over the mission? I’m feeling very tired. My contact in the Current stated that it took us several hundred ‘pee-secs’ to complete.”
“Aye, M’lady.” Lokust acknowledged, but looked confused. “Um…Lady Chance? You weren’t gone that long. Maybe a minute at most. And what is a ‘pee-sec’?”
“Envoy didn’t go into detail. We mostly talked about our realms to each other while we searched his region for ‘Tormented Ones’. He was very gracious and gentile.” I answered.
“He?” Mom choked. “You met a guy? In the Current?”
“Apparently a ‘pee-sec’ is comparable to our ‘pico-second’ to a certain extent, M’ladies.” Charli suggested. “One of their ‘psecs’ is like one of our hours here.”
“That makes sense since it seemed to take forever to round the kids up and send them home. A few days, at least. By my perspective. Lady Lokust, you’re in charge. I’m going offline for a few hours. Alert me of any complications as necessary.” I said before turning and walking toward the entrance.
“Lady Lokust. If I may be allowed to escort Lady Chance?” I heard Mom ask behind me.
“I think that’s a very good idea, Lady Hope. We’ll call if things get out of hand.”
“My sincere thanks, M’lady.” I heard as Mom caught up and gently took my hand in hers.
“I’m going to make sure you get back to your quarters and get some rest, young lady!” Mom commanded. “And along the way, you will tell me about this ‘guy’ you met in the Current! What was he like? What did he look like? What were his intentions?” She prattled off rapid-fire.
I could do nothing but blush and stare at the floor during the whole inquisit… journey back to our new base.
 
 

 
 
“Welcome back, Sleepin’ Beauty.” Charli greeted as I managed to open my eyes. Just the phrasing of that simple greeting told me this woman was my father in his ‘activated’ form.
I was in my bed and wearing something smooth and silky feeling next to my skin.
“Hope found something for you to wear…something that fits you now.” She said seeing that I was somewhat confused. “She and Shan decided to go raid the commissary for clothes seeing as Chantell refuses to wear any of Hope’s ‘old shit’. Apparently she didn’t have time to grab her go bag when conjuring her life pod.
I don’t know why I did it, but I jumped out of bed, wrapped my arms around her, and began crying on her shoulder! It felt so good to have my mom and dad- well, almost my dad- back in my life.
“Oh wow! I could get used to this.” She said with a satisfied, happy, moan.
“Well don’t get too used to it, you old perv!” Mom interrupted as she and Chantell walked in. “We couldn’t find too much for you dear. Apparently, you wear a very popular size.” Mom informed Charli. She then looked at me. “You look very nice in that nightgown, honey.”
“Rocks it way better than you ever did, Hope!” Chantell teased. “Should make that ‘Envy’ guy eat right out of her hand.”
No hint there! No sir-ree!
“Envoy. His name is ‘En-voy’.” I corrected as I rolled my eyes.
“So…what’s he actually look like, sweetie?” Chantell started her version of an inquisition.
 
 
“You shittin’ me? You got the hots fer some orange humanoid fig’er? You never seen his face even?” Chantell recapped, exasperated.
“No and nope! Even his vehicle was just an orange shape that resembled what I thought a vehicle would look like. I know it felt like I sat in the thing AND I know it got us to where we were going, but I don’t remember getting in or out of it though.”
“Too bad Libra ain’t here; she was the best at getting’ to the nitty-gritty.”
“Look…I’m telling you everything I know! Can I get dressed now?”
“Fine, but I reserve the right to interrogate this ‘Envoy’ guy if he ever makes an appearance in this…this realm!” Mom relented.
“Fine.” I said as I snapped my fingers. My nightie was replaced by my BDUs, although now augmented to fit my new bodyshape.
“I never raised you to be a showoff, Chance Summers.” Mom commented snidely.
“Well, I had to wear something! If I’m to interact with the crew like before, I need to be in uniform.”
“So where’s THE uniform, honey?” Mom asked- her brow raised high.
“Behind you, on the dresser. Folded neatly. Just like I found it. Why, don’t you trust me with it?” I instantly felt bad for being so ‘snarky’.
“Oh I trust you, honey. I…we’re just not used to your level of magic yet. Amazed by it, actually! I wasn’t able to manifest my clothing for the first century or so following my threshold. Charles was never very good at it, and Shan here wouldn’t do anything that even smelled like Black Magic or Voodoo.”
“Got that right, girlfriend! I’ll manifest my wand and broom, but that’s about it, sweetie. I was always taught that magic was ‘Give and Take’. Well, we seen what just ‘Takin’’ does.”
“That we have, Shan.” Mom nodded solemnly.
“Now, it seems, my daughter is seeing a man from a different dimension…”
“Realm.” I corrected, in a low, irritated growl.
“Oh, leave the girl alone, you two!” Charli said, coming to my rescue. “If Chance says they have no intentions for each other then leave it at that! My God, you two sound like a couple of old Jewish Matchmakers!”
Although I had no idea about the declaration and what ‘Jewish Matchmakers’ had to do with anything, I took Charli’s forearm.
“Thank you, Daddy.” I said and kissed her on the cheek.
“You’re quite welcom…” Charli’s smile disappeared and her head turned back to me. “Hey! What are you playing at? Your mother does the same thing when she wants something… And knows I’ll say no.”
“I do not! And even if I did, you can’t prove a thing, Charli Armstrong!” Mom screeched.
“Well, I’m glad one family has been reunited and has normalized relations.” Sinae cracked as she, Dell, Simone, and Lokust all filed into my slightly larger sleeping quarters.
“So…how goes the mission?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.
“Lady Charli could you give us a status report of Mare’s internal sensors?” Lokust requested.
“Give me a moment. I’m in parent mode right now. We will talk later, Chance.” Charli replied then threatened me while smiling. “We’ll do a briefing in our new Meeting Room in ten. By that time I’ll have my shit together, ladies.”
“Good enough. I need to hit the head anyway. In the Meeting Room in ten then.” Lokust confirmed and my coven sisters filed out. That left Mom and Chantell. Both were standing at the foot of my bed arms crossed under their breasts, staring quietly.
“I guess I should get back in uniform.” I said as my Witch Corps uniform appeared on me. I snapped my fingers and my pointed hat appeared in my hand.
“Is this better, Mom?” I sniped as I carefully placed the hat on my head and positioned the saggy point to my two o’clock… “Say; what does hat orientation matter anyway?”
“Rank, honey. Two signifies commanding officer. Ten signifies second in command. Any position from three, through nine are the specialized, subordinate officers- mostly Lt’s, Lt. Commanders, Captains and Majors. As you may have realized, Witch Corps has no enlisted, honey. We didn’t want some jerk-assed Corporal or Jay-Gee giving us attitude or trying to take over!”
I nodded. “Shall we get to the briefing, ladies?”
“Who said you could go back to duty, honey?” Mom threatened.
I simply pointed to my hat.
“Two o’clock, remember? Ladies, let’s go across the hall.”
“Aye! Up yer’s too, ma’am!” Mom barked, standing to attention. She looked angry I just pulled rank on her. Her hat was now pointed roughly to three o’clock.
“Jealous much, Hopewell?” Chantell laughed as she physically turned my mother around and pushed her out of my sleep quarters.
 
 
“According to Mare’s repurposed interior sensors, we still have several hundred taints in the system just outside of Section 2A.” Charli briefed us in our new Meeting Room. “I hafta admit, Chance, you did one helluva job designing this situation room. Everything I need is available and works perfectly.”
I nodded politely.
“Lady Lokust, you, Chantell, and Simone proceed to that section and purify it. Recover as many as you can. Alert Capt. Serangetti that he can remove the wet closet quarantine. Lady Charli, how are we doing with the reuniting of children and parents or guardians?”
“Capt. Serangetti has agreed to handle that portion, M’lady. So far only twenty percent of the children have been reunited with family. According to Mare’s medical records we can only expect a final success rate of forty-five percent. I’m currently gaining access to planetary records in the represented systems for next of kin relations. The rest may need enrollment in their home system’s adoption agencies.” She said sadly. “I’m sorry, Chance. That’s the best case scenario.”
“Would things go quicker if we used Pegasus’ arrays, M’lady? That way we could utilize her advanced propulsion system to unite child with relative.”
“But wouldn’t that take months, Buddy?”
“It might…if Pegasus used conventional Current propulsion.” I answered and waggled an eyebrow with a devious smile.
“Should I even bother to ask, Buddy?”
“You could try, M’lady, but you wouldn’t like the explanation…or the theory behind it.”
“You figured out Subspace Drive, sweetie?” Chantell asked excitedly.
“I like Dimensional Transition Drive.” I said with a proud smile. “Or just ‘Trans-Dimensional Propulsion.”
Simone inhaled sharply.
“So. While you and your team clear Section 2B, the rest of us will get Pegasus ready for her maiden voyage.”
Filing out of the Meeting Room, we divided up into our teams and went our separate ways.
 
 

 
 
“Broom Closet Control. Status on Pegasus fuel reserve.” I requested from the hangar A.I.
“Pegasus fuel capacity stands at eighty-five percent and increasing.”
“Thank you, M’lady. We’ll be readying her for departure.”
“My I ask about the intended flight configuration, M’lady?”
“All brooms except Pegasus7. Lady Charli will be busy with astronavigation…” I ordered as I thought about something else. A feeling…that feeling, informed me of something else.
“Broom Closet Control. Reconfigure all brooms with two seats. Full harnesses and apparatus. Also reconfigure two of Pegasus’ quarters into two, twenty bunk crew rooms, one fitted for female crew, the other for male crew.”
“It will be done, M’lady. Estimated time for modifications: three hours. Coven member quarters will require compaction into double bedded units to accommodate the given specifications.”
“Thank you, Control. We’ll go aboard now and begin our preparations.”
Once more, I donated some Current to Pegasus’ fuel reserves bringing it up to ninety-eight percent. My Coven sisters looked around curiously at the automated reconfiguring going on as we made our way to the bridge.
“Hangar door zero-one activation in progress. Please remain observant!”
“What’s that suppose to mean?” Mom asked just as the small- by our viewpoint- man door closed and the whole wall began to separate at its middle. The wall subdivided into six separate, but huge, panels and continued to move to the sides until fully opened.
“Pegasus transfer to flight line commencing. Please remain observant!”
We began to move.
“God, Chance! This is so freakin’ outrageous!” Charli shouted out in joyous, childish, glee with a huge smile on her face.
“Hangar door one-zero through one-seven activation in progress. Please remain observant!”
We were now far enough out of Pegasus’ hangar to see the other hangar doors opening, revealing our new Brooms.
“Extending Pegasus broom pylons. Please watch your clearances!”
“OUT-FREAKIN’-RAGEOUS!” Charli squealed out excitedly.
We spent more time watching the broom loading operation than we did ship preparations!
“This is all very impressive, Chance, but will we even know how to fly those…our brooms?” Kitty asked.
“Did you need to think about using your personal brooms before?” I asked seriously.
Sinae looked perplexed.
“Come to think of it, no. Why is that?” She asked as her ears twitched continuously.
Mom laughed lightly.
“Because we’re witches, honey. Witches just know how to ride…excuse me, pilot… brooms- be they straw or Starfighter. It’s part of our magical nature.”
“So we’re officially witches then? Not Terran, Lynxin, Antarran…”
“Envoy claims the Current thinks we’re our own species and designated us ‘Coven’.” I mentioned, cutting Sinae off. That got everyone to stare at me!
“I tried to correct him, but…”
“You were too busy flirting with him. I get it, sister.” Dell…Artemis teased.
I glared at her! This wasn’t going to fade away any time soon, I guessed.
“Shouldn’t you be familiarizing yourself with your station?”
Artemis said nothing, but sat down at what I knew to be her station and began reviewing instructional documents on one of its displays.
Sinae…Kitty sighed and did likewise. Mom stuck next to me as I stepped forward and ran my right hand over the seatback with its built in headrest/restraint.
We all felt the small shudder and a light on Kitty’s console illuminated.
“Pegasus Broom 5 mounted, safetied, and umbilicaled. Access passage is now useable.”
“Huh! I wondered what those twelve indicators were for.” Kitty deadpanned. “I suppose the covered buttons just underneath are the emergency jettison controls?”
I nodded as I looked to the display on my console. It showed a configuration drawing of Pegasus with one Broom attached to her belly; the fighter icon was labeled ‘Laidy-in-Wait’.
And so it went as Broom Closet Control outfitted Pegasus with her requested ‘Brooms’. We watched as each was lifted, oriented, and secured. Each time another indicator lit on Kitty’s console, and each time Pegasus’ inventory was updated on my display. Seven positions were now filled and labeled with our Coven sisters’ callsigns.
One more shudder and another indicator illuminating surprised me.
“Pegasus Broom 8 mounted, safetied, and umbilicaled. Access passage is now useable.”
Looking down at my display the callsign ‘Seeker’ appeared.
“External ship reconfiguration is complete, High Priestess.”
“I only requested seven Brooms, Control. What’s going on?”
“Witch Corps protocol specifies one designated escape craft per Coven Sister.”
“She’s right, Chance.” Mom confirmed with a devious smile. “Looks like you’re too smart for your own good, honey.”
“Lady Charli. Status on children and relative/guardian search.”
“Still interrogating several of the systems archives, M’lady. It looks like we can reunite about thirty-eight kids to a separated parent, designated secondary guardian, or grandparent(s). So far, twelve different systems and fourteen planets in all.”
“Start researching a cyclic course that is efficient and will intercept Mare on our return.”
“Aye, M’lady.” Charli acknowledged as she stood from a station console and walked back to her own, special, station.
As before the transparent tube sealed and opaqued as she sat down.
“AstroNavigation now online, M’lady.” Charli’s voice alerted through the Bridge transducers.
“Lady Lokust, Lady Chance. We’ve finished purification of Section 2B. Recovered two hundred-fourteen crewmembers. Fifty-three unrecoverable partials.”
“Head back to base, Lady Lokust. It’s time to go for a ride.” I informed her.
“Copy that, buddy! See you in twenty. Lady Lokust, out.”
“Lady Charli? Let’s get Pegasus ready for departure.”
“Copy. Enviromental systems initializing.”
“Environmental systems online and nomial, High Priestess.”
As before, several consoles before us initialized and began sequencing through their various displays.
“Navigation and propulsion systems initialized. Conventional weapons systems initialized and charging. Current reserve tanks ninety-eight percent and circulating. Shall I continue, High Priestess.”
“Continue bootup.” I responded.
“Active camouflage initialized and online. Default camo design implementation, High Priestess. Shall I proceed with main engine initialization?”
“Not yet. We’ll wait for the rest of our crew to arrive.”
“As you wish, High Priestess. Bootup complete. Standing by.”
 
 
“I have Lady Lokust requesting access to the flight line, High Priestess. The area is secure and free of equipment movement.”
“Allow access, Broom Closet Control.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
Looking down at the seemingly minuscule stairs to our right, we watched Lokust, Chantell, and Simone step out onto the landing and suddenly stop- their mouths plainly dropping at the sight of Pegasus sitting and prepped for departure on the flightline.
“You ladies going to get aboard or do we leave without you?” I asked into our comm.
 
 

 
 
“Welcome aboard!” I greeted with a large excited grin. “Stations.”
“Proceed with propulsion initialization.”
“Main and maneuvering emitters initializing. Maneuvering emitters start confirmed. Main emitters start confirmed.” Simone reported.
“Broom Closet Control, commence departure routine. Pegasus confirms all systems online.”
“Copy, Pegasus. Decompressing hangar.”
“Major? You want to take your station and get ready to get us underway?” I asked Mom.
“Chance? Honey, it’s been centuries since I piloted anything other than my personal broom…”
“I hear it’s just like riding a bicycle, Mom! Once you learn, you never forget. Time to get back on that horse, Major.”
“HAW!” Chantell burst out in a snorting laugh. “You DO know she almost ran us, headlong, into FeLane, right?”
“Shut it, Shan! I got us home, right?” Mom responded, very annoyed.
“I’ll give you that one, Hopewell. You’re a much better pilot now than you were when a guy.” She giggled.
“Shut up, sit down, and buckle up, pardners!” My mother ordered as she sat down to her console and studied the controls.
“SONOFABITCH!” Mom swore as she looked at the pilot’s console. “These are the same controls as OUR Pegasus! Chance, honey, how did you get this information?”
“Can you fly her or not, Major? If not, move over and let Chantell have the controls.”
“You kidding? She actually crashed a shuttle! I only ALMOST ran into a planet of twenty billion inhabitants.” Mom snarked in response.
“Hangar is now equalized with exterior environment. Opening Main Broom Closet doors.”
The hangar lights dimmed and we began to see stars at the other end of the flight line.
“Pegasus, Closet door is open. Departure vector has been issued. Confirm.”
Mom nodded back to me.
“Copy, Control. Pegasus departing. See you in a few days.”
“Safe travels, Witch Corps.”
“Enable Active Camoflage for deep space configuration.” I ordered.
“Active Camo mode enabled, High Priestess.” Simone acknowledged.
“Take us out, Major.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.” Mom replied in a teasing voice.
Pegasus began to move into the blackness of outer space on her maiden voyage.
“Charli, we’ll go out about two LY’s, turn around then uncloak. We’ll then contact Mare Tower of our arrival.”
“As you wish, High Priestess. Course plotted and transferred to Major.”
“Ready when you are, High Priestess.” Mom confirmed.
“Main emitters to full.”
“Full throttle, High Priestess.” Mom repeated as she slid her finger up a small, specific section of her console.
An alarm sounded instantly.
Mom’s eyes suddenly opened wide as she quickly worked her console again! “We’re here?”
“Yer shittin’ me!” Chantell gasped as she looked at her sensors then to Mom’s.
“You mean to tell me that we went two LY’s in the blink of an eye, buddy?” What kind of a ship did you build us?”
“Obviously a very fast one, M’lady.” Kitty deadpanned. Dell just looked over at me with a look of disbelief. Simone though, looked on the verge of passing out.
“Fuel status.”
“Ninety-seven-point-nine-nine-nine-five percent. That…that hardly took anything!” Simone choked.
“Huntress, open a Comm to Mare Tower and identify us.”
Dell nodded and reached for her control console.
“Pegasus calling Mare de Tempest Tower, over.”
“Mare de Tempest Tower. Restate your ident.”
“Mare Tower. Registry number NCC-53847B, Pegasus.” Artemis re-identified us.
“Slowly uncloak us and move in at full sublight.” I ordered.
“As you wish, High Priestess.” Mom acknowledged with a slight giggle again. I failed to see what was so humorous.
“Will you stop that, Hopewell! You’re embarrassin’ me!” Chantell chided, annoyed by Mom’s giggling when addressing me.
Though I didn’t understand why Dad…Charli had started calling me ‘High Priestess’ before we even got onboard, I just assumed it was Witch Corps protocol.
“Pegasus, Mare Tower. Sorry it took so long. We had to check our registry database, its been a while since your last visit, and we received no advance on your arrival. Can you state your purpose?”
“Overclearance business, Mare Tower. Suggest you consult Captain Serangetti.”
“Standby, Pegasus.”
“So, why are we doing this rather than gathering the kids into Pegasus initially, buddy?” Lokust asked.
“Part shake-down cruise, part officially re-introducing Witch Corps. They have to see us to believe we really exist.”
“Oh. I…I don’t get it.”
“Mare Tower, Pegasus. You are cleared for final approach. Sending coordinates for hangar bay Port two-niner, repeat, Port two-niner.”
“Port two-niner. Copy, Mare Tower.” Dell answered. “Lokust? Isn’t that the High Security Hangar used for planetary heads of state?”
“Yes. That’s the one, Lady Artemis.” Lokust replied in embarrassment. I could feel the heat from her blushing face from my console. It was also the hangar ‘Grub’ arrived in from planet side after his…gastric issue.
“ETA to Mare de Tempest at full sublight, one hour, High Priestess.” Charli announced to break up the laughter.
“Take us in, Major.” I said as I pointed to our forward view screen.
 
 
Mom piloted us into the large hangar bay and settled us gently on the deck like the pro I just recently learned she was. To say I was elated my mom could handle a spacecraft so well was a gross understatement.
“So, do we introduce ourselves as Witch Corps straight away or do we appear as ‘sophisticated’ dignitaries?” I asked.
We usually leave the uniforms until we need them.” Mom answered. “We’re kind of doing things bass-ackwards this time.
“Oh, okay then, we’ll do this.” I said and snapped my fingers.
Everyone except me jumped when our clothing changed; becoming off-white, off one shoulder, silky, shimmery, sheath dresses with matching heels and silver…no…platinum jewelry. I threw in a little tasteful makeup for each of us as well.
“So…anyone still having a problem calling Chance here ‘High Priestess’?” Lokust asked as she looked around the Bridge, but finally stared at Mom with narrowed eyes.
“I think these look marvelous, Honey! How did you know?”
As if choreographed everyone else chorused: ‘A little Current told her!’
Mom sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes.
“Our uniforms can be recalled individually by each of us when needed. Just picture the uniform when needed. Everyone got that?”
My Coven sisters all nodded, except…
“Honey, the next time you want to change my clothes, some advanced warning would be appreciated. You literally scared the piss outta me!” Charli groused.
“Oh, suck it up, Charles! Do the magical liner change that I taught you and quit complaining.” Mom growled.
 
 
Once the hangar was secured and re-pressurized, and all systems were offline, we lowered the ramp and exited single file- me leading my tastefully dressed Coven sisters proudly. Serangetti looked as confused as anybody in the hangar.
“Captain Serangetti! So nice to see you again.” I greeted as I walked over to him and placed a kiss on his left cheek. His long whiskers tickled my face a little.
“My Lady.” He acknowledged with a nod as he blushed. “Seems like only yesterday.”
“Indeed. Has it been that long?” I smiled pleasantly as I took a quick look around.
“Our advanced tactical group has been in contact with us. We wish to offer our services to Mare de Tempest’s crew.” I continued while also listening to the comments from Serangetti’s subordinates.
Things like:
“Wow! Ain’t she a beauty!”
“Them or the ship?”
“Never seen anything like her.”
“Never seen anything like the eight of ‘em.”
“I meant the ship! But, yeah, they’re something else too!”
“How they keep it so shiny?”
“I’d do it for any one ‘em! Fer just a smile, too!”
“Look at all those peripheral craft!”
“Yeah, I like the big ones on the one in the back with the cool blue hair.”
“You moron! I was talking about the ship! She’s Antarran Royalty! Is that all you men think about? Don’t be a swine!”
“Everyone! Get back to work!” Serangetti barked, causing the whole flight deck to spring back into motion as one. Serangetti motioned for us to follow him.
We ended up in his private conference room. I immediately placed a protection spell about the room and nodded it was safe to speak.
“Sorry about that. I’ll have a talk with them about sensibilities after everything is resolved with the Hoblin scourge. Why the ‘grand entrance’ if I may ask?”
“We needed to be ‘real’ in order to find the orphans homes, sir. Having them just disappear wouldn’t be wise.” I rationalized.
“Good point. Why is it you never applied for Officers Training, Lady Chance?”
“I wasn’t like this before my threshold, sir. Something…something just…I just snapped when I saw my friends get conscripted. I…I changed…in that moment.” I told him as I fought to hold back the emotions those memories dredged up.
“I understand completely, My Lady! When I realized that my Lyra had been conscripted, I…I thought my life was over- that I failed in my duties as a parent! That single thought shook me to my core. Lyra is my world!”
As if on cue the child broke into the room and dove for her ‘Poppy’.
“Poppy! I finally caught up to you!”
I wondered if she had even noticed us in the room.
“Um…how did she get through your protection spell, High Priestess?” Lokust asked in surprise.
“It was a spell so we could talk, Lady Lokust. Cleared individuals with the proper intentions can enter and leave freely. In this case, Lyra had every intention of being with her ‘Poppy’ and nothing was going to stop her.” I explained dramatically. “Plus, she’s FeLane royalty. Far be it from me to dis the Royals.”
“Lyra, my kitten, I am right in the middle of something here. Can you please wait for me in my office?”
“I was so lonely, Poppy! Oh, Hi, My Lady. You look very nice, but I liked your uniform better.” The little Lynxin dropped to her knee once more facing Kitty.
“Hello, cousin.” Kitty greeted with a somewhat forced smile.
The girl was surprised to say the least as she looked up, mouth open and eyes wide.
“But I am not of the royal family, My Lady!” The young Lynxin corrected.
“What has your ‘Poppy’ taught you about the royal family and the importance of the tail?” Kitty quizzed.
“That a long tail is the right of…” Lyra began then caught sight of her long, ‘royal’ tail as it curled around her left side and twitched as if having a mind of its own.
“But I thought it a gift from the High Priestess… Lady Chance?” Lyra exclaimed as she turned to look at me.
Those big yellow irises and surprised, emotional expression just about melted my heart, and I fought to not express…
“Awwwww!” My other Coven sisters- except Kitty- exclaimed as one.
“That’s just soooo cuuuute!” Simone said in a very girly voice.
That, I think, surprised me more than if Lokust had said it. Of course Simone quickly realized what she had done and, like Lokust earlier, blushed profusely.
“Lyra. I can assure you that we are cousins. Your grandmamma is my aunt.” Kitty guaranteed.
“Oh, okay. Poppy? Can I ride in that big, shiny spacecraft that just arrived?” Lyra changed subjects without skipping a beat. Kitty looked at the girl in complete amazement.
“My kitten. That ship belongs to Lady Chance and her Coven. I suggest you ask her after we conclude our meeting. So…could you please wait for us out in my office, young lady?”
“High Priestess? Can I ride in your spaceship? I promise I won’t make trouble or get in the way.”
“Oh, I can sooo see Libra in there!” Mom giggled as I sat, stunned, by the child’s boldness.
“Maybe, Lyra, but we need to talk to your ‘Poppy’ first. Be a good girl and do as your father says, honey.” I told her in as gentle a manner as I could.
“Okay.” She said quickly, but stopped and turned back to us. “Oh. You all look so very pretty, High Priestess. Bye.”
The young Lynxin exited the room as fast as she had entered. We all remained silent for a moment, just looking at the door in amazement.
“You two are definitely related, Lady Kitty.” Mom laughed. “Hurricanes Kitty and Lyra. The next great storms to take FeLane!”
Chantell and Charli broke into laughter and the three continued for a few minutes.
“She kinda reminds me of Libra’s little sister, Sonya, Hope. Same attitude, same happy-go-lucky outlook, same blind courage.” Charli suggested.
It was the captain’s turn to look at my three Coven sisters in surprise. Apparently, he had picked up on the name Dad…Charli claimed had been Queen Libra’s sibling.
Mom smiled deviously. “You mean to tell me that while teaching the kitten about FeLane royalty, you neglected to realize your mate shares her name with her great-great-however many times removed it really is-Grandmother, Kimbou? For shame! You being an official royal guard and all.”
“My Lady, I was fortunate enough to have made it through the Haturo inquisition with my commission intact! Any study of the old bloodlines was strictly censored.”
I noticed Sinae’s fur raise at the mention of her now deposed, and incarcerated father.
“Please forgive me, Lady Kitty. I know the very mention of his name sours your stomach.”
“He now sits on his rightful throne, sir. I should be over the whole unpleasant incident by now. Forgive ME for my unrefined response.”
“Oh? They don’t use stainless for the privys in FeLane Correctional facilities anymore?” Chantell stage whispered to Mom.
Serangetti just closed his eyes, smiled in amusement, and shook his head sideways several times.
“Anyway. The reason for our big entrance. Lady Charli has been combing the Galactic Alliance records for relatives or potential guardians for those children that have lost one or both parents to the Hoblin invasion. We offer transportation to the forty children who have registered, legal alternate caregivers not residing on Mare de Tempest, but in other systems…other planets. I guarantee safe passage for those that accept, Captain.”
“Would it be possible to copy me on that list, My Lady Charli?”
“Should be on your DataTab as we speak, sir.” Charli responded with a smile. Serangetti’s DataTab emitted a pleasant two-tone, ‘twinkle’.
“Its magic, sir, what can I say.”
Again the captain’s mouth dropped as he enabled his device and saw a new, encrypted file had arrived.
“I’ve also just downloaded your copy of our official communiqué with the Galactic Council that you may include in correspondence to the children’s new guardians. Yes, sir, I know the procedures by heart. You see, we’ve been doing this for quite some time now.” Charli continued with an even bigger, impish, smile.
“By my estimates, replies should complete in two days given two or three systems still utilize the old subspace protocols. Relocation mission completion should take fifteen to seventeen days given no surprises.”
Serangetti’s mouth dropped open once more as he looked up from reviewing the new files on his DataTab!
“Fifteen to seventeen days? By Queen Libra! How fast can Pegasus go, My Ladies?”
“Two LY’s in zero-point-zero-four-four seconds, but she isn’t broken in yet. Still, she wasn’t even breathing hard, sir.” Simone answered proudly.
The captain winced momentarily.
“Would it be considered fashionable for their commanding officer to escort the Kits and Kittens to their new homes, High Priestess?”
“I think that would be a marvelous gesture, captain. What say you, Lady Kitty?” I asked.
“By the old ways of FeLane protocol, that is expected, M’lady. Clearance must be supplied by the Galactic Council then, and only after the Executive Officer has been briefed and confirmed agreement with sufficient coverage.” Sinae quoted Galactic regulations.
The Captain’s DataTab ‘twinkled’ again. He quickly opened and read the message.
“Galactic Council hereby grants permission to escort affected futures to their awaiting guardians and authorizes EFMC, NCC-53847B, Pegasus, official warrant for transportation.” The awe-struck Lynxin read before his DataTab again ‘twinkled’.
“My Ladies. Could you please excuse me? My mate demands an update. Apparently, she has just been contacted by the Galactic Council in regard to Mare’s recently rectified incident.”
“We’ll be onboard Pegasus until needed, Captain.” I announced as I removed the protection ward from the room and motioned my Coven sisters out. Lyra saw us leaving and hurried over.
“Are you leaving, High Priestess? Can I come along as promised?” She asked as she poured on the ‘sorrowful Kitten’ routine.
“We won’t be leaving for a few days, sweetie. Right now though, your Poppy is going to call your Momma and I think she might need to see that you are alright.”
“Okay. Um…is it alright to show her my tail, Lady Chance? Can Lady Kitty come with me?”
Sinae crouched down to the young Lynxin.
“I don’t think your mother is ready to see me, cousin. I’m sure she will be quite surprised by your restored tail though.”
“Okay.” The girl replied nonchalantly and ran into the conference room without another thought.
Once the door closed, I put a temporary ward on the room to give them privacy. It would dissipate once the room was empty.
 
 

 
 
When we re-entered the hangar to board Pegasus, we were welcomed by a dozen or so wolf whistles and propositions from the hangar support staff- both the men and a few women.
The man I knew to be their supervisor approached.
“Ma’am? I’ve been instructed to refuel your ship. Um…I know this seems like a very stupid question, but…um…where’s the um…fueling port?” He asked with a deep blush to his cheeks.
“Pegasus requires no fuel at this time…” I stopped to wait for his name and rank.
“Chief Reginold…um…ma’am. Um…what do you mean she doesn’t need fuel at this time? No ship is so efficient to come several LY’s and not need fuel.”
“Lady Simone?” I signaled with a wave and pointed to Reginold. “Fuel Status?”
“Pegasus fuel reserve is stable at ninety-seven-point-nine percent, High Priestess.”
“Thank you, Lady Simone. Does that answer your very intuitive question, CPO Reginold?” I asked with a pleasant smile.
“Um…yes, ma’am…yer highness…ma’am. Um…is there anything else we can do for you…”
“CPO Reginold, you may call me ‘Lady Chance’. As well as Ladies Lokust, Chantell, Hope, Kitty, Artemis, Simone, and Charli.” I introduced as I pointed to each of my Coven sisters. “Thank you for your kind offer, but at the moment we require nothing further, if a need should arise, we shall not hesitate to alert you.”
“Very well then, Lady Chance and welcome once again to Mare de Tempest.” He said before nodding to us all and resuming his responsibilities.
 
 
“So now can we see our home away from home, Chance?” Lokust moaned just after our hatch was closed. “After seeing my quarters on base, I just can’t wait any longer.”
“If you want.” I giggled, realizing we hadn’t yet had a chance to ‘officially’ tour Pegasus.
“Do lead on, High Priestess!” Mom laughed.
“God, Hope! So we don’t call ya ‘High Priestess’ anymore! Get over it, girlfriend! Besides, if Chance gets ticked at you she may just turn you into a newt!” Chantell grumbled, but said the last part in some kind of strange, yet familiar, accent and register.
“Seriously, dear, I believe she could do that if you piss her off enough.” Charli cautioned.
“Hmmm.” I said as I put my thumb and finger to my chin. “I really haven’t tried to transmute a Terran before…maybe I should start out with something of relative size and work my way smaller?”
“Don’t be a ‘Horndog’, honey. We didn’t raise you that way.” Mom deadpanned as she broke out into laughter. Actually, we all broke out into laughter.
I wonder? I thought to myself for a moment. Could I actually do that?
Some feeling inside told me it was definitely possible.
I shivered at that thought!
I think Mom was the only one that noticed my contemplation and resultant reaction. She narrowed her eyes at me and grimaced before sighing heavily.
The first section we entered was accessed through a security hatch on the right side of the main passageway. This was actually the fifth time we passed it. A sign on the hatch warned of zero gravity in the adjacent area.
“Lady Chance Summers.” I stated as I bowed down to face a sensor panel. A beam of coherent, green light scanned my face and retinal capillary network once placing my right thumb onto the panel in a specially designed receptacle to power the device with my Current.
With a quick ‘click’ the lock opened and I opened the hatch prior to beginning my briefing.
“This is the access hatch to Broom or ‘Docking’ Ring 2. To access this hatch you must be Witch Corps personel and provide personal Current to power the reader. It is a complete facial, voice, and retinal scanner. To reach the Brooms docked to this ring, you use zero gravity and you’re magic. It makes for faster access and egress from your personal craft. Because of security only your personal craft will be available.” I instructed as I took a step through and floated there waiting for the others.
As we swan through the narrow, circular, ‘ring’, I pointed out my Coven sisters’ call signs on the entry hatches leading to their Brooms.
“Wow! Even the nose art! Chance? How could you have done all this?” Artemis swooned as she ran her hand over the intricately detailed artwork and her stylized call sign, ‘Huntress’.
“I know a little Current.” I teased.
Once back in the main passageway and normal gravity, I headed aft past the entry hatch stopping when we could go no farther. Again, I bowed down, powered up the device, stated my name and allowed it to scan me. Whereas the lock cleared before, this time I stood to the side and motioned for Simone to repeat the procedure. That granted us access.
“This is the engineering section. Environmental, Artificial Gravity Generators and Current Propulsion Systems. Two Coven members are required to access this compartment.” I said as I motioned us all inside.
Before us was the very different world of complex machinery- some, never before seen equipment!
“MOTH-er-PUCKER! How the hell you do this, girlfriend?” Chantell cursed in awe as she…they all stared!
“I’ve been in my share of engine rooms, but this…JEEZUSCHRIST!” Chantell managed to cry out as she gently took my arm to steady herself.
“I hope you don’t want me to fix this stuff, Chance. I wouldn’t know where to even start! I mean, I don’t think I’m even qualified to mop the deck in here!” Simone choked as she continued to stare.
“I based the design on your Science Ministry Master’s thesis, M’lady.” I said as I bowed to Simone. “So you are about the only person alive that can understand and perform maintenance on these systems.”
“My Master’s…” Simone paused as she caught up. “Chance, that was strictly a theoretical ‘what if’ kind of paper! If I haven’t told you yet, I was the laughing stock of my class! My professors thought it absurd at best or a complete joke- that I really didn’t want to earn my Master’s.”
“Two LY’s in just over four hundredths of a second? I wouldn’t call it theoretical, absurd, or a joke, would you, M’lady?” I asked as I again bowed to her.
“The Current Economizer,” I pointed to an inconspicuous piece of equipment off to our right, attached to a bulkhead support, “is identical to the one…”
“To the one I designed on a whim in my spare time while on our last deployment!” Dell cut me off sharply. “The thing really works?” She asked looking about ready to pass out!
“Yep! Sure does, M’lady.” I smiled and bowed to her too, before waving everyone out into the passageway. We headed forward.
Stopping at two opposing doors, I motioned to them. Both had the same type of nameplates our base utilized. Opening the one on our right, I nodded my head to the door. The plate said ‘H. Summers’ and ‘C. Armstrong’.
The compartment was furnished similarly to Mom and Dad’s quarters in our new base, but only contained a bedroom, clothes closet, and lavatory.
Across the passage, a similar plate denoting ‘Denison’ and ‘Gutteson-Redman’ held an identical setup with the exception of two queen-sized beds.
“Normally we have our own quarters, but for this mission we’ll be carrying the children so I had Pegasus do a temporary redesign to incorporate those two, twenty-occupant, Bunkrooms. Those are next on our tour.” I said as I motioned us to continue forward.
 
 
Pointing to a lone door on the left with a zero gravity warning on it, I explained that this was the hatch for Broom Ring 1. Instead of entering I continued on.
The next two staterooms were labeled ‘K. Sinae’ and ‘A. Dell’ on the right and ‘C. Summers’ and ‘L. Grunfuller’ on the left. Progressing forward, ahead of us was the security hatch to the Bridge and another door and security scanner on the wall off to its left. Strangely this door panel had no knob or actuating mechanism like the others.
As with the other security doors, I stated my name and positioned my face to be scanned. The door panel slid open to the left to reveal a small, closet-sized room. Once everyone was inside, I stated our destination.
“Lower level, please.”
The door slid closed and a few seconds later it reopened to reveal a short passageway fore and aft with a security door at each end. I led us forward.
This scanner also required two Coven members to access the next compartment.
“In here are our forward weapons systems, Active Camo equipment, Communications equipment, and Computational Intelligence. Pegasus’ AI is in here also.
“Hey! I recognize some of this equipment!” Charli announced excitedly as she walked over to a few pieces and began inspecting them.
“I too, recall this technology!” Kitty gasped as she turned to her right and examined a strange looking; oddly shaped container tucked away behind one of the starboard particle cannon breach controllers.
“You should. You designed it almost fifteen years ago.” I smiled. “Its directly addressable through the Pegasus AI. The interior of the ship is ‘fluid’ and can take on numerous floorplans. Isn’t that what you envisioned, Sinae?” I bowed to her respectfully.
“Now, about the Active Camouflage…”
“How you found that old design I’ll never figure, girlfriend! I don’t even remember where I laid them.” Chantell cut in.
“Actually you and Lokust have to share the accolades. While in the Science Ministry, Grub had dabbled in active camouflage systems…personal camouflage systems specifically.” I turned to her and smiled impishly. “Didn’t you once tell me it was your idea for gaining access to the women’s shower facilities?” I giggled.
“Access granted, dork!” Chantell laughed as she gave her Coven sister’s shoulder a light shove.
“You know what they say, dear. ‘Be careful what you wish for.” Mom joined in.
“Wouldn’t it be more like, ‘ask and you shall receive?’” Charli asked adding insult to Lokust’s injured psychy.
“That reminds me. I feel really gross. Hurry this tour up so I can get a shower!”
“Almost done, M’lady.” I said as we walked out of the forward equipment bay.
“This is our combination Recreation Room, Meeting Room, and Training Room. Luggage/Cargo Storage is further aft…for this mission anyway.” I announced as we entered the larger compartment. It had two noticeable indents of the outer walls- the aft broom ring near the back and the forward broom ring that split the compartment almost evenly. “There’s also a fully stocked galley. Now let’s head up to the observation deck.”
 
 
Everyone was silent as the lift’s door slid closed after I made the level request.
“So, we have an observati…” Lokust was about to ask as the elevator’s door slid open to reveal a large area with a transparent ceiling which, at the moment, revealed- by way of our close proximity to the hangar’s ceiling support structure- exactly how big Pegasus really was. The pointed noses of several of our Brooms were in view towards the rear.
“Relax! We had forty feet of clearance…at least!” Mom commented haughtily when all of us looked around to her in concern.
Around the downward curving walls of the room were low shelves filled with books and periodicals; some looked very old. Scattered around this deck were comfortable chairs and couches for relaxing while reading or stargazing.
Further aft was another security door. This one was finished in a rich, darkly stained, wood and had an old fashioned knob to open it. Strangely, it had a blank nameplate.
“Oops. I forgot the finishing touch.” I said as I pointed to the bright brass plate.
The name, ‘Serangetti’ mysteriously scrolled across it, making the etched name permanent.
“I didn’t know if the captain would be coming along.” I said as I actuated the security device and opened the door by turning the knob.
Through a narrowed office area- once again, allowance for Broom Ring 1- was another bedroom suite. This one had a large king-sized bed and a smaller, single bed that looked like a characterized, child’s version of the cockpit from one of our Brooms. I hoped Little Lyra liked it. Here, the ceiling was solid, but still curved on its outer edges to follow the ship’s contour.
“Aft of the beds is a closet and the lavatory. Behind that is the Engineering supply hold, access is only through Engineering. This concludes the tour of EFMC Pegasus. Any questions?” I asked patiently.
“May I be dismissed, M’lady? I really need a shower!”
“Of course, Lady Lokust.” I answered as I rolled my eyes. “Try not to go blind though, okay?”
More laughter ensued, but my Executive Officer either didn’t care or was ignoring us as she stepped into the elevator.
Mom grabbed my arm and quickly pulled me to her. As soon as her head touched my shoulder she burst into tears.
“Oh, Chance. My wonderful daughter, Chance! This is all so amazing! Never in my dreams did I even expect half of what I’ve witnessed these last few days! I just can’t believe you did all this! I’m…speechless!”
“Yeah, uh huh. I don’t believe that declaration for a minute, Hopewell! Never in the history of the Corps have you EVER been ‘speechless’!” Chantell antagonized.
“Oh, shut it, bitch!” Mom countered as she pulled back to wipe her eyes. “Can’t I have a moment with my girl?”
“I give two for you and your imaginative daughter, Major.”
“Really? You quote Khan, from the second movie? Arrrrgh!” Mom moaned as she leaned her head back and rolled her eyes at the ceiling.
“No worse than you jacking the Pegasus’ hull number from that old, online game!” Chantell snarked.
“Pegasus? Please alert us when Captain Serangetti pages us. We’ll be staying onboard until he does. Also secure the entry hatch and enable exterior proximity sensors for external warning only.”
“As you wish, High Priestess. Will there be anything else?”
I looked around to my Covern sisters. We all looked worn out and in need of relaxation.
“Close the Observation ceiling and display the star field simulation for mid twenty-second century Earth, Northern Hemisphere, United States, Michigan, Detroit, during the Summer Solstice, please.
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
Immediately the ceiling above us went blank, the room darkened then a starlit night appeared above us.
“The chairs and couches recline if anyone feels the need to relax.” I told them as I magically changed my clothes to blue denim pants, dark blue t-shirt and dark blue deck shoes, picked a chair, reclined it, stretched out, and closed my eyes.
“Is there something that girl hasn’t thought of?” Charli whispered to Mom.
“If there is, let me know, M’lady. We can always add some smaller details.” I giggled.

 
 
“Excuse the interruption, High Priestess, but Capt. Serangetti requests the Coven’s attendance in his situation room.” Charli paged through Pegasus’ transducers.
“Thank you, Lady Charli. Locations of our other Coven sisters.” I asked as I tried to shake the last vestiges of sleep from my eyes and stretched once more before extraditing myself from the too-comfortable lounge chair.
“Ladies Kitty and Artemis are down in the Training Room. Lady Lokust is taking yet another shower. Ladies Chantell and Simone are in Engineering trying to familiarize themselves with the equipment…”
“And Lady Hope has been waiting for her daughter to finally wake up!” Mom said as the elevator door opened and she stepped off.
I caught a yawn in my hand. “How long have I been out?”
“Around twenty-four hours, give or take a day.” Mom smiled as she took my hand and led me back to the waiting elevator.
“Main level.” She said.
“Have the others been told Serangetti wants us?”
“All sisters have been alerted, High Priestess.” Charli reported instead of Mom as the door opened to Pegasus’ main level.
“Thank you, M’lady. Alert the Captain that we’ll meet him in his conference room in an hour. Right now I need to cleanup. I’m sure Kitty and Artemis do too.” I said as I opened the door to my quarters.
Mom giggled quietly as we parted ways- she heading back to her quarters.
“Oh, hey, buddy. Love the facilities.” Lokust greeted from her bed, towels wrapped around her body and hair.
“You leave me any hot water, buddy?”
“Very funny. You try it yet?”
“Try what?” I asked with a tilt of my head.
“You know…it.” She winced, looking embarrassed.
I nodded to let her know I understood.
“Then you know how good it feels.”
“Ummmm, yeah…no.” I began to nod then finally got what she meant and shook my head ‘no’.
Instead of continuing the conversation, I walked into the lavatory, closed the door, and began undressing. My comment about the hot water was only to goad my friend about her ‘explorations’. In all honesty, I hadn’t had a chance to explore the ‘new’ Chance farther than necessary hygiene, and frankly, I was reluctant.
As it was, the hot water felt invigorating, but certain places felt way too sensitive.
 
 
“Have a good shower, Chance?” Lokust asked as I exited. She had dressed and was facing away from me, brushing her shiny blond hair out.
“So…was that a high ‘C’ or just a high ‘E’-flat, buddy?”
“What are you talking about, Lokust?”
“Nothing. I just thought I’d let you know that our quarters aren’t as soundproofed as you thought. That’s all. Like I said…nothing.”
“I appreciate the discretion, buddy. Tell the truth, I’ve been debating any exploration. What if I give in to…um…my desires and lose focus on all of you, Pegasus, the Brooms… What if they’re somehow connected to me? That if I let my mind stray…”
“Give it a rest, Chance. Like I said, I heard you in there just now and the world didn’t spiral into oblivion. My only question to you is: did you enjoy it? Wasn’t it amazing? I know,” Lokust glanced to the floor quickly and refocused on me. “I know I wasn’t expecting such a reaction! I almost ended up on the floor when the first couple hit! Its intoxicating, buddy! I can only hope it’s that way for you, too.”
After her heartfelt admission, I realized that we…Lokust and Chance, had reached another level of familiarity. We were girlfriends. Not just girlfriends, but best girlfriends! We could talk to each other about anything. Anything at all.
“It did fell amazing.” I admitted, but I still blushed in embarrassment. “But we’re due in the Captain’s conference room in fifteen minutes.”
“Full tactical or diplomatic mode, High Priestess?”
“Diplomatic.” I said as I finished putting on fresh panties from my dresser drawer and searched for its accompanying bra. Sometimes when you magically transfer articles of clothing from one place to another their order changes slightly.
“Thanks, by the way.”
“What for?” I asked.
“Well for one, transforming some of my things so Lokust can have a couple changes of clothes. Also, thanks for the new dress. It fits perfectly and the color compliments my complexion.”
 
 
We all met at the entrance hatch fifteen minutes later. Pegasus’ external sensors had alerted us to Capt. Serangetti’s arrival. Apparently we were to be escorted to his Conference room as we had been two days ago.
 
 
“Welcome again, My Ladies.” He greeted with a charming smile.
Again, several of the hangar staff whistled their appreciation. And as before, Serangetti had to remind them of proper etiquette.
As we began walking to the exit, Serangetti stopped and looked at me.
“I know it is none of my business, Lady Chance, but several of the hangar staff have complained about receiving a mild shock while in close proximity to Pegasus over the last two days. Would it be possible to limit such protocol to more inhospitable environments in the future?”
“Sir. Pegasus’ specifications are highly classified and as such require higher than normal security measures. I will however repeal the tactile warning if you can guarantee your crew will not try to get too curious. That includes negotiating the ceiling support structure to obtain paparazzi images.”
“M’lady. Some of us do not mind the occasional pervy stocking of our quarters’ observation windows. I, at least, consider it a compliment.” Chantell countered sweetly as she struck a sexy pose and air kissed.
“Well that explains the second degree burns on Stranik’s face and hands.” Serangetti deadpanned as he escorted us out of the hangar.
“So why tease the poor guy, Lady Chantell?” Mom questioned with a devious smile and tilt of her head.
“I wanted to see how far he would go. Got to hand it to him, he sure has a high pain threshold! You could hear the sizzle and crackling all the way to our passageway door.” She giggled. “I didn’t know Pegasus was a ‘bug zapper’ too.”
“Well, I never thought anyone would last more than five minutes.” Simone giggled as she blushed brightly.
“Stuff like that happened to your Granny all the time, sweetie. Especially the way you rock a towel and your civvies!” Chantell said as she mock-fanned her face. “Sooooo HAAAAWT!”
 
 
“Lady Chance! Lady Kitty!” Lyra shouted as the young Lynxin flew through the air at us as we entered.
I was fortunate enough to jump out of her way.
Kitty wasn’t so lucky!
“Lyra!” Serangetti shouted, his eyes wide in surprise. “Such enthusiasm, my kitten, but allow your cousin to regain her footing! You have been taught good little kittens do not attack family, but are courteous and well mannered!”
“I’m just glad to see them, Poppy!” The girl explained as she leapt into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Nice move, honey. Next time move a little slower so we can at least see you do it, okay?” Mom whispered as she stopped next to me and leaned into my ear.
“Fight or flight, M’lady. I chose the later in this instance to spare the kitten.”
Mom’s expression changed instantly as she stared at me in concern.
“Chance?”
“The urge was there to protect my sister, mother- a very strong urge. I know she is just a child, but the urge was there just the same. I’m not sure why.”
“Do you suspect something about her, Honey? Did we miss something?”
“I’m not sure,” I said as I blinked on my Current sight and observed the little furball of energy. I couldn’t see anything obvious.
“Nothing I can make out, Mother…but I feel…”
“My Ladies. I have had the surviving Daycare specialists interview the futures in question. They feel it is in the futures’ best interest to relocate and reunite as soon as possible, so departure is at your discretion.” Serangetti announced as he started our meeting.
“We appreciate your confidence in us, Captain. We have accommodations prepared for twenty females and twenty males aboard Pegasus.
Serangetti’s eyes opened wide!
“How did you know, My Lady? How did you know the exact count?”
“A little Current told her!” My Coven sisters chorused to my embarrassment.
Lyra began giggling uncontrollably!
I waited until the kitten settled down.
“We begin our departure preparations on your order, Captain.” I said as we all sat down to continue our meeting.
It was decided we leave the next morning after breakfast.
 
 
“Pegasus, enable entry hatch and full sensor scans of all boarding, non-Corps members.” I ordered as our large group neared the ship.
“Sensors operational, High Priestess.” She replied.
“Wow! This thing talks to you too?” One of the older boys asked in amazement.
“Pegasus is alive and sentient, just as you all are, young man.” I answered. “Lady Charli, begin monitored boarding.
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
Dad…Charli was already at her station both monitoring our passengers as they boarded, but, most importantly, also plotting an efficient course to and through the different systems we needed to visit.
With the help of a few of the Daycare specialists, we boarded the orphaned children- with their belongings- one or two at a time. In the case of the N’vree triplets, three at a time. Capt. Serangetti and Lyra watched the proceedings from just to the left of our boarding ramp- the smaller Lynxin having to be held to keep her excited demeanor under control.
Though taking over an hour, we finally boarded all but two passengers.
“Captain? We’re ready for you and Lyra, sir.” I said, bowing my head to them then gesturing to the ramp.
Lyra was absolutely bouncing with energy! Literally, as she leapt off her father and bounded up the ramp to the hatchway.
An alarm sounded and the hatch sealed tight in an instant!
“High Priestess, an anomaly has been detected.” Charli announced over my comm as Lyra began pounding her fists on the seamless metallic hull.
“My Lady! What is the meaning…”
“Pegasus has detected an abnormality with Lyra, sir. Please allow me to investigate. I promise the kitten will be unharmed.” I said as I blinked and enabled my Current sight.
It took some time and more than once Lyra had to be calmed, but I finally found ‘it’.
The taint was very small and I doubted it had enough power to do anything beyond existing. Still, it didn’t belong.
“Sir,” I began gently. This was going to be a sensitive issue. How to tell him his child was still tainted…
“There had better be a very good reason, Lady Chance! From your dour expression one might deduce that Lyra has not been purified as would have been expected. Is that a correct assumption?” Serangetti’s tone left no margin of error as to his intent. His voice echoed throughout the large hangar and people started taking an interest in us.
“My Lady, Lyra, could you step off of the boarding ramp, please? Lady Charli must recalibrate the sensors and to do that we need to be away from the ship.”
“Lady Chance, I suggest Lady Kitty attend her cousin also?”
“Affirmative. Sir? Lady Kitty is on her way to calm her cousin.”
The hatch opened. Sinae and Mom walked calmly down to the hangar deck where Sinae offered her hand to the kitten.
Serangetti immediately tensed at their arrival.
“Sir, I must ask you to please step away. Lady Chance will be as discrete as possible.” Mom advised.
“Poppy! Don’t let them hurt me, Poppy!” Lyra shouted hysterically.
“Lyra, honey, Lady Chance has no intention of hurting you. Our sensors picked up something strange on you. Might you know what that is?” Mom continued as she carefully knelt down in front of the girl so as not to tear her elegant, cream colored, very formfitting, dress.
“No! You’ll hurt he-me! Poppy, keep her away! Please, Poppy!”
“Kitten, this is not like you. Please answer Lady Hope’s question. It is the only way we can help.” The Captain urged his daughter.
“Lady Hope? Could I have a word, please?” I asked Mom. She stood and walked over to me.
“What’s going on? Charli said she detected taint on her. I couldn’t see a thing.”
“I found a small amount of tainted Current at the middle of her back, Mom. It barely shows through her clothing. It’s barely alive, let alone able to manifest.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I feel there is something…something she isn’t telling us, Mom.”
“Does this have anything to do with your feeling yesterday? You know, the feeling you got when she jumped at you?”
I thought about that- and how Lyra might be covering for something…
I nodded ever-so-slightly.
“Here’s what we do, mom. We make it a game for her. We need to be ready though so the first thing we do is get into uniform. You, me, and Kitty. I’ll try to draw out the taint as gently as possible.”
“Chance, you think we should risk exposing Witch Corps to Mare’s crew?”
“Like they haven’t been exposed before?”
“Good point. At least some of the female crew has seen us. From what Kitty said the Bridge crew definitely knows about us…”
“Let’s get Lyra involved as a junior member, shall we?” I suggested with a smile as I turned back to the frightened little kitten.
“My Ladies, to uniforms.” I ordered.
Instantly, a blue light engulfed Mom, Kitty, and I, and when it faded we were in our Witch Corps uniforms. The light was merely for show and privacy, and not necessary.
Multiple gasps echoed through the hangar- two of which were the Serangettis’.
Presenting my empty right hand to Lyra, I manifested my wand. Her eyes widened instantly.
“How do I look, Lady Lyra?” I asked the girl with a confident smile.
She started laughing and clapping her hands together with such enthusiasm I thought she would pop!
It felt like all eyes were upon us now as I knelt before her. The loud murmuring certainly confirmed we had everyone’s attention. I even heard the title ‘Current Mage’ mentioned more than a few times.
“My Lady. I was wondering…” I paused for effect as I continued to smile at the young Lynxin. “Would you be interested in a uniform like this?”
I thought Lyra’s head would snap off and bounce across the deck, she nodded so hard- and several times too!
“You know…this uniform… it comes with a whole lot of responsibility. Think you would be able to handle it, Lady Lyra?”
Again the kitten tried to nod her head completely off!
“If you’re sure. Please stand straight and tall so I can get your measurements for the uniform then.” I continued then held my wand out horizontally from its middle. A green, coherent light scanned her from head to toe. She giggled the whole time but managed to basically stay still.
“Please turn around so I can get your back, M’lady.”
Still giggling profusely, she turned and I used my wand again to scan her. This time I pointed out the tiny tainted spot to Mom with my free hand. She nodded then walked over to the Captain.
“M’lady, you have something on your clothing back here. Let me see what it is.” I alerted as I touched the tainted spot.
“Don’t touch her!” Lyra screamed as I gently touched her back.
“Her?” I asked in shock as Lyra turned to face me in anger.
“She doesn’t want to go back! She wants to continue playing with me!”
“Who? Who wants to continue playing, M’lady?”
“My friend! She wants to stay with me…here! We want to play together.”
“Kitten? What friend? I see no one but you, me, and the Ladies.” Her father asked in confusion.
“Lyra? Did you meet somebody in that other place where we first met?” I asked tenderly.
“She said her name is ‘Savanna’, Lady Chance. She was lonely and I asked if she wanted to play with me. We played for a while and we became best friends! Can she stay?”
“What did ‘Savanna’ look like, M’lady? What sub-species? Did she say? If I am to rescue her, I need to know what she should look like, right?”
“I’ll ask her.” Lyra said as she began to concentrate. While she did that, I looked to Mom, Kitty, and the Captain.
“Savanna says she’s ‘human’.”
That really didn’t help because most subspecies considered themselves ‘human’.
“I need to know more specifically, M’lady. So many call themselves ‘human’. I need to know if she is Lynxin, Terran, Antarran…what subspecies of human is she.”
The young Lynxin began to concentrate again. This time it took much longer.
“She says she wants to be Terran!”
That caught me off guard! Everyone else too, for that matter!
“She…she wants to be Terran?” I asked in confusion.
“Lyra? How old is this…‘Savanna’?” Her father asked out of curiosity.
“Oh, she couldn’t walk yet. I had to carry her around while we played. On my back, Poppy.”
I had a sudden feeling.
“M’lady? What is it? I know that look.” Kitty asked noticing the familiar expression when my Current sense got a hit.
I smiled.
“Oh, Lady Lyra, I am so very proud of you! Even though not officially inducted into our Coven, you have already displayed the values we have swarm to uphold. And do you know what those values are, M’lady?”
“Nooooo?” The girl replied timidly.
“Life. You have protected a life, Lady Lyra! If what you say is true, and Savanna is as old as I think, you may have just saved her life before it has even officially started. May I try something?” Lyra nodded cautiously. “Tell Savanna that I am going to give her some of my Current. Tell her it might sting a little but that I am not trying to hurt her. I only wish to make her stronger. Okay?”
 
“Okay, My Lady. She’s ready.” She said after a much longer time.
 
“First, though, we get you dressed properly, young lady.” I said as I slowly waved my wand in circles over her head. The same blue light appeared and when it faded, Little Lyra had an official Witch Corps uniform of her very own.
Mom looked ready to pass out as she reached out in curiosity and felt the fabric.
“This…it…no way, it…High Priestess?”
“Lady Hope?” Capt. Serangetti asked curiously.
“Her uniform…it feels like…like Weaver’s silk!”
“Impossible! The Weaver Species died out almost a thousand years ago.”
While Mom and the Captain debated the probabilities, I knelt back down to Lyra.
“So how does it feel? Does it fit comfortably?”
“It is amazing, High Priestess.” She swooned, smoothing her hands down her sides. Unlike our uniforms, her ‘Bustier’ was incorporated into the jumper-style dress and only an outline of orange stitching.
“Now, I’d like you to hold out the hand you write with- palm up, alright?”
“What’s going to happen now?”
“Well…every Current Mage needs her wand, right?”
“Uh huh?”
“Well, now you need to think about making your wand appear, so…think about your wand. What would it look like…what color…how big…”
“I want mine to look like yours, High Priestess!”
“Well that makes things convenient. Think about a wand that looks just like mine appearing in your hand.
As before, the kitten began to concentrate. I half expected the precocious little Lynxin to conjure one on her own! Waiting a moment for that very outcome, I allowed several more seconds to pass so that it would appear harder than she thought. I finally conjured Lyra’s wand- a wand that would actually work if she found and had the Current to do it. It appeared magically in her upturned left palm!
She jumped!
“It worked! It really worked!” She cried happily as she began waving it around excitedly. Hangar personnel began running and jumping out of the way in fear as she did so. I tried to suppress my smile and laughter, as did mom and Kitty.
Lyra’s ‘Poppy’, though, had another look. This look was focused on me and questioned my decision- my sanity- to put something so implicitly dangerous into the hands of his six-year-old kitten.
“Hold, Lady Lyra! As I said, there is a lot of responsibility that goes with the uniform; even more that comes with that wand. You must first learn how to use it properly so you don’t accidentally turn anyone into an amphibian. Plus,” I continued with a bright smile. “There is proper wand etiquette. A proper Current Mage must remain regal and well poised at all times while using her wand.”
She stopped waving the wand madly about and instead, held it tight to her chest with both hands and a guilty face.
“Sorry.” She apologized quietly.
“Now, let’s help Savanna into this world. Ready?”
“Uh huh?”
“Good, I’m going to feed Savanna some Current.” I said as I gave a lilting gesture of my wand to the spot on Lyra’s back.
“Ooooooooo, that feels warm, My Lady.”
Seeing the taint clear and a healthy looking spot of orange Current grow slightly larger, I cut my Current feed.
“Lady Kitty? Could you, Captain Serangetti, and Lady Hope possibly provide some courage to our sister as she helps us recover Savanna?”
“Of course, High Priestess.” Mom and Sinae chorused as all three offered their hands to little Lyra.
The small, bright orange spot of Current seemed to brighten and enlarge a little more.
“Captain, if I may? Were any of the Daycare Specialists expecting?” I asked cautiously.
“Specialist Christanson, I believe, but…” He replied sadly.
“I see. Thank you, sir. Your daughter is a true hero then. You have taught her well, sir.” I praised as he looked at me in confusion. Lyra seemed to beam with pride as I complimented her ‘Poppy’.
“Now then…shall we begin?” I paused a moment. “Lady Lyra, do you have any play dolls?”
She nodded.
“Do you know how to hold them properly?”
Again she nodded.
“Could you show me how you would hold a very young doll in your arms?”
Lyra pretended to cradle a virtual infant in her arms while Mom, Sinae, and her ‘Poppy’ placed their hands on her shoulders. Placing my wand gently on the spot of Orange Current on her back, I began to concentrate. Once ready, I pulled my reserve wand and pointed it at her waiting arms, and worked my magic. I could feel the small, Current ‘entity’ travel through me.
 
 
When the blue light subsided, Lyra’s- everyone’s- eyes, widened at the sight of a healthy, naked, baby girl gently squirming in the young Lynxin’s arms.
The infant blinked a few times, gurgled happily, and began reaching for Lyra’s whiskers as the girl leaned her head closer.
“Owrrrrrww!” That hurt!” Lyra cried out as ‘Savanna’ latched onto one and pulled.
Sinae, Capt. Serangetti, Mom, and I laughed. Lyra looked confused as to why the infant had done that and why we all thought it humorous. She gently raised her head and extracted her whisker slowly from the baby’s grasp.
Savanna started to get fussy, and began ‘gurgling’ louder.
“Savanna says she wants her Momma, High Priestess.”
“I’m…I’m not sure that’s possible.” I said quietly, not knowing how to explain.
The baby got more fidgety and her complaining became louder.
“Savanna wants YOU, High Priestess. She says she is cold and wants her momma.”
“But I’m…I’m not her momma, M’lady.” I tried to explain as the baby started crying.
“She wants YOU, M’lady.” Lyra urged as she offered the crying infant to me.
I didn’t know why, but I immediately accepted the child. Maybe it was because it looked like Lyra might drop her? Maybe…on some level…
Lyra smiled and carefully, I took possession of the infant.
Who was I trying to kid! I felt…‘it’. Not the ‘it’ as in the ‘Current’ I knew so well. No. The pull that- I guessed- almost every woman feels…that…that maternal urge…instinct…need… to hold a baby close…close to my…to my breast!
Alien emotions were coursing through me at light speed stifling and confusing me so much that I had no clue what to do.
The tiny life in my arms began to protest and wiggle even more. Snapping out of my fog, I realized I was now rocking her gently and ‘shhhhhushing’ her with pouted lips. Something, deep inside, suggested that maybe…just maybe, she was hungry.
“I’d say she was hungry, M’lady.” Mom confirmed my feeling.
How in the world could I do that?
Basic biology finally presented itself, and when I felt my bustier getting a little uncomfortable, I knew my magic had worked. With another blue flash, I was back in my ‘diplomatic’ dress and little Savanna had a Weaver’s cloth blanket wrapped around her.
Looking over, I saw that Mom’s and Sinae’s eyes were bulging, and that Lyra and Capt. Serangetti’s mouths were hanging wide open.
“M’ladies? Could you board our last two passengers while I attend to our newest guest?”
Mom, Sinae, and Lyra all nodded in overwhelmed silence before I turned and walked up the boarding ramp. Once inside Pegasus I pulled the dress strap off my shoulder far enough to be accessible. Savanna needed no instruction.
I, on the other hand, could have used a briefing on what to expect, as my legs went weak and I leaned hard into the passageway wall for support.
“Lady Cha…Holy Shit, buddy! When did this happen?” Lokust began to ask until she actually saw what I was doing. “Um…who’s the father?” She gulped in curiosity.
“I’ve been chosen as a surrogate. Her real parents are…” I said, but couldn’t finish.
“But, ummm…how can you…you know…” Lokust pointed to the baby contently nursing at my breast.
“She was hungry. What else could I do?”
“But doesn’t…it takes time to develop…I mean…it doesn’t just magically…oh.” She blushed as she suddenly realized who she was talking to. “I guess it CAN magically happen to…with us. What’s it feel like?”
“I could work the magic on you if you care to try it.
Lokust paled as her mouth dropped open, but she seemed to have taken the time to at least think about it.
“Um…I’ll pass…for now. Where we gonna keep her, buddy?”
“Savanna will be staying in our quarters…unless you have a problem with that?” I declared as I raised an eyebrow to her.
“Nope. Not at all, High Priestess.” She answered before quietly turning around, walking down the passageway, and disappearing into the childrens’ bunkroom on the right.
Recovering the strength in my legs, I carefully walked down the passageway and entered the quarters I shared with Lokust and now Savanna.
Conjuring an infant-safe crib at the foot of my bed, I carefully placed the now sleeping baby into it and covered her with a blanket I had also conjured with the crib. I sat in a nearby chair to take inventory of my new feelings while watching Savanna as she slept.
 
  
In all my life, I had never felt so…so contented…so fulfilled…so…needed? Is this how mom felt after I had been born? Had she experienced these very same emotions when first setting eyes on me? Did she feel the urge to protect me with her life? Did she feel the same overwhelming, intimate connection to me as I now felt for Savanna? How could this have happened in such a short span of time?
 
 
“M’lady. Pardon the interruption, but Capt. Serangetti wishes to bring along inventory for the baby.” Simone whispered from the open doorway.
Without saying a word, I looked to her and nodded. She then approached and gazed at the sleeping baby girl.
“She’s absolutely perfect, M’lady. So adorable, and she even has your hair color.” Simone cooed.
I hadn’t noticed until now. She did have a head full of black hair- full for a newborn that is.
“By the legend of Greyskull! Its true!” Chantell gasped quietly from out in the passage.
I nodded and she entered and stared at the crib then at me.
“I heard the comm traffic, but I…High Priestess, how is this possible?” She whispered.
“Should we even need to ask, Lady Chantell?” Simone countered quietly. “After everything we’ve seen her do?”
“I’ll give you that one.” She said shaking her head in awe. “Girlfriend. You are simply amazing!”
“It does seem there is nothing our High Priestess can’t accomplish if she sets her mind to it.” Simone agreed. “If you want, I can stay here and watch her while you attend to the Serangettis, Chance.”
“Thank you, Simone, I appreciate it. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I had to force myself to take my eyes off the crib and again force myself to leave my quarters! How had I become so protective all of a sudden?
Chantell accompanied me to the entry hatch where the Captain, Lyra, Mom and Sinae had just topped the ramp and waited patiently.
“High Priestess. Permission to come aboard?”
“Permission granted, Commander, and welcome aboard Pegasus. Please, make yourself at home.” I greeted happily.
“Now if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your quarters.” I said as I motioned them forward. We stopped at the elevator.
“Sir. All security onboard Pegasus is three-fold; Voice recognition, retinal scan, and facial scan. For added security, one needs to supply Current for the device to work. For example, please place your thumb on the right side of the device right there,” I showed both him and Lyra. “Now lean down so the scanner can read you and say your name.”
“Commander Kimbou Serangetti.”
“Welcome aboard, Commander. I hope you will enjoy your stay with us aboard Pegasus.” The AI confirmed his first access pleasantly. Lyra began giggling hysterically as the elevator’s door opened, waited almost thirty seconds then closed.
“Once we are underway, security protocols will be disabled for all public areas. High security areas such as the Bridge and Engineering will remain stringently enforced while we carry non-Corps passengers. For individual quarters, you may select the level of access according to your preference.” I informed.
“Now you try it, M’lady.” I nodded to the girl.
“Lady Lyra Serangetti.” She announced regally after placing her thumb.
“Welcome aboard, Lady Lyra. Enjoy your journey.”
Again the kitten seemed ready to pop with excitement.
The door opened and we entered this time.
“Observation level, please.” I requested.
 
 

 
 
“Wooooow! This is so great!” Lyra shouted as the door opened and she ran into the observation lounge.
“Commander? You look surprised.”
“Everything about this vessel surprises me, My Lady!”
I smiled. “Your quarters are just through that door, sir. Same security protocol.”
“Poppy! Can I do it this time?” Lyra shouted excitedly and hurried over. Before we had even come close, she had the door flung open and was shrieking in delight from within the suite!
Her father’s eyes popped wide when he stepped through the doorway and took in the suite.
“Poppy! Look at this! It looks like one of the ships on the outside! Is this my bed, High Priestess? Is it? Is it?”
“Especially for our newest Current Mage, My Lady.” I said as I bowed at the waist to her.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“High Priestess. I have a woman requesting permission to board Pegasus. Chief Specialist Cassandra Anderson from Mare’s Daycare.” Charli’s voice announced over our comm.
I immediately looked to Capt. Serangetti.
“I felt some familiarity might help the futures’ behave, High Priestess. They can be albeit…challenging at times- especially during such a long trip. I have personally vetted her and assume full responsibility for her, My Lady.”
I nodded my acceptance.
“Permission granted. Add her to the ship’s crew manifest and please show her to the bridge to await my arrival.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.” Charli acknowledged.
Snapping my fingers, my guests’ luggage appeared at the foot of the larger bed.
Lyra’s eyes got big again and she gasped in awe. Cmdr. Serangetti looked about ready to pass out.
“If you and Lady Lyra would follow me, sir.”
 
 
“Sandra, good to see you well again.” I greeted as I entered the Bridge.
The brown-haired, young woman with blond streaks throughout turned quickly and stared at me.
“Have we met, Ma’am?”
“Chance. Chance Summers.”
“You can’t possibly be the same Chance…”
“Yes she IIIiiis.” Sinae sang from her weapons console.
“Did those…things…do this to you?” The stunned woman asked.
“Truth is…the truth is well beyond your clearance level. Let’s leave it at that and move onto why you are here, shall we.” I said in a serious voice. “Commander Serangetti?”
The tall, handsome Lynxin stared at me a moment as if caught doing something mischievous.
“Chief, the reason I asked you to come along was to attend to the futures…children…on our mission to relocate the orphans with their secondary or alternate guardians. Since this mission might take some time and the Coven will be focusing on flight operations, I thought it wise to have someone trained in dealin…attending and tutoring the children. High Priestess, the Galactic Council has given their approval to temporarily raise Chief Anderson’s clearance to Level Twenty-five: ‘Top Secret’. I hope you know what that means, My Lady?”
Anderson looked behind her as Serangetti spoke the title before looking back to him then to me. She looked very confused.
“He’s talking to you, Sandra. Welcome to the Corps. Temporary as it may be.” I said as I pulled her into a hug.
“What Corps? Why did the Captain call you all a ‘Coven’?”
My clothing changed instantly. I was now wearing my uniform. It felt tighter than usual up top.
“Recognize this, Sandra?” I asked as I finished by manifesting my wand in my right hand.
“OHMYGOD! That was real? You were real?” She exclaimed while the color drained from her face.
Instantly her arms were around me, squeezing tightly.
“Thank you! Thank you! You gave me my legs back? Was that also real?”
“Glad I could help.” I whispered in her ear to confirm.
“High Priestess, I took the liberty of having Pegasus place an extra single in the female’s bunk room when I intercepted the Commander’s communiqué from council.” Charli informed me.
The Lynxin Commander glared back to Charli’s station in contempt.
“My sincere thanks, Lady Charli. Would you care to greet our new ‘Reservist’?”
Charli’s station tube cleared to reveal my ‘activated’ father as she stood. I stifled a laugh as Anderson’s eyes and mouth both opened wide.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Sandra…Or do you prefer Lady Cassandra?” Charli asked as she approached and bowed her head.
“Um…Sandra or Sandy is okay, um…Lady Charli?” She bowed awkwardly
“That’s silly, Lady Sandra! All members of the Coven are called ‘Lady’, Lady Sandra.” Lyra informed the woman then giggled. She was being so quiet; I had forgotten she had gone over to sit next to Sinae.
“Well said, Lady Lyra!” I praised. “Lady Lokust, status.”
“All passengers have boarded and have been cross-checked to the supplied manifest. Passenger personals have been stowed and secured. We’re ready on your command, High Priestess.”
“Thank you, Lady Executive. We’ll continue after I show Lady Sandra, Lady Lyra, and our esteemed Commander the ship. Feel free to begin non-propulsion preflights.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.” Lokust confirmed.
 
 
So how’s my little one, Simone?” I asked quietly as I entered my quarters.
“Still fast asleep, Chance. She’s a doll. Oh, Chantell dropped these off and Savanna slept right through me putting one on her.” Simone answered as she held up a recyclable diaper and pointed to more sitting in front of the closet.
“Thank you very much, Simone. We’re about ready to leave so we should get up to the bridge.” I said as I reached into the crib and carefully lifted Savanna to my shoulder. I felt more comfortable having changed back into my ‘diplomatic’ dress.
 
 
Arriving on the bridge, I conjured a smaller, baby ‘seat’ next to my station and carefully placed Savanna, still fast asleep, into it and tucked the blanket around her before placing the seat’s harness over her and securing it.
“Now we’re ready.” I said as I looked at the infant next to me.
“Flight Status.”
“All preflights except propulsion systems are green.” Lokust reported.
“Lady Artemis, contact Mare Tower and tell them we are go for departure.”
No acknowledgement came though I know I saw Dell at her station when I entered.
“Lady Artemis?” I repeated as I looked over to her station. She was just staring at me with a very surprised expression. “Dell?” I asked in concern.
“I…IIIIIII didn’t want to believe what I heard on the comm.! I can’t believe you…Chance? Is…is she really yours? Now?”
“According to Lyra, Savanna chose me, not the other way around. Who am I to argue? Now, can you alert Mare Tower that we’re ready?”
“Right away, High Priestess. Mare Tower, Pegasus. We’re a go for departure.”
“Copy, Pegasus. Ground crew has been given order to clear the deck. You are ‘Go’ for Propulsion preflight.”
“Pegasus copies, MT.”
“Hope, Simone, Charli? Make it so.”
Once more, mom looked over at me with a stunned expression. I also noticed Chantell staring at me with a quirky smile.
“What did I do wrong now?” I asked with a sigh.
“Nothing, High Priestess!” They both chorused.
“Propulsion is ready and at the pilot’s command, High Priestess.” Simone reported.
“Mare Tower, we’re ready on propulsion.” Dell advised.
“Pegasus. You are clear to translate, or do you prefer to back out of the hangar. You are quite large for our shuttle bay.”
“Pfffft. Piece of cake, High Priestess.” Mom shrugged off the advice.
I looked to Artemis and nodded.
“Mare Tower, our pilot took offence to that. We’ll translate.”
“Um, copy, Pegasus. We’re just going to…um…keep our heads low…very, very…low.”
Mom grunted in annoyance as she started working her console. Pegasus came alive and we felt only the slightest movement.
“X, plus one foot. Beginning translation.” Mom announced as our view of the hangar began to slowly pan to the left.
“One hundred fore and aft.” Chantell called out as the hangar’s sidewall came into view. Mom glared at her angrily.
“Fifty fore and aft.”
“Thirty fore and twenty aft.” Chantell announced calmly.
Mom began paying very close attention to her console and she might have even been holding her breath.
“Fifteen fore and fifteen aft.”
Mom seemed to relax a little.
“Five fore and five point five aft.”
“Honest to God, Shan, if you don…” Mom groused.
“Two fore and two aft!” Chantell’s voice announced with a little more excitement.
“Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.” Charli’s voice rang out over the transducers.
“Five fore and aft.”
Mom had actually been holding her breath! As confirmed when the numbers started increasing and she exhaled heavily.
“Twelve fore and eight aft.”
“Shit.” Mom swore under her breath and made a small adjustment.
“Twenty fore and aft. Hey! Who says women can’t drive?” Chantell tittered.
“Thirty-five fore and aft.”
“Compliments to your pilot, Pegasus! Give us a minute to change our shorts down here, though.”
“Y’all kin go straight ta hell!” Mom snarked as she seemed to relax even more. Her face though, beamed with pride.
“One hundred-twenty fore and aft, High Priestess.”
“Way to go, mom!” I cheered. I quickly looked over at Savanna.
My little darling was still sound asleep.
“Translation complete, High Priestess.” Chantell announced with much relief.
“Way to handle the tiller, Major!” Charli congratulated.
“Pegasus, Tower confirms translation complete. You are cleared for departure. That pilot of yours must have a set of titanium ones the size of…what? The old man’s onboard? Ah, shit…really?”
There was a pause.
“Pegasus, sending departure vector to you now. Safe journey.”
“Vector received, High Priestess.” Mom announced with a giggle.
“Take us out, Lady Hope. Lady Charli, is the first leg of our trip computed? If so transfer to our pilot.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
“First stop is Antarra. ETA: nine standard hours and thirty-seven minutes.”
I heard Cmdr. Serangetti gasp in surprise behind me. The Mare would probably take three or four weeks.
“Course transfer from navigation complete.” Mom confirmed.
“Artemis, Ship-wide please.” I requested.
“Ready, Chance.”
“Attention all passengers. This is Lady Chance. Our first destination will be Antarra in nine and a half standard hours. Please stay seated until our pilot has ordered the fasten seatbelt sign extinguished. Thank you.”
Again Mom and Chantell stared at me like I had three heads.
“Ladies, that is getting very irritating.” I warned as they looked to each other and snickered quietly to themselves.
“Course received and entered, High Priestess.” Mom reiterated instantly becoming serious.
“Engage.” I ordered and reached over to Savanna to adjust her blanket.
Again Chantell and Mom exchanged glances. I caught it out of the corner of my eye.
“You think she found that old flash drive you told me about, Hopewell?” Chantell whispered.
“If she did, she put it right back where I stashed it, Shan. The protection spell is still unbroken.” Mom whispered back.
“Pfffft. You think that would stop her, Hopewell? Look what she did with our supposedly ‘Top’, Top Secret projects. As I recall, you put protections on them, too.”
“She’s a very gifted witch, Shan. I wouldn’t put anything past her. I’m just glad she’s on our side.”
“What side would I be on, mother?” I asked calmly as I ran a gentle finger over Savanna’s precious cheek.
“Why, the side of truth, justice, and the American way, honey.”
“Telephone call for Mr. Reeves. Mr. George Reeves.” Charli giggled out in a strange sounding, nasally, female voice.
“Up yers, Armstrong!” Mom shot back, looking to the ceiling.
“Unbelievable! Transportation AND entertainment!” Cmdr. Serangetti chortled as he held Lyra in his lap behind us.
“Lady Simone, Active Camoflage to ‘Deep Space’ mode.
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
 
 

 
 
About an hour into our mission, Sinae let out a disturbing, low-pitched, growl and stared at Lokust just as Savanna woke up and began fussing. I had been acknowledging all the systems’ check reports and hadn’t been paying attention.
“Well it wasn’t me! Geez! One time and I’m branded a pariah!” Lokust mysteriously complained.
“Lady Chantell, is there something wrong with the environmental system? “ I asked as I began to sniff the air.
“Everything is in the green, High Priestess.” She replied after checking her console.
“Then what…”
It didn’t take long to find the cause.
“Awwww. Savanna’s first poopy.” Mom groaned sarcastically.
“I know the name of this tune. You have the helm, Shan.” She added as she transferred control of her console to Chantell and stood up.
“Come along, High Priestess.” She nudged me. “Time for parenting lesson number two: what goes in, must come out…or…Orifices Wild.” She announced deadpan with a bemused smile.
As if scripted, Savanna began crying loudly right before I picked her up.
“We’ll be in our quarters, buddy. You have the Bridge.”
“Aww, Jay-effin-Cee! Will someone PLEASE open a window? At least light a match!” Chantell cried out before the Bridge’s door closed behind us. Mom giggled evilly to herself the whole way back and into my quarters.
 
 
“And I thought Hoblins smelled bad!” I complained after I breached the seal on Savanna’s diaper.
“All part and parcel with being a parent, honey. You think you smelled like a rose at this age?”
I just looked at Mom while I squeamishly cleaned Savanna’s bottom.
“You know, Chance, there are just some things that magic won’t help with.” Mom chuckled to herself a moment. “I know…I’ve tried.”
“Yeah, I just found that out. Not even my Current wants anything to do with this! Aaaah…I think I’m gonna wretch!”
“Don’t be such a pansy!” She advised in a very low octave and strangely accented voice.
Savanna cooed then ‘grunted’ and her face turned red again while she left me more to clean up. This time liquid was involved and soaked the clean diaper I had attempted to slide under her.
The little demon even smiled at me and began cooing again.
Mom laughed hysterically!
“Once you’re done there, she’ll probably want fed again, honey.” Mom advised after she composed herself.
“I figured as much since my boobs are feeling really uncomfortable.”
“You’re the one who decided to start lactating, honey.”
“So what else could I do? Something told me she was hungry. And she picked me, mom. I really didn’t have much choice.”
“Most single moms don’t, Chance. Just be glad you missed all the fun parts. Stuff like the morning sickness, the weight gain, the having to pee every hour on the hour because the baby is crowding your bladder… And I don’t even want to think about that time we went to the beach and Greenpeace showed up!” Mom grinned.
“What’s Greenpeace?”
Mom’s grin vanished. “Never mind.”
“Excuse me, Lady Chance? Lady Charli told me I might find you here…Oh how precious! How old is she?” Sandra Anderson interrupted then, seeing Savanna, broke into a big smile.
“I recovered her just before Lyra and Cmdr. Serangetti boarded.” I answered honestly.
Anderson’s broad smile became clouded.
“Excuse me? Did I just hear you say you ‘recovered’ her only a few hours ago? How…?”
“Somehow the Hoblins conscripted her. Lyra found her while in the Current and befriended her. Since Savanna couldn’t walk on her own, Lyra ‘carried’ her while they played.”
“Then I recovered the children from the Current. Through some unknown cooperation, Savanna stowed away on Lyra. When boarding Pegasus, our scanners picked up the very small and weak, -still tainted- Current on Lyra’s back and I investigated. Lyra claimed she could communicate with the tainted entity and through her, I learned Savanna might be an unborn Terran female. I used my magic to manifest her into this world. Supposedly, Lyra claimed Savanna wanted her mother…she claimed that was me.” I explained as I finished dressing the fussy baby in a cute little, pink, one-piece I had just conjured.
Anderson stood stationery for a while with her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Wait! You just saved me five days ago. There is no way you could’ve given birth in that short of tim… Hold on. You said her name is Savanna?”
“I never said I was pregnant, M’lady. I have only been female for six days. What I did say is that I found Savanna parasitically joined to Lyra’s back while still conscripted as tainted Current. The Hoblins use the Current conduits throughout the ship to get around unseen. I just found her, gave her enough of my own Current to survive recovery, and reconstituted her back into our world. I’m really not sure how old she actually is. My guess is less than nine months though.”
“Specialist Christanson…Elle Christanson was expecting. She told me she had chosen Savanna for the baby’s name. I believe she was six months along when we…oh,” She choked and quickly covered her mouth. “Oh, Gods, no.”
“I had Charli search the MIA’s. Both Elle Christanson and her spouse, Walker, appear on the list, Sandra. I’m very sorry.” Mom reported sadly.
Anderson looked to Savanna while I held her to my right breast. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“I…I hope you made those monsters pay!”
“One of the leaders, we recovered and placed in custody. A second, we think, has been purified and reabsorbed into the Current.” Mom told her. “But there are still many more scattered throughout this Galaxy. We won’t stop until the Hobgoblins are extinct, Sandra. That is the mission of Witch Corps.”
“Witch Corps?” Sandra gasped. “I’ve heard that name before.” She admitted as she began to search her memory.
“My father investigated a shuttle craft crash about twelve years ago. I was only twelve at the time and snuck a look at his report. It claimed the ship was registered to something called ‘Witch Corps’. The cause was listed as ‘unknown’. The next time I peeked at the file, every trace or mention of it was blacked out- redacted.”
“You might want to talk to Chantell, Sandra. She was piloting our shuttle when she was attacked.” Mom suggested.
“Attacked?”
“Hobgoblins stowed away in the Current tank and attacked as she was on approach. She barely managed to manifest her ‘life pod’ in time. It’s a longer story than that, though.” Mom told her.
“So Lyra claimed that Savanna told her she wanted you to be her mother? If that doesn’t sound strange…” Sandra decided to change the subject as I interrupted.
“I think Sandra still needs her own uniform, mom. Don’t you?” I asked randomly as I dislodged Savanna from my nipple. She had begun falling asleep and I didn’t want her to be affected as I REALLY accessed my Current. She complained a little but calmed as I gently patted her back.
“It would go a long way to the Coven accepting her, High Priestess.”
Sandra was instantly dressed in the Corps’s black, white, and orange Weaver silk right up to the pointed hat. The requisite locket hung proudly in her cleavage. Savanna let out a little burp and seemed to smile.
“What did you just do to me, Chance Summers?” Our ‘reservist’ demanded. “I feel very strange.”
Mom looked at me in surprise.
“Chance? Did you just…you know?”
“Temporarily, why, you don’t think she can handle it?” I answered.
“Can’t handle what? What can’t I handle?” Anderson demanded.
“She didn’t change much, honey, and she doesn’t resemble any of our past sisters like you girls do.” Mom observed.
“Who should I resemble? Why won’t you answer me?” Anderson grew angrier.
“She’s a six-thirty. What skillset, honey?” Mom noted.
“I don’t know. Why don’t we ask her?” I suggested.
“Why am I a…a ‘six-thirty’? What is that? What’s a ‘skillset’? I want one of you to answer me right NOW!” Sandra shouted angrily and instantly pointed between us.
A bluish glow formed at the tip of her pointer finger and began to expand.
“OH MY GODS! I’m on fire!” She cried out and began to stare at then try to shake out the Blue plasma ball. It quickly disappeared.
“Interesting.” Mom said as she raised an eyebrow to our newest member. “A plasma projector. I don’t think we’ve ever recruited one of those before.”
Sandra was still examining her finger. “Plasma Projector? Are you saying I did that? Just now? Me?” She asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes, that was all you, Sandra. That is your talent…producing and projecting balls of Current in the form of blue Plasma. I took the liberty of ‘activating’ you. That’s why you feel ‘funny’. By doing that, I’ve unlocked your ability to communicate and interact with your latent Current.”
“Huh?”
“She turned you into a full-fledged Witch, honey.” Mom simplified with a devious smile. “Welcome to the Corps, Lady Sandra. You do the uniform proud, by the way.”
“You…witch…uniform…clothes…ME?”
“I’ll bet right now you’re wishing you never boarded Pegasus, huh?” I giggled as Sandra tried to speak AND remain standing.
“Come now, honey! You can’t still be denying what you know you feel flowing through your body? It’s magic, M’lady! Magic, as in the far ancient days of yore, is alive and well today. You are now a part of it. So please try and compose yourself. You still need to manifest your wand.” Mom said in a gentle, calming, but dramatic tone.
While waiting for Sandra to come to terms with her new reality, I switched Savanna to the other breast to see if she was still hungry. She refused it and instead looked up at me with those perfect, wonderful, new eyes. I felt on the verge of losing myself in those innocent, beautiful, blue pools!
“Ready whenever you are, Lady Sandra.” I pushed gently as I looked back to her and tried to gage her psychological stability.
“Ready for what?” She finally asked as she snapped back to us.
“A proper witch wouldn’t be caught without her wand. Feel ready to manifest yours?” I explained.
“Lady Sandra, please keep up. This is important.” Mom scolded gently.
“My…wand? You want me to…to make…to manifest my…a wand?”
“Yes. I want you to hold out your dominant hand, palm up. Ask your Current- that ‘funny’ feeling inside of you- to help you manifest your wand. It should look something like this,” I said as my wand appeared in my free hand. “Only with details specific to your individual character.”
I dematerialized my wand. Savanna burped again, but quietly this time, her cute little smile appearing only momentarily.
“Go ahead and try it. As I said, ASK, don’t command, your Current to help you manifest your wand. I’ve found it much easier than demanding your Current make a wand appear. Demanding is rude and demeaning to most sentient species. Your Current is no different, Sandra. Treat it with respect and it in turn will respect you.” I instructed then nodded for her to try.
It didn’t take her quite as long as Simone before her wand popped into existence. As with Simone, she jumped in surprise and almost dropped it.
“Remember that ‘feeling’, Sandra. The feeling you had just before the wand materialized. It will feel less strange as you use and push your magical abilities. So…how do you feel now?”
“I…..IIIIIIIII did it? I really did it? I can’t believe it.” She exclaimed in amazement. “I’m a witch!”
“Are you announcing it to the world or trying to convince yourself, Lady Sandra?” Mom asked kindly.
Anderson just looked at us as her smile widened.
“I think she likes it, Hope.”
Mom instantly stared at me with her mouth slightly ajar.
But only for a moment.
“Now, about the uniform.” I continued. “Lady Hope is going to brief you on its properties and nuances…but mostly its history along with the history of the Corps. She’ll also instruct you in changing out of it using your magic. Ladies? Savanna and I will be up in the observation lounge, if you wish to converse or relax.”
 
 
“Pegasus, Please clear the observation lounge ceiling.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
Blue-shifted streaks of light randomly arced, fore to aft, above me. The sight took my breath away! I quickly conjured Savanna’s special seat next to the lounge chair I had chosen to sit on.
“I thought you would like to see the beauty of this world, sweetie.” I told her as I lay her into the seat. She immediately tried to focus on the brilliant lightshow overhead. A smile appeared on that precious, cherubic face again.
Sitting here, under the traversing stars, I contemplated and tried to make sense of all the things that had happened recently. How, not quite six days ago, I had just been Chance Summers, a normal- well, slightly normal anyway- Current Specialist assigned to Mare de Tempest and nothing special. I had few friends, and no family because of a senseless attack on my home planet. An attack that I, until recently, hadn’t known specifically targeted my parents.
My parents…
As I now knew, there was nothing normal about them. Both were secretly members of an elite Special Ops force called ‘Witch Corps’- a task force specifically conceived to combat the newest, greatest threat to galactic peace. It amazed me how, in the short span of six days I had learned of, became a member, and now led the illustrious and mysterious, EFMC Witch Corps.
What I found even more mindboggling was the undeniable fact that I had a family again! That Mom, Dad, and even my Aunt Chantell were on a starship of my conjuring and very much alive. My family though, had expanded. It now included my best, trusted, and only friends: Lokust Grunfuller, Kitty Sinae, Artemis Dell, and Simone Redman.
If that wasn’t enough, what really blew my mind was I now had a daughter! I had gone from a somewhat normal guy five days ago to the High Priestess of Witch Corps AND mother of a newborn! A beautiful, perfect baby girl that shared mine and my mother’s jet-black hair, and possibly our rich, jade green eyes.
It overwhelmed me how much my life had changed, and in just the blink of an eye, relatively.
“Honey? Chance? Are you alright?” Mom’s voice quietly called out to me.
“Sweetheart? Why are you crying?” Charli’s voice wondered at the same volume level.
“Lady Chance? What’s wrong with her, Poppy?” Little Lyra demanded as I finally got my crusty eyes opened. I blinked them quite a few times to clear the cloudiness.
“I think the gravity of our new reality has finally caught up with her.” Lokust said as she smiled at me.
Surrounding me was my family- my new family. All smiled as I finally opened my eyes and looked around. I felt more tears form and I tried to blink them away before having to resort to wiping them from my eyes and cheeks. I had a blanket over me.
Looking over to Savanna I started to panic when I didn’t see her in her seat!
“Relax, honey. She’s in capable hands.” Mom reassured as Dell stepped from behind me holding my daughter in her arms. There was a huge look of contentment on my Coven sister’s face as she carefully handed the sleeping bundle to me.
“I’m jealous, Chance. She’s so adorable and well behaved…” Dell suddenly stopped to wipe her eyes.
“Is Lokust right, Chance? Had I realized you were stressing out this much, I wo…”
“It’s all so amazing.” I interrupted. “Everything that’s happened…to me…to my friends…to my…to my family It seems like some gigantic, impossible…dream. Nothing about the last six days seems remotely possible! Nothing!”
Mom suddenly leaned to me and squeezed me tightly.
“Oh, honey! You’re the one that is amazing! I would have never imagined that my daughter’s heart and character would be so big. You have made your so-thought dream, a reality. Because of you, Charles, Chantell, and I have received a second chance. The chance to experience our daughter at her full potential. To gave us the opportunity to work with her. To be a family again, honey.”
Savanna began to fuss and I wondered why since she had just been fed.
“She probably needs fed, honey.”
At my look, she explained.
“You’ve been up here for about three hours, Chance. Artie and Simone just came back up from changing her.”
“I wholeheartedly agree with you, Lady Chance. This all feels like some fantastic dream…I’m so afraid that it will end all too soon.” Simone admitted.
“I’m at a loss for words too, My Lady. I have never seen the stars in such a way as this. Can I ask how fast, or is that classified, My Lady?”
I nodded to Charli.
“At our last course waypoint measurement, forty-five LY/sec, sir.”
Serangetti suddenly dropped into a couch off to our left.
“Poppy, are you alright?” Lyra cried in panic. He waved to calm her.
He finally began to breathe after several minutes passed with a very urgent gasp.
“As unbelievable as these last few days have been, what I just heard is the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever been witness to! How can a craft such as this travel through space at such a rate?”
“Lady Simone, care to answer that.” I requested.
“Our Lady Chance here somehow found then gained access to my severely panned and defunct master’s thesis- one the Professors all laughed at, by the way- and made it reality.”
“We must be using fuel at an astounding rate! When and where do we stop to refuel?” The Commander asked.
“Fuel reserve stands at ninty-two percent. Based on current fuel usage, estimates predict a fuel reserve of eighty-eight percent when we reach Antarra.
Again, Serangetti gasped heavily.
“Chance ‘found’ a design for a Current Economizer I doodled in my offline time on our last cruise, sir. She incorporated it into Pegasus’ design.” Dell admitted with a proud smile.
“Unbelievable! Had I known such talent existed under my command…”
“If Chance hadn’t found and incorporated those inventions, no one would have been the wiser, Kimbou. Chance took the opportunity to utilize her friends’ unconventional, unpopular, and unproven designs. It was a bold decision and worthy of the Summers’ legacy.” Mom crowed.
Savanna chose to remind me she hadn’t been fed and was running out of patience.
“Everyone out. The princess has spoken.” Mom laughed as I prepared to feed Princess Savanna Summers.
I actually thought the title and name fit this bundle of joy.
“Do you mind if I stay, Chance? I haven’t seen the galaxy like this ever. It’s quite the show. I’ll just sit over here.”
“That’s one of the reasons I included it in the design, mom. Have a seat. Relax.”
 
 
“High Priestess? Do you have a min…ute?” Sandra asked as she exited the elevator. She stuttered as the stars streaking overhead caught her attention. “Wow! That’s amazing!”
Savanna was again asleep in her ‘car seat’ as mom called it.
“What’s on your mind, M’lady?” I asked, noticing she had changed out of her uniform and back into her BDU’s.
“High Priestess, I hope you don’t think I’m a coward or weak, but I wish to be deactivated. I’m not sure the Corps is in my best interest. I’m finding it very stressful keeping control of myself- my magic- around the children. As you may realize, some of them can be very…demanding.”
“I realized that when I was in the Current to rescue them, Sandra. Some of the older kids were reluctant to leave. I would assume it was the first time they had been unsupervised. I found myself aggravated by their refusal and finally resorted to militaristic behavior.”
“You mean you had to act like an adult, Chance? You had to play the ‘Parent’?” Mom cut in.
“So you understand why I can’t allow the temptation of magic interfere with my responsibilities to the children. I might unintentionally do or cause something…”
“Done.” I said without blinking.
“Done? But I don’t feel any different.”
“I deactivated you, but since you’ve already acclimated to the feel of your latent Current, your initial ‘funny’ feeling no longer exists.”
“So now if one of the more aggressive children should push my limits, I won’t accidently turn him into anything…interesting, right?”
“I would still audit my emotions, just to be safe, Lady Sandra. Sometimes we tend to retain magic once enlightened to it. You might find you are still able to manifest your wand or change your clothes, or even produce a tiny ball of plasma.”
“So…once a witch, always a witch? To a certain degree? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Unfortunately. Sorry.” I apologized sincerely. “We’ll hold your place in the Coven should you change your mind, Witch Corps Reservist, Cassandra Anderson.”
“I truly appreciate that, High Priestess. And thank you again for allowing me on your humanitarian mission.” Sandra said as she quietly turned and walked back to the elevator.
“The girl has a set, honey. Not many have found the Corps not to their liking, let alone had the nerve to opt out.” Mom said after the elevator door had closed. “Then again, you didn’t really deactivate her, did you?”
I smiled deviously. “We may have been a little too quick to activate her in the first place, Mom.”
“Being thrown onto the front lines without the proper training or confidence isn’t the wisest of moves- even if the front lines are quiet at the moment.”
“But when working with children- especially four in particular- one needs as many defensive weapons as one can get.” I waggled an eyebrow.
Mom shook her head and smiled. “So what do you know that I don’t, young lady?”
“Our ‘humanitarian’ mission isn’t going to be as smooth and simple as it appears.”
“You think I don’t know that? After a thousand years of experience, I’ve learned that rarely is a ‘simple’ mission, simple.”
“High Priestess, you and Lady Hope are requested on the Bridge.” Charli alerted.
“See? Told you!” Mom bemoaned.
Picking up Savanna in her ‘car seat’ we headed to the elevator.

Chapter 30

“What happened?” I asked as we entered the Bridge. I took my station after Lokust relinquished it, and placed Savanna’s seat down next to it.
“High Priestess, long-range sensors have detected the shuttle’s propulsion signature.”
“Where?”
“Off our three heading toward the Magellan system. Four thousand-thirty-eight LY’s and increasing.”
“How far are we from Magellan?”
“Sixty thousand and ninety LY’s. Thirty minutes at this velocity given the course translation radius. It’s doable.”
“Negative. Stay on course to Antarra. I’m not going into any confrontation with children onboard. Prepare a sensor agent for launch. Have it follow at one point five LY’s in deep space camo mode. The least we can do is keep tabs on him.” I ordered.
“We have ‘sensor agents’? Lokust questioned in amazement.
“What she said! I didn’t think we…wait…here they are. Allow me a moment to configure one and…okay, ready, High Priestess.”
“Launch an agent, M’lady, and enter it into the intelligence database.”
“Probe away with augmented programming to follow the propulsion signature in stealth mode, M’lady.”
“ETA to Antarra.” I requested.
“Antarran outer defensive boundry in three hours, High Priestess.”
“Alert the Antarran government of our mission and arrival time, Lady Artemis. With any luck our Hoblin will be monitoring the communication.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.”
“Simone, are the Brooms fueled?” I asked as I looked over to her.
“Ready to go on your order, High Priestess.” She answered after checking her console.
“Want me to initialize their AI’s, High Priestess?” Charli offered as, once again, I got a feeling.
“No. Something doesn’t feel…right.” I warned. “Let’s continue our primary mission.”
 
 
“High Priestess, I just received a reply from Antarra, Norge Center. They welcome us to their system and have provided course and unique access code to clear their border.”
“Major, Reduce speed to sublight about two LY’s out and take us in as if a ‘normal’ spacecraft. Default Active Camoflage just before we decelerate.”
“Aye, Skipper.” Mom responded.
“Lady Kitty, weapons status?”
“Ready on your command, High Priestess. All batteries, fore and aft are fully charged.” She smiled ominously. “Are you expecting trouble, Chance?”
“No, Lady Kitty, Chance has done her homework and knows that arriving into Antarran space with anything less than fully charged weapons indicates submission and therefore weakness. By showing that we can and will defend ourselves, we confirm our registry with the EFMC.” Mom explained. “If you hadn’t guessed it by now, EFMC Witch Corps has always been Military shorthand for ‘those kick-ass, ruthless, hardcore bitches that ask no questions, and take no prisoners’.”
“Much to our dismay that reputation alone has been sufficient to de-escalate some interplanetary incidents.” Mom told us but looked disappionted.
“Yeah, you always seemed so distraught after one of those, Hopewell.” Chantell snickered as she arrived and took her station.
“How are our passengers?”
“The little…dem…darlings…are eager to stretch their limi…legs. I have no idea how Sandra does it. There would’ve been at least fifteen lifeless corpses by now if I had to watch them alone. Hey, I thought she said you deactivated her? When I left, she was still beaming Current like a lighthouse. Oh, and I hope you don’t mind the Meeting Room getting trashed so early on our maiden voyage. Some of the bigger kids indulged themselves in some kind of ‘Battlefield One’ shit. Tables overturned, chairs upended…some broken containers here and there… Kinda reminds me of that disagreement you and me had with that barkeep on Treste. What was the name of that bar again, Hope?”
“Wee Willies.” Mom giggled as she reminisced.
“But hey. Who woulda thought the guy would be so sensitive, yeah?”
“Major, We’re approximately four LY’s out from Antarran outer defenses.” Charli announced. “Try not to overshoot this one, huh?”
“Kiss mah ever-lovin’ ass, Armstrong!”
“Pull the safeties on all weapons, Lady Kitty. Target as many primary Defensive Arrays as Pegasus is capable of! Target only.”
“Long-range Particle Cannons are armed and set for a full spread, targeting eighteen primary defensive arrays per cannon, High Priestess. Broom weapons have also enabled and targeted another forty-six primary defensive arrays.”
“Finger off the trigger for now, M’lady.” I suggested.
Kitty snarled in reply.
“Yep, that’s Libra alright!” Chantell wisecracked.
“High Priestess. I heard we were on approach to Antarra. Permission to enter the Bridge, My Lady.” Cmdr. Serangetti requested.
“Permissions granted,” I said without even looking back. “Find a seat. Lyra, sweetie, have you ever been part of a Bridge crew before?”
“No, High Priestess, I haven’t. What would you have me do?” She replied, overjoyed at just being asked.
“You do know that every member of Witch Corps has specific duties while onboard Pegasus, right?”
“I do, High Priestess.”
“Then you should not be surprised that I have assigned you the duty of ‘Failsafe Weapons Officer’. Please take your station next to Lady Kitty.”
“Failsafe Weapons Officer, High Priestess?”
“Yes. It is your job to make sure Lady Kitty only fires our weapons on my order. Too many times in the past has there been an ‘oops’ that has caused ‘major’ conflicts and I am not about to start one now, so please, take your station, M’lady.” I explained while glancing over to Mom a few times.
“I didn’t tell her about those…” Chantell whispered.
“Shut it, Shan!” Mom hissed back quickly. “Slowing to Sublight, High Priestess.”
“Active Camoflauge to default.” Simone relayed.
“We’re visible to their sensors.” Charli announced.
“Lady Simone, front and center, please.” I requested.
“Me? What did I do? Pegasus is running just fine, Chance.”
“We’re about to contact Antarra and I thought it appropriate that our resident Antarran be the one to do that.”
“But I’ve never been to Antarra before! I’m not even Antarran…um…normally anyway.”
“I’ll do it, High Priestess.” Mom offered with a devious grin. “Probably scare the piss outta them when they see me…alive.”
Simone stared at Mom for a moment then sighed heavily.
“Alright, I’ll do it.” She sighed again, disheartened as her clothing changed to her uniform. “What should I say?”
“Remember how your granny acted, honey?” Mom asked.
“I remember she was very gruff and aggravated easily if I didn’t do what she said, when she said. Mostly though, she was very loving and kind to me.”
“Yeah…that’s about it. Think ‘Cold-hearted Bitch’.” Mom agreed. “Except for that last part. Ol’ Jules never came across as the nurturing type.”
“More like the ‘wham, bam, thank him, SLAM’, type.” Chantell added on a whim and devious smile. “Look, just don’t take no shit from whoever appears on the screen and we’ll be golden.”
“Act as you feel you should, Simone. Let your intuition guide you…let your memory of your grandmother…guide you. Mom claims that she and the queen were really close…” Chantell choked. “They were close friends. Use what you’ve learned to act accordingly.” I advised. “Everyone to uniforms!”
Simone nodded silently, but looked apprehensive at the same time.
“We’re being hailed, High Priestess.” Artemis announced.
I nodded to a very apprehensive Simone.
“Bring it up.” She ordered after steeling herself.
“Unauthorized craft, you are hereby ordered to stop and surrender to be boarded, by order of the Royal Antarran Defense Command!” The bearded middle-aged man with red hair growled with a very angry sneer.
“Well hello to you too, sir.” Simone greeted happily.
“Well now…who let you out of the Queen’s mansion, little girl?” The face on the display smiled hungrily and his eyes continued to stare menacingly.
“His rank is ‘Major-General, M’lady.” Mom whispered. “Be strong. He’s all hot air. Think what Grammy would do.”
Simone thought for a moment. An evil smile appeared.
“The Queen’s Ladies-in-Wait are permitted to travel from time to time. Or has something changed in the last two hundred years, Major General?”
“They have not and you should have no problem submitting to my command. Prepare to be boarded!”
“And what if I say ‘PISS OFF’? Then command the Royal Antarran Defense Commander to kiss my perfectly smooth, delectable ass?” Simone growled back sexily as we all stared at her in utter amazement!
“How dare you verbally assault the Royal Defense Command! For that you shall pay! Prepare the weapons!” He demanded to someone off to his side.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a first class ‘A’ hole, sir? This ship will never surrender to the likes of you or anyone thereafter your death! Do you not recognize me? Do you not know who I am? What we are and represent?” Simone fired back.
“I see nothing but an over-sexed, harlot that is only aggravating me more! Push no further or suffer destruction!”
“Kitty and Lyra. On her mark.” I said giving the authorization. Lyra immediately touched her console and Kitty’s indicated acknowledgement. “One automated array only M’lady.”
Kitty frowned.
“Oh to Hades with this! You shall prepare to surrender to ME, AntarJack!” Simone replied heatedly and nodded to Kitty.
Pegasus belched- that’s actually what it sounded like from inside the Bridge- as one particle cannon projectile launched and sped- at light speed- toward its target. Suddenly the ordinance split into eighteen smaller projectiles and impacted their targets. The explosive lightshow was even impressive from our position.
“Oops.” Kitty deadpanned evilly.
“Oh, they’re just decoys anyway! We were being tested. They do it all the time, M’lady.” Mom admitted when Simone’ mouth began to drop open. She quickly recovered.
The face of the bearded guy on our display fell instantly!
“My Lord! Eighteen arrays simply vanished! I have never witnessed such destructive power in my entire career! Who is this arrogant slut to have this much power at her whim?” A frantic voice in the display’s background cried out.
“I am Lady Simone Gutteson-Redman and I am a member of EFMC Witch Corps! Do not aggravate me or our High Priestess any further!” Simone demanded regally.
“Gutteson. Gutteson…” The man repeated her surname several times until his eyes opened wide.
“My Lady, did you receive an access code?” He asked courteously after a few seconds pause. It was the difference between night and day suddenly.
“Sending it now, sir.” Simone said pleasantly as she nodded to Artemis.
“Please pardon the test, Lady Simone. You have bested our Array Programmer AND befuddled him at the same time. Congratulations on eighteen impressively clean kills. Proceed to the designated landing port in Norge on Antarra.”
“Thank you, Major-General. It was…fun.” Simone responded courteously and signaled Artemis to disable the transmission.
“Gods, is he an asshole!” She hissed as she returned to her station.
“Yeah, but he’s probably got a huge penis.” Chantell teased wickedly.

 
 
“Gear down, High Priestess.” Lokust reported and I nodded for Mom to put us on the deck. With only a very subtle shake, we were on Antarra. In the City named after its royal family.
Norge was a bustling metropolis and much attention was paid to us as Mom slowly brought Pegasus in over the heart of the city. Artemis had monitored several communications inquiring of the strange ‘flashy’ ship on approach.
“Exterior security measures, Lady Kitty. Heavy stun only.” I ordered. Again Kitty snarled at me, but capitulated.
“As you wish…High Priestess.”
“Awwwww, pretty Kitty wants to kill something?” Dell teased in a childish voice.
“Damn right I do! There is no logical reason for the way they treated Simone! You do know I had Defense Headquarters targeted too, right?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, M’lady, but,” I smiled to my Coven sister as we left the bridge. “What we witnessed was a form of foreplay in this system.
Simone stopped and stared at me then Mom.
“I am such a ‘dork’! I never thought of it that way. Did I just accept a date and possibly more from that guy?” Simone groaned.
“Naw, I wouldn’t worry about it, sweetie. He probably wouldn’t measure up anyway.” Charli consoled as we arrived at the entry hatch. I had requested Mom, Chantell, Charli, Kitty, Artemis, and Simone ‘attend’ me.
“So, you think Lokust will be able to handle little Savanna while we play the ‘arriving diplomats’, honey?”
“Well…Savanna didn’t complain like she did when Kitty asked to hold her.”
“I fail to see the compulsion for grabbing one’s whiskers! That’s like the number two most sensitive organ on a Lynxin!”
“Oh yeah? What’s number one?” Artemis teased before being interrupted.
 
 
“Esteemed members of EFMC Witch Corps. Welcome to Norge.” A little man with a big voice announced from across the landing deck. He was about one hundred feet away and didn’t quite reach five feet as he and some other dashingly appareled men of similar stature neared us. They all sported red hair and beards.
“Well that’s a real deal breaker.” Artemis deadpanned quietly.
“Lolipop Guild.” Mom whispered to me.
I had no clue what that meant, so said nothing.
“Never mind. Lordy! The kids these days.” Mom huffed.
Our welcoming committee stopped several feet from us and the speaker for them regarded us, as would a hungry Gaian wolf. His intent lost all seriousness having to crane his neck to look at some of us.
“That is kind of you, sir.” I said as I bowed slightly to them individually. “Has her majesty been alerted to our arrival? We have business to negotia…”
“Well! I never expected to ever see YOU on my planet again, Terran!” A woman’s voice shouted from behind our welcoming committee.
“Screw you, y’old Battleaxe!” Mom shouted harshly as the voice became a curvaceous, blue-haired, woman walking gracefully toward us.
The men before us turned in confusion, but quickly dropped to their knees and bowed their heads reverently.
We stayed standing in our single-row parade line.
The woman began to run and plowed into Mom at full speed- almost knocking her over! Thank goodness for our enhanced strength! The blue-haired lady didn’t fall back as would be expected; instead, she reached out and quickly pulled herself to Mom and planted one of the most passionate kisses I’d ever seen on her lips!
“I think she missed you, Hope.” Chantell stated the obvious.
“And I am starting to feel jealous.” Charli added indignantly, not looking happy at all.
“That’s her!” Simone whispered urgently around Artemis’ back to me. “I recognize her from the portrait.”
“Majesty, we had not been informed of your personal attendance.” I said as I saw her break her lip lock with my mom.
“Charli! You look fabulous!” She said as she repeated her greeting. It seemed she was completely oblivious of what I said.
“Shan? You still hanging with this old hag?” She asked, but my aunt didn’t get the chance to respond before she too was lip locked by the emotional queen.
“Wow! Affectionate Monarch, isn’t she? Anyone got a breath mint? I hit the galley about an hour before crossing the system boundary. The Cassirian fish on Pegasus, by the way, is to die for, Chance. Good choice.” Kitty whispered.
“Lynxin, you will hold your tongue!” The queen ordered after releasing my aunt.
“Only if you hold yours, majesty. I’m not the type for inter-oral sports.”
Queen Norge looked at Kitty and smiled brightly. “No, you never were, Libra.”
That statement piqued my attention.
“Mom? Was Queen Norge ever activated?”
“Of course I was, High Priestess. And you must be Hope’s daughter. My, you turned out well.” She answered as she stopped in front of me and embraced me. Rising on her tiptoes, she placed a gentle kiss on my forehead then leaned to my ear.
“Congratulations on reaching your threshold, Chance.” She whispered. “You look so much like your mother.”
“So…Lynxin…Word had spread that you had finally lost a fight. I am elated to see the reports false.”
Kitty dropped her head in sadness.
“Majesty, my I introduce Princess Kitty Sinae, rightful heir to FeLane.” I hurriedly announced hoping to spare my Coven sister the embarrassment of explaining.
Kitty’s tail forcefully slapped my backside. She was definitely getting better control of it.
“Oh… My apologies, M’lady. Libra was a capable and high-quality friend. She is missed.”
Kitty nodded ever-so-slightly.
“Lady Artemis, how nice to see you again. I would have thought that, by now you would have grown bored of our collection of species and moved on…”
“Lady Artemis Dell, Majesty. My Greatest Grandmother has, as you say, moved on. I am told I look very similar to her though.” She corrected courteously.
“Remarkable and noted, M’lady.” Norge said with a nod then stopped to appraise Simone.
The ‘appraisal’ lasted an uncomfortable minute.
“From the wide eyes, beyond nervous expression, staccato respiration, and fast heartbeat, I must assume that you are her…granddaughter? Of my sister, Juliene?”
“Sssss-Simone…Gutteson- Redman…Maj-maj-majesty. Grand…grandso…daughter.” Simone nervously confirmed.
“I knew it too good to be true! Somehow, I had a feeling Juliene had disappeared from my life, and not in just moving to another system.” Norge said sadly. She wrapped her arms around our Coven sister and kissed both cheeks. “Activated or not, you are my family, Simone, and will always be welcomed here as such. And”, Queen Norge smiled deviously, “might I say you certainly brought cause for my Defense Commander to cycle his underpinnings with that show of testicular fortitude! Well played, Lady Simone! Well played!”
“Th-thank you, m-majesty.”
Queen Norge began laughing.
“Oh! Oh how polite and refined! Lady Simone.” Queen Norge ran her fingers down Simone’s blushing cheeks. “Excluding your mother…” Norge suddenly looked conflicted for a brief second then her smile returned. “Family will never be expected to be so formal. ‘Aunt Cora’ will be fine. Save the ‘Majesty’ stuff for court, Sugar Plum.” She chastised before placing another kiss on both of Simone’s cheeks.
“So, High Priestess, pretty shiny craft. You didn’t let Mommy touch the controls, did you?”
“You know I can still kick that perfect, bubble ass of yours, Cora!”
“And I might let you at some point too, Hope. But now, I’d ask our High Priestess if she would oblige me a tour of…let me guess…Pegasus?” Norge said as she craned her neck to observe the ship’s distinctive nose art.
Mom smiled and I nodded.
“This way, your majesty.” I bowed my head as I motioned to the boarding ramp.
The alarm sounded as Queen Norge reached the suddenly nonexistent hatch. I immediately enabled my Current Sight and began scanning her thoroughly.
“I’m sorry, Majesty, but you will have to retreat from the ramp. Pegasus senses tainted Current and I’m afraid you must be examined for the cause.
Norge smiled deviously as she passively complied. Reaching the bottom of the ramp then taking a few steps more, she turned back to me. Reaching into her expansive cleavage she produced a small cylindrical container. My Current Sight identified it as the detected taint. The queen looked to me with interest as she moved the small container side to side and watched my eyes follow.
“So the rumors are true.” She said quietly. “The offspring of Summers is quite the gifted witch- more so than her mother. I commend you, Lady Chance Summers.”
Before she could say or do anything else, the tainted current escaped the container and flowed in a redish-orange arc toward me and disappeared inside me.
A sudden feeling hit me, and my eyes widened in shock.
Norge had been watching me the whole time with a neutral expression.
“How could you do this?” I asked as I regarded this supposedly respected ruler. “How could you confine your conscripted Prime Minister to such an environment? Is this another test of our talents? If so, you must know that there is not enough here to reconstitute!”
“Ronan!” Norge shouted and one of the men hurried to her side and produced another container with an identical taint within.
I quickly appraised her then the container and absorbed it also. Concentrating, I asked my Current to help me recover the entity.
After the blue light ceased, a man, slightly taller than the others, lay unconscious and in a fetal position on the deck.
The monarch’s eyes bulged wildly! Yet she gracefully leaned down to check the man’s pulse then stared back up at me reverently.
“It is simply unbelievable! The rumors…High Priestess, you have impressed me more than even your mother! I therefore welcome you, niece.” She declared as she rose and kissed my cheeks several times.
“So…Chance makes ya shit yer royal panties and you make her a niece. If I’d known that I woulda done it years ago, Cora.” Mom summarized insolently.
“Sister, if you so desperately want to be downgraded to ‘niece’ just specify the request in triplicate to seven different government agencies and I shall then consider it. Ronan. Take Gnyels to the mansion and tend to him. He will awaken sometime in the next five hours. Now, High Priestess, about that tour?”
 
 
Queen Norge stopped me just inside the entry hatch.
“Please forgive the test, Chance. I know that I seem quite the monster, but Gnyels actually was conscripted several years ago and I had just managed to collect what I thought was his entity in those two Current containers. I have been awaiting the day when the High Priestess of Witch Corps would arrive in hopes she would do what I could not. Although a queen, I lacked the…talent…to reconstitute conscripts. I wish to thank you on behalf of me and also his family unit, M’lady.” She said as she picked up and kissed the back of my hand. “By the way. Since I count Hope as one of my sisters in all respects- I’m not just saying this, Chance, and don’t you dare tell her I said any of this- I would consider it a great privilege if you would think of me and call me your ‘Aunt Cora’.
“I…” I barely got out as I stared, unbelievingly.
Savanna’s crying echoed through the passageway.
“Sounds like somebody wants their mother.” Norge giggled.
Lokust was doing her best to quiet the baby as I …as ‘Aunt Cora’ and I entered my shared quarters.
“I’m trying, buddy, but I think she wants the one thing I’m not ready to give yet. Hey.” She reported and seeing my guest, nodded her greeting.
“Lokust, my Aunt Cora, Aunt Cora, Lokust Grunfuller, my friend and Executive Officer.” I offered as I accepted Savanna from her, my bundle of joy settled right down.
“Lady Lokust, it is an honor to finally meet the Wind Mage in the flesh.”
“Aw, man! Why’d you have to tell her? I thought we had agreed not to talk about that little episode, Chance?”
“I’m sorry, majesty. I left Lokust in charge of my daughter while we presented ourselves.”
Lokust gulped loudly and looked on the verge of panic.
Again Aunt Cora started laughing.
“Thank you, Lady Lokust for the convenient dispatch of formalities. It was very refreshing. Chance? Is there a chance,” Norge giggled at the double usage. “That I may offer to hold our great niece?”
I smiled and held Savanna out to her.
The little cherub began gurgling as soon as my ‘aunt’ cradled her.
“She looks so much like you. Same hair, same smile… Congratulations, Lady Lokust. Fine job.”
“Huh?”
“You ARE the activated version of her father, correct?”
“Aunt Cora, Savanna was one of the conscripts I rescued from the Current back on the Mare. Her biological parents… they… they didn’t make it.” I informed sadly.
“So you took up the challenge to provide a safe and nurturing environment to raise the child? Absolutely wonderful, Chance! Bravo! I see the Summers legacy is in good hands. Though tell me…why does she look so much like you?”
I began to tell her the long version of her recovery as I motioned us out to continue her tour of Pegasus.
 
 
“So this is…should be our Multi-use Room: Galley, Meeting Room, Training, and Recreation Room.” I said as we heard hushed voices and sliding objects beyond the closed door.
Opening the door with a slight grimace, I gasped at what I saw! Aunt Cora began laughing quietly.
“Now, for the last time! I want you three to finish repositioning the furniture! In their proper places! Before the High Priestess arrives and sees this mess! Is that understood?” Sandra growled as most of the children stood or sat, dumbfounded on the outskirts of the large compartment while three of the older boys hurried to right and move several tables and about a dozen chairs near its center. Off to her left and right, suspended in blue plasma, were four other older boys and two older girls.
The look on Sandra’s face indicated that she was taking no more of whatever these adolescents were doing and she seemed to have no trouble holding the six of them three to four feet off the deck.
Sandra was also in full uniform.
“Bravo, Lady Educator! It is refreshing to see that a firm hand is still issued for, shall we say, more…chaotic issues?” Aunt Cora announced regally.
“High Priestess!”
Both plasma balls dispersed and all six children dropped to the floor in two piles.
“I’m sorry, M’lady! I was suddenly overwhelmed by these six and…my magic, it flared up…and my uniform…”
“I’m sure the need was present…and as long as the children draw learning and understanding from it…” I let my words drop as I glared at one of the six troublemakers. The one with the blue-streaked, brownish red hair.
He immediately cowered then suddenly looked past me, fell to his knees, and stared at the deck.
“Well at least you managed to show some modicum of reverence to your queen, young man!” Norge said in her regal voice. “And what sort of behavior have they been teaching you on the Mare de Tempest, hmmm?”
“Miss Cassandra has been trying to teach us respect and tolerance for others, Majesty. I am sorry you found us being unruly. We had no idea, Miss…Lady Cassandra was a witch, Majesty.”
“Welcome aboard Pegasus, Majesty.” Lyra greeted happily from the other side of the compartment. As she approached she waved her wand over her head and surprised me by changing to her uniform!
Correction. She surprised all of us- Aunt Cora included. And…had she just manifested her own wand?
I’d have to sit her down and have a discussion with our little, Lynxin Coven sister when we had a moment or two alone.
Lyra knelt down gracefully and bowed her head slightly.
“Forgive me for not following exact procedure, Majesty, but it is our protocol on FeLane. I am Lady Serangetti Lyra, first kitten of Sonja and Kimbou of FeLane.”
“Lady Lyra, while on Antarra, Ladies of Court need only bow their head in respect rather than prostrate themselves so thoroughly. Rise and let me have a look at you, dear kitten.” Norge said as she crouched down to Lyra’s height with a brilliant smile.
“So how long have you been activated, Lady Lyra, and why would our High Priestess do such an irresponsible thing to one so young?” She asked quietly.
“Activated, Majesty? Lady Chance has only made me an honorary member of the Corps. She has not…um…activated... Poppy tells me all the time that I am ‘full of boundless energy’, if that is what you are referring to.”
Aunt Cora looked up at me with a bit of confusion.
“I have not, though it would appear Lady Lyra has the natural talent.” I suggested then turned my attention back to Lyra. “My Lady, we, and your ‘Poppy’ will need to confer as soon as time permits. For now though, it might be wise to return to your civilian clothing, dismiss your wand, and resume ‘peaceful’ activities with your friends.”
“Okay.” Lyra said as she waved her wand over her head once more to change back to her previous dress. Her wand disappeared quickly after.
“My, aren’t you the talented little witch. Go now and play, Lady Lyra. Enjoy the privileges and freedoms of youth while you can.”
“Thank you, Majesty.” The kitten said while turning.
“One more thing, M’lady?”
“Yes, Majesty?”
“Lady Lyra, it is also customary to address each other as Lady and not ‘Majesty. ‘Lady Cora’ will do, M’lady.”
“Oh, thank you, Maj…Lady Cora! Bye.”
Just like that the young Lynxin was back with her friends chatting excitedly amongst themselves.
“Oh to be that carefree once more.” Aunt Cora lamented.
“If I could work out the proper enchantments, Aunt Cora, I cou…”
“You shall do nothing of the sort! Is that understood? You are definitely Hope Summer’s progeny!” She warned with the added compliment and a tense smile.
“Lady Cassandra, do you have a moment?”
“Yes, Lady Cora.”
“Wonderful. Well bred, intelligent, and attentive.” Norge complimented with a satisfied smile. “I must commend you on your handling of such an uprising. I know the child most likely to have been the initiator. I assume his parent to be missing or deceased?”
Sandra lowered her eyes sadly.
“I see. I also assume contact has been made with his maternal parent and that he is to reside with her now?”
“That is what I have been told, Lady Cora.”
“Then we will take no more of your time, M’lady. Carry on.” Norge replied and quickly turned for the door. I followed quickly. She was still carrying Savanna.
“Aunt Cora? Are you alright with Savanna?”
Queen Norge stopped and turned back to me.
“Of course, the Sugar Plum is perfectly safe with me, Chance.” She replied. She then touched the sides of her neck.
“Lady Cora, Lady Charli.”
I assumed Dad responded.
“Nice to know this thing still works. Could you do what you do best for me, Sweetie?”
“Of course. Chance, Savanna, and I will meet you on the bridge. Lady Cora out.” Aunt Cora removed her finger and thumb from her throat. “Now, M’lady, I think I’d like to see your Bridge.”
 
 

 
 
“Then it is confirmed? The parent is who I first thought?”
“Sorry, Cora. I wish the records proved otherwise.” Charli said as she held little Savanna to her shoulder. I had just fed her and she offered to burp her new Granddaughter.
“This will not do. The boy’s maternal parent is of unacceptible reputation and will only use and corrupt him beyond all repair. Another sponsor must be found.”
“I’ve already triple scanned the Galactic Database, Cora. The father’s family was lost on Regulon when the Hobgoblins launched an offensive on their capital city of Atlas. I have come up with no other living members of that family except her.”
“I refuse to allow a known felon to subjugate and twist another young mind! Larceny; Armed Robbery; Conspiracy to Murder; Identity Theft; Corruption of Minors; Rape of a Minor! Need I go on? This woman is everything a mother shouldn’t be, Charli! The boy can do much better. Even in the Singles’ System!”
“Genetic record shows him to be fifty-five percent Antarran Royalty, Cora. Maybe you should take him in?” Charli suggested logically.
Aunt Cora became deathly silent.
“Well. So much for peace in our time.” Chantell grumbled worriedly.
“It’s actually the best suggestion I’ve heard since boarding Pegasus, Shan. And we still have that unilateral agreement in place, remember? You don’t steal my boyfriend, I don’t steal yours?”
“J.C. Macy! You just hadda bring THAT up!” Chantell complained under her breath. “How many times do I hafta tell you I had no idea you’d already sunk your claws into him?”
“As many times as is conveniently awkward, Girlfriend.” Norge grinned evilly.
“Back to task. What is to happen to the boy?” I asked to put the discussion back on track.
“Right you are, M’lady. What becomes of the boy?” Norge agreed before pausing to think.
“I suppose I can find some loophole in the Courtesan Bylaws. There has to be some obscure regulation that allows me to take possession of the boy.”
“TAKE POSSESSION? If I understand Terran history right that would imply you were making him a ‘slave’ of your household! I will not allow that- by you or any other royalty on any world!”
Savanna started crying and Charli began to pat and rub her back to settle her.
“Perhaps that was a poor choice of words, High Priestess.” Norge apologized while staring at my eyes curiously.
“See. I told you they did that when she gets pissed, Charli, but you guys wouldn’t believe me.” Chantell pointed out as though she had just won a lottery.
“How do you do that, High Priestess? I have yet to meet a species that can set their eyes ablaze in orange light.”
“Wonderful! Now I’m being accused of not being Terran. I assure you, M’ladies, I am just as human as any of you. And knock it off with the ‘High Priestess’ stuff all the time!” I protested.
“Um…Did anyone happen to mention that Chance conjured Pegasus, all eight Brooms docked with her, AND our new base onboard the Mare de Tempest, Cora?” Charli let slip.
Aunt Cora looked at me in what looked like restrained fear. She quickly composed herself.
“My…aren’t we the talented witch. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one able to wield such power.” Norge responded with sarcasm.
“You don’t have to worry, Aunt Cora, I wouldn’t try to depose you. I would allow the Current to reclaim me before that would happen!”
Norge regarded me for a few moments in silence. Several times she narrowed her eyes only to look more confused. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind.
“Charli, could you change the boy’s records to reflect that Caroline Norge is his true and legal guardian,” Norge looked to see my reaction. “And enroll him in the Royal Academy’s Elementary program until he can be properly tested and placed in his proper peer level. Send official notice to my staff that a close relative’s son has been sent to me because of a family catastrophe. Insinuate he is my favorite nephew.”
“Done.”
“Certainly haven’t lost your touch, have you, Charles?”
“Thank you, Cora! Coming from you, that is high praise.”
“Can you raise the mansion, Charli? I’d like to make some alterations to our royal plans tonight.”
“Norge Royal Mansion. How may I direct your call, citizen?”
“Citrus, it’s me. I need to change our plans for tonight. Instead of that private dinner with Witch Corps, we’re going to set plates for the forty children they are escorting also. I’ll have Lady Charli send over the breakdown of ages as well as any life-threatening food allergies they might have. I also ask for you to book appropriate entertainment, too.”
“Okay, Me. I’ll get right on that. Tell Lady Charli I look forward to seeing her, Chantell, and Hope. It has been ages!”
“Will do. Say goodbye, Citrus.”
“Goodbye, Citrus.” The woman repeated and giggling could be heard until Charli disconnected the communication.
“I hold you, and you,” Norge pointed to Charli then Chantell. “And especially Hope, personally responsible for her playful attitude!”
 
 
“Gods, I don’t think I’ll ever look another swine in the face again, buddy. Thing is, I couldn’t eat half of what I usually do in my regular body.” Lokust groaned as she got ready for bed. I had fed and now was burping Savanna before putting her in her crib for the night.
“Hey, Chance? Need your advice on something.”
“Sure, buddy. What’s bothering you?” I replied.
“Um…not that I’m not grateful or anything…I really am honored to be a part of all this, but…but I was wondering…”
“You were wondering when you would deactivate, right?”
“Well…yeah. I mean we haven’t seen any action since before we left Mare. I’m… I’m pretty sure you said that I would deactivate after the danger was alleviated.”
“So why haven’t you deactivated, buddy?”
“Huh? You mean I can do that?”
“If you feel the danger has passed, of course.”
“Well…that would have been nice to know about four days ago.” She whispered to herself.
“Since you’re still Lokust, there must be some reason you haven’t changed back. Maybe deep down your psyche prefers life on this side?”
My roommate was quiet for a while.
“It really isn’t that bad, you know?” She said. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself and not me.
“Don’t try to talk yourself into something you aren’t ready for, buddy. Maybe sleep on it. Decide in the morning.” I told her.
“Oh, I’d recommend sleeping on your side or back if you haven’t figured it out yet. These things get uncomfortable- painfully so- when squished to the mattress for any length of time.” I reminded for the fourth or fifth night in a row.
“I’ll try to remember that…again, buddy, thanks.”
 
 
Something was shaking my shoulder.
“Hey Chance? Baby’s cryin’.” Lokust said as she continued to shake me. I finally heard Savanna crying. Why hadn’t I heard her first?
“I’ll take care of her. Go back to sleep.” I said as I picked her up and took her into our bathroom to change her. After a little snack, she was back asleep and I put her back down then got back in bed myself.
 
 
Someone was shaking my shoulder.
“Hey Chance? Baby’s cryin’.” Lokust said again, shaking me.
I automatically took her to the bathroom and found she wasn’t dirty.
This time, after sitting in one of our chairs rocking her back and forth for about an hour, she finally went back to sleep and so did I.
 
 
“Someone better quit shaking my shoulder!”
“Chance? Baby’s cryin’.”
“Yeah, so what’s new? I’ll get her.” I growled as I sat up with her for another hour.
 
 
“Chance? It’s time to get up.”
I felt something appear in my hand as I reached out from under the covers to give him a finger gesture.
“Hey now, buddy! Put the wand away! I’m not a Hoblin. Just put. The wand. Away.”
“I just got back to sleep, Grunfuller.” I growled. “Savanna kept me up almost all night.
As if on cue, Savanna started crying again. I groaned.
“You take care of her this time, Grunfuller.” I commanded before turning over.
“But what if she’s hungry?”
“Work something out like I did.”
“But the twins went on vacation, Chance.”
“So recall them. It’s not that hard."
“That was uncalled for! So what if I didn’t get my mornin…”
“Re-act-I-vate your-self!” I gruffly interrupted.
“Oh.” He paused for a moment. “I can do that?”
“Never mind. I’m up now.” I groused, throwing the covers off me and standing up. “You just pulled the first shift, so get up to the Bridge.”
“Wow! You really aren’t a ‘morning person’, are you, buddy.” He said.
I growled at him, picked up Savanna, and wrinkled my nose at the aroma before taking her into the bathroom.
 
 

 
 
“So, has anyone said when Aunt Cora will show up?” I asked as I entered the Bridge carrying Savanna.
“She and her staff were here over an hour ago. When we said you’d probably been up all night with Savanna, she said to tell you ‘Thanks’, and that you would know for what.” Simone answered as she looked at me for a few moments longer than I felt comfortable with.
“You wanted to say or ask something, Simone?”
“So…she asked you to call her ‘Aunt’ also? I take it she really does consider Lady Hope her sister?”
“The Corps has a long standing relationship with the Norge sisters, honey.”
“I wouldn’t call it ‘long-standing’ at all, Hope.” Chantell giggled.
“Norge Tower has cleared us for departure at your leisure, High Priestess. Pegasus has top priority.” Dell alerted.
“Ship status.”
“Just give the word, buddy. Or groan if it’s easier.” Grub answered.
“Let’s get going.” I said. “Have Norge Tower tell the Queen I said she’s welcome, and ‘message three-fifty-eight’.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.” Dell replied.
“Indulge yourself, Major.” I told Mom as I checked Savanna’s seat harness.
“Shipwide, Artie.” I ordered.
“Ready.”
“Attention! Our pilot has turned on the seatbelt sign. I suggest everyone strap in and haaang on! Lady Chance out.”
“Lady Hope.”
“X plus one. X plus ten. X plus twenty.” Mom announced.
“Hang on, I’m gonna punch it!” Mom warned as she shot her hand up the console.
We were in space instantly and had cleared Antarra’s defensive perimeter in the next half second.
“Can we do that again, Lady Hope?” Lyra asked excitedly.
“High Priestess. Norge Tower wants to know who gets the bill for all the broken windows.
“Tell Cora to put it on my tab.” Mom giggled.
“Well at least we know the inertial dampers work.” Charli commented.
“Structural integrity is still at one hundred percent.” Simone reported.
“My Ladies, was that demonstration truly necessary?” Cmdr. Serangetti asked, his fur just beginning to relax.
“To answer your question, Kimbou. Yes. Cora was skeptical of my stated maximum velocity for Pegasus. Last night at the dinner reception, she dared me to prove it.”
“But Lady Hope, I detected no enabling of our ‘Afterboost’ feature so a valid demonstration is null and void.”
I heard Serangetti gasp.
“Trust me, Simone, we won the bet fair and square.” Mom said with a wink.
“So, for those of us who were allowed to ‘sleep’ in, what is our next destination?” I asked sarcastically.
“We are enroute to Eden Three. Four standard hours, High Priestess.”
“Lady Sandra to Lady Chance.”
“Yes, M’lady?”
“High Priestess, would it be allowable to bring the children up to the observation lounge?”
“Savanna and I were just going up ourselves and wouldn’t mind the company, M’lady”
“My thanks, High Priestess. Lady Sandra out.”
“Deep Space Camo mode. You have the bridge, Grunfuller.”
“With all due respect, High Priestess. Cmdr. Serangetti is now the next highest-ranking Officer on Pegasus. Since I didn’t sleep well last night either, I thought I’d join you and Savanna up in Observation.”
“Commander, the Bridge is yours. Try to keep her in one piece.” I said as I stared at my buddy in contempt, knowing he got WAY more sleep than I did last night.
 
 
Even with thirty-nine children of varying ages, one baby in a ‘car seat’, and three adults filling the compartment, the Observation Lounge didn’t feel cramped or overly noisy.
“Bridge to Lady Chance. We’re an hour out from Eden Three.” Cmdr. Serangetti announced over my comm.
“Lady Lyra, time to return to your station. Lady Sandra, the children can stay here if they want. You all should be safe here.” I said as I picked up Savanna, seat and all. Grunfuller and I headed for the elevator.
 
 
Relieving Cmdr. Serangetti, I took my station with Savanna by my side.
“Alert Eden Three that we’re on approach to their system’s defensive line. Slow to sublight; Camo to default. Weapons Status.”
“Weapons are online and ready. Waiting for target designations.” Kitty reported.
“Safety lockouts enabled, My Lady.” Lyra reported professionally.
“Thank you, Ladies.” I acknowledged.
“High Priestess, I can’t raise Eden Three Space Control.” Dell announced with some concern. “Do they usually ignore entry requests?”
Her question was posed to Mom, Chantell, or Charli, but I got one of my ‘feelings’.
“Chance?” Mom asked as she looked over to me. “You got another one of your premonitions, didn’t you?”
“Grunfuller, sorry to cut your visit short, but I need you to activate. I just got a big hit on my Current sense.”
“And just how do I do that, buddy?”
“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe say something like ‘Wonder twin powers activate’ or something! Do I have to help you figure EVERYTHING out?”
I noticed Lyra had just stopped waving her wand over her head and was now in her uniform. Pretty bad when a six-year-old figured it out before…
“Geez, Buddy, okay!” Grunfuller surrendered. “Um…wonder twin powers activate.”
Lokust was back and feeling herself up…just like the last time. It was sad, really.
“Hey, it worked!” She said in amazement.
“My Lady, The second chair is yours.” Cmdr. Serangetti gestured to the Executive station.
“So you’re not the least bit disturbed that I was just a guy and now I’m a girl?”
“My Lady, I’ve seen a base of operations AND a technologically advanced spacecraft…nine in fact, pop into existence out of nowhere; witnessed four hundred children materialize from the deck of a deserted Daycare Compartment; saw a Terran infant recovered from my kitten’s back… I’m traveling through space faster than any human alive! Should a Terran changing from male to a female create any more shock?”
“Charli? Bring the AI’s on Brooms 1, 3, 4, and 8 inline.”
“As you wish, High Priestess. Brooms 1,3, 4, and 8 initializing.”
“Enabling docking controls on Brooms 1, 3, 4, and 8.” I said as I worked my console. The four Broom figures on my display turned green.
“Fairy Godmother, Kitty, Huntress and I are going out to our flanks in full Stealth Camo mode. Lokust, you have Pegasus. Commander, you’re on the Weapons console with Lyra. Mom, you might have to show me how good you really are. Simone. Watch the engines. There’s a possibility they may get a little warm. Charli? We’re going to need accurate telemetry for both Pegasus and our Brooms. Lady Sandra. Change of plan. I need everyone strapped in and the Observation ceiling closed. Report back to Lady Lokust when compliant. Major, slow to ‘space normal’. Camo to default.”
I thought a moment as I looked around the Bridge.
“Lyra, instead of handling the Safety panel, remove all safeties and give your Poppy full control. I need you to look after Savanna. Can you do that for me, M’lady?”
“Uh huh!”
“Fantastic.” I said as I buckled Savanna into her car seat and secured her next to our junior witch.
“Ladies? Let’s break in our new Brooms!” I said as I hurried off the Bridge.
 
 
“You all know where your Broom is docked, right?” I asked as I stopped at Broom Docking Ring 1.”
“Huntress and I are in two. You and Kitty are in one. Got it, Chance!” Chantell rattled off as she and Dell ran back to Ring 2.
Accessing the security panel, I specified both Kitty and my names.
“Access granted. Good hunting, ladies.”
Zipping through zero gravity was a different experience as I placed my thumb on Pegasus 1’s security pad. It opened immediately and I slipped, feet first, through the short passage right into my cockpit and seat. The Ring hatch and my canopy closed immediately after I was seated.
“Welcome Chance! I fully await your commands.”
“Hello Hope and a Pair. Ready to go protect the galaxy?”
“Ready. Pegasus Control awaiting verification of other Brooms.”
“Systems check, please.”
“Propulsion, check; Navigation, check; Environment, check; Weapons and targeting, check; Active Camoflage, check. All systems, check, Chance.”
“Fantastic! Enable propulsion and navigation. Transfer control to my station.” I said. I took hold of the Broom’s control stock and thrust control then opened my comm. “Pegasus Control, Pegasus 1 ready.”
“Control, Pegasus 8. We’re, ready.” Chantell reported excitedly.
“Pegasus Control, Pegasus 3, ready.” Sinae acknowledged.
“Pegasus, Pegasus 4, is ready.” Dell replied.
“Pegasus Control. Approval for launch. Sequence will be as follows: Pegasus 1and Pegasus 3, Pegasus 4, and Pegasus 8.” Lokust authorized.
“Release Docking.” I ordered then felt a small shudder. I hit my thrust control and watched as Pegasus began dropping away and back. “Pegasus 1 away.”

“Pegasus 3, away.” Kitty said sounding very calm.
“Pegasus 4, away, Pegasus Control.” Dell said in her no nonsense, professional voice.
“Pegasus 8 is away, Pegasus. YEEEHAAAWWWW!” Chantell whooped excitedly as she pulled up on my nine.
“All Brooms. Stealth Camo mode.”
“Huntress, go up to our twelve about three hundred clicks. Kitty, go to nine, three-fifty-five. Fairy Godmother, go three-seventy-eight at my six. I’ll take the three o’clock at three-twenty. Break!”
“Major, you gotta try this! These things got some real balls!” Fairy Godmother chirped excitedly.
“Maybe next time, Fairy Godmother. Chance? Seeker wants to know what she should be looking for.” Mom asked.
“Look for anything…strange. I want to say look for the mirage. A ripple…maybe a warp in the background?”
“If I see something like that you want course and heading, right?”
“Nope. That’ll just be Pegasus 9, ‘Porno’. Have her hang back and cover our backs.”
“You gave Porno her own Broom? Why, Chance?” Mom demanded
“She wanted to help.” I responded as I shrugged to myself.
“Pegasus 9, Pegasus Control. I’m on approach. Where you want me?” Aunt Cora’s voice called.
“Porno! How nice to hear from you so soon! Hang back on our six and protect the rear. What took so long?” Charli’s happy voice chimed out.
“You neglected to inform me that you intended to buzz my city! I had to authorize replacement of over six million transparent panels after those six sonic events! Noggin’ great demo though!”
“Pegasus 9, Pegasus 1. Fuel reserve status.” I asked.
“Fuel reserve is…HOLY NOGGIN’ MOTHER OF PEARL!!!!” There was a long pause before Aunt Cora…’Porno’ continued. “Fuel reserve is ninety-eight percent!”
“Good to hear, Porno, and welcome back.”
“Thanks, Pegasus 9 in position.”
“Chance, sensors just picked up an Eden Cutlass. She’s not responding to our hails.” Cmdr. Serangetti announced. “It’s on an intercept course.”
“Hoblins, Chance?” Lokust asked.
“Not likely. More likely renegade Edenites.
“Prison escape?” Mom suggested. “A Cutlass would be a good choice if you wanted to leave a system in a hurry.”
“You would know, Major.” Chantell laughed.
“Ship targeted and locked. Pegasus ready to fire.”
“Have they even seen her yet, Lokust?”
“Not yet. Can you see it yet?”
“I just overflew the Cutlass, Chance. I detected no targeting scans from it.”
“Copy, Huntress. Come about and match speed.”
“Chance, I’m picking up something from Eden Three on an old EHF RF band. The message is pretty Doplered. It’ll take a minute or so to process.” Charli informed.
“Sensors just indicated the Cutlass enabled targeting scans as I overflew them, Chance. I’m coming about and hanging behind on they’re six.” Kitty reported.
“Fairy Godmother, come in on they’re three and match velocity. I’ll hang off they’re nine. We’ll give them reason to stop or change clothes, but stay out of any blast range just in case of another Gaia Incident.”
“Chance, that comm. from Eden Three is an APB on eight escapees. Forty-three dead, seventeen injured- critical, one hundred-four non-critical. All eight are euthanize-corridor.”
“Thanks, Seeker. Lokust, Hail them again. Try to get them to stop or at least close enough for Seeker to take control.”
“Copy, Chance. We just came into the Cutlass’ targeting range. They have a lock on us.”
“Safeties off, Ladies.”
A coherent, blue, light beam streaked out from the escaping ship.
“Pegasus is under attack. Repeat, Pegasus is under attack.” Lokust reported.
“Weapons and main propulsion only, Ladies.” I said as I targeted the ship’s port plasma cannon.
“Chance, I’m picking up a Current leak from their main drive. Something isn’t right here.” Kitty reported.
“Take out their forward weapons then move to minimum safe distance. They might have a Current breach in progress.” I ordered as I squeezed the trigger. The Smart ordinance smoothly found its way to their port cannon and disabled it in a bright blue flash. Another dimmer blue flash indicated that Chantell had disabled their starboard cannon.
“I have an escape pod launch from the starboard cabin. Now two more, Chance.”
“Copy, Fairy Godmother. Those should be easy to recover. Let’s introduce ourselves. Hope and a Pair, please disable Active Camouflage?”
“Active Camo disabled, Chance.”
“Edenite Cutlass. Stop and surrender or we will disable your main propulsion and physically board you!”
“There goes another pod, Chance. Hey! The targeting scans came alive again!”
Two quick beams shot from the rear of the ship destroying two of the pods instantly.
“Take out those aft cannons.” I said too late as two more beams shot behind the ship.
“All pods have been destroyed, Chance.”
“Pegasus to all Brooms. Sensors indicate a breach in the Current reserve tanks. There is a critical reaction building. Clear the area.”
“Lokust, get Pegasus out of there! Two LY’s at least. Ladies, lets hit the Overboost.” I said as I smoothly moved my control stick to the left and increased my thrust to maximum by holding my thumb on the small button on the side of the control. After only a second, I backed off and reversed thrust to slow back to sublight and came about.
A huge orange fireball lit up space for at least an LY in diameter!
“Report in. Pegasus 1.”
“Pegasus 3.”
“Pegasus 4.”
“Pegasus 9.”
“Pegasus 8.”
“Pegasus Command, no damage.”
“Let’s head back to Pegasus, Ladies. Pegasus Control, request vector and docking sequence.”
“Copy, Chance. Sending vector. Pegasus 9. Porno, you call the ball for Ring 2-8. Docking beacons are enabled.”
“Copy, Pegasus Control. Coordinates received and on approach.”
 
 
“Pegasus 1, you call the ball for Ring 1-8.”
“Coordinates received, Chance. Automatic docking is enabled.” Hope and a Pair informed me.
“Copy, Pegasus Control. Coordinates received and on approach.” I said as Pegasus came into view ahead of me and started getting bigger.
Hope and a Pair came in over the upper aft stabilizer arc. It was one of two control structures- ‘upper’ and ‘lower’- huge bowed or arced, independent surfaces or ‘wings’ as mom called them that stabilized Pegasus in planetary atmospheres.
Once over the U-Arc, my Broom began to translate counter-clockwise and skewed to the left at the same time. Docking port 1-8 was flashing over my head as Hope and a Pair stopped translating and the ring’s docking pylon slowly engulfed my canopy.
With a slight shudder, all propulsion systems disabled.”
“Docking complete. All moorings and umbilical’s are secured, Chance.”
“Pegasus welcomes you aboard and I thank you for flying me.”
“You did great, Hope and a Pair.”
“Thank you, Chance. Hope and a Pair, signing off until needed.”
My canopy opened in concert with the port’s ring hatch. After releasing my harness, I floated out and met up with Kitty at the passageway door. She was smiling enough to show her longer canines.
“So…you like?” I asked as my feet gently touched the passageway’s deck.
“Oh, yessss!” Kitty almost purred as her smile widened. “She flew like a dream, Chance, thank you, I love her!”
 
  
“Hey, girlfriend!” Chantell greeted, as she and Artemis were about to take their stations. She hurried to me and wrapped her arms around me.
“You da bomb, girlfriend!” She said gleefully before planting a kiss on my lips.
“I think ‘Olympus Found’ is the best handling, best performing, most comfortable spacecraft I’ve ever flown, Chance.” Artemis gushed as she waited her turn to hug me and kissed my cheek. “Thank you.”
“I’m a little jealous, honey. I thought your mom ranked higher in the pecking order.” Mom pouted from her station.
“You do rank at the top, mother! I trusted you to keep the kids…and Pegasus safe. Besides, you’ll get your turn to test flight your Broom.” I said as I walked to the front of the Bridge, leaned down, and kissed her cheek.
“Is it my turn yet?” Queen Norge asked in annoyance, eyeing me carefully as she stood from one of the chairs closer to Charli’s station. She made the uniform look almost indecent the way her ‘Ladies-in-Waiting’- yes, she named them- strained the fabric.
“I think it’s the best damn present anyone’s ever given me, Chance!” Aunt Cora squeezed me tight and kissed each cheek. “How did you know there would be trouble though?” She whispered.
“I didn’t, but I knew once I gave you a Broom, that warranted a test flight, which in turn, would lead to you surprising us.”
“And hey; before any of you start accusing!” Aunt Cora threatened as she pointed around the Bridge. “Rodyard loved the ride and couldn’t wait to see his friends again. Oh, and thanks for making Pin-Up a two-seater.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her all the Brooms were reconfigurable to a certain degree, just like Pegasus.
“So is your new ward behaving? I’d hate for Sandra to go all blue plasma on him and his friends again.” I asked in curiosity.
“Males will be males, High Priestess.” She replied with a laugh.
“Ah, but Sandy can easily make corpses of them if they provoke her much harder, Cora.” Chantell laughed. “Had ‘em bundled nicely in two big blue plasma balls about three feet off the deck, I heard. Can’t imagine what she’s really capable of if they actually pissed her off.”
“She’s capable of everything we are.” I confirmed flatly. “So, what have we learned about Eden Three, Lady Charli?”
“All subspace communications have been knocked out with ancient ‘shortwave’ being the best available medium at the moment with a five hour delay. That will decrease as we get closer.”
“And how soon can we get there?” I asked.
“Twenty-five-point-three seconds if we go to warp. An hour and a half if we stay sub light. Speaking of; there’s the welcoming party now.”
“Welcoming committee, Lady Charli?”
“We have four Eden Defense Force Corvettes closing on our position- probably a posse after the escapees. Rendezvous ETA is thirty minutes at present speed and course.”
“Thank you.” I turned to our young Coven sister. “Lady Lyra? How well, in your opinion, did Cmdr. Serangetti exhibit the high standards expected of all Witch Corps members?” I asked. Her ‘Poppy’ glared at me with narrowed eyes in surprise and contempt.
“High Priestess,” She began as she turned in her seat and looked worriedly to her father. “I believe he upheld the integrity of the Corps to the best of his abilities. In such a limited engagement, he followed command decisions promptly, competently, and professionally. In summary, he did the Corps proud, My Lady.”
Aunt Cora began to laugh so hard I expected her bustier to pop and I think Cmdr. Serangetti’s fur was turning bright red! I, for one, never expected the young Lynxin to give such a mature analysis…of her father, no less!
“Very well done, M’lady. I shall consider your analysis and the Coven as a whole will debate his membership application at a more convenient time.”
“Thank you, Lady Chance.” Lyra said courteously and turned back around to attend her station.
“Hey, why wait? I’m sure we could make this a short meeting.” Mom suggested with a devious grin. “All in favor of Kimbou’s membership?”
“Eight hands raised and one holographic hand gave a ‘thumbs up’. Savanna even managed to raise her hand to look like she approved. I think she was just stretching though.
“My Lady. With all due respect, I do not think it in the best interest of the Coven to offer me membership. I fear I am not strong enough psychologically and may tarnish its reputation. I am honored that My Ladies think so highly of me, but I must humbly decline any offers made on my behalf.”
“What? Don’t think you’re man enough, Commander?” Lokust grinned. Simone nodded her agreement to our Coven sister’s question.
“Now that’s a downright shame, Commander!” Chantell giggled. “I was hoping to see you in the uniform.”
Lyra spun around quickly and stared at her father then began laughing hysterically.
This time, I think his fur actually did turn bright red!
 
 
“Unknown Spacecraft, you will slow to come along side Eden Defense Cruiser Alpha 1.”
“Seriously? We just did them a huge hulking solid and all we get is the standard ‘Unknown Spacecraft, vee vant you to submit to bureaucratic horseshit’?” Chantell griped in a strange accent.
“Not now, Natasha. Let Fearless Leader handle negotiating.” Mom suggested in an equally strange accent, only a few octaves lower.
“But Moose and Squir-rel, Boris!” Chantell insisted in the same accent.
“Bah! Moose and Squir-rel can wait, Natasha.” Mom replied, but almost couldn’t contain her laughter.
I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes at the two.
“Are we finished, Ladies? Artemis, on overhead, please.”
Dell nodded.
“Eden Defense CORVETTE, Alpha 1, this is EFMC Pegasus. We had intercepted an EHF from Eden Three asking for assistance in apprehending a stolen spacecraft with escaping detainees. Your stolen Cutlass fired upon us. Since we are transporting children of multi-planetary origins, we had no choice but to protect our passengers. Now, cut the bullshit and let us render assistance.”
“EFMC Pegasus, you will slow and come alongside Cruiser Alpha 1 as ordered!”
“Sorry! Not playing that game, CORVETTE Alpha 1! End transmission.” I ordered calmly.
Artemis nodded.
“Deep Space Camo, now. Lady Pilot, full propulsion to Eden Three and put us in synchronous orbit above their capital city.”
“Deep Space Camo, enabled.”
“Synchronous orbit insertion calculated and transferred to helm.”
“Received.”
“Engage.”
“Full propulsion.”
“Entering parking orbit above New Sri Lanka, High Priestess.” Mom announced after a few seconds.
“Default Camo. EHF to overhead again, Artemis.”
“Go ahead, Chance.” Dell acknowledged.
“EFMC Pegasus to Eden Three Defense Command. We have just entered orbit above New Sri Lanka and request update on planetary situation, please.”
“EFMC Pegasus. Welcome to Eden. As you already know, our Subspace network has been disabled and we are currently rebuilding the primary transceiver node. Our Engineers estimate six more planetary hours before we can reconnect to the Galactic network. Did you happen to come across our escapees or Posse perchance?”
“Unfortunately, the stolen Cutlass became aggressive, sir. Since we are transporting children, we had no choice but to disable their weapons and propulsion. Several life pods were jetisoned but were destroyed by the Cutlass itself. We detected a cascading Current breach and had to pull back. The Cutlass was destroyed, sir. I’m estimating with all hands.”
“Understood, stand-by…umm…EFMC Pegasus, we have just intercepted a communication from our Posse that they are ordering you to pull alongside. We gave no order of the kind, but please explain your arrival here in such a short time, given EHF time lag.”
“Eden Defense Command, if you still have an updated Galactic Registry available, query our Hull number: NCC-53847B in the Allied Interstellar Military database.”
After waiting a few minutes, Eden Defense Command came back on sounding more wary and cautious.
“EFMC Pegasus, please state the nature of your visit.”
“Our representative contacted you several standard days ago in regards to the Mare de Tempest incident. We have been tasked with transporting the orphaned children to secondary or alternate guardians. Enroute, we became informed of your detainee escape incident. Since they were heading straight for us, we decided to help. Do you now require our assistance planetside?” I said, filing our official purpose via report.
“EFMC Pegasus, we see that you are rated for planetary reentry. Sending coordinates to landing pad and transferring you to NSL Tower. Again, welcome to Eden. EDC out.”
 
 
Pegasus gave a slight shudder as mom placed her gently on the ground. The specified landing site was a large, level, bare patch of ground just outside the capital city of New Sri Lanka. Half a dozen people covered their eyes and mouths as Pegasus kicked up some dust.
“NSL Tower, Pegasus is down and propulsion is offline.” Artemis radioed.
“Copy, Pegasus. Welcome to New Sri Lanka. As usual, the weather is twenty-six degrees centigrade with clear skies and just a slight breeze. Hope you enjoy your stay.” The voice confirmed in a singsong, lackadaisical voice.
“Lady Chance, Lady Sandra. We’ve arrived in New Sri Lanka, Eden Three. Please prepare our passengers.”
“We felt Pegasus land, M’lady. I have them collecting their belongings as we speak.”
Mom looked at me, incensed that someone had actually said they ‘felt’ Pegasus land.
“Thank you, M’lady, but hold off on their personals. We have a diplomatic meet and greet first. Chance out.”
“Well Ladies? I guess its time for more Pomp and Circumstance. Diplomatic dress, please.” I said with slight reservation as my clothing changed. I checked that Savanna was covered properly then picked up her and her ‘car seat’. I also made note of Lyra’s clothing changing to a matching, though age appropriate, dress. Her ‘Poppy’s’ eyes bulged in surprise!
“Shall we?” I offered, motioning to the back of the Bridge and the passageway beyond with a renewed smile. On the way, I asked Sandra Anderson to watch Savanna.

 
 
As planned, my Coven sisters preceded me down our ramp then fanned out to either side of it. Lyra and Kitty were the last to exit ahead of me. Cmdr. Serangetti offered his arm before we stepped through the hatch and escorted me down the ramp.
Our gathered- all male- welcoming committee seemed well past impressed, as indicated by the open mouths and dangling tongues.
“Introducing High Priestess, Lady Chance Summers. Ships-mistress of EFMC Pegasus.” Cmdr. Serangetti announced.
“Lady Chance, Welcome to New Sri Lanka. I am Able Castor, Mayor of New Sri Lanka and Eden Defense’s High Commander.” A tall, well-groomed, clean-cut man in crisp, clean, black jeans and brown, short-sleeved, button down, cotton shirt welcomed politely. Though quite courteous, his eyes seemed to be undressing me as well as my Coven sisters. I felt a tinge of jealousy that Aunt Cora and Simone drew the lion’s share of hungry stares for some reason.
I gave him a slight head bow.
“Thank you for permitting us to visit your society, sir. I will request our passengers disembark after our formalities here have concluded.” I informed him.
“That is acceptable, High Priestess. Though, if you must know, we are not usually this strict on formalities here. The City is yours to explore, Ladies of EFMC Pegasus.” The handsome man admitted. “Actually, that’s about as formal as we get around here, ma’am.” He grinned mischieviously.
“Point taken, Mr. Castor, though I would politely request the replacement of yours and your entourage’s tongues if we are to remain cordial.”
He looked horrified. Then looked around at the others.
“Guys! Yooo! Nix the Wolf Pack mentality! These gals is refined…and our guests!”
“And we can probably end you all with a sideways glance, Hunk-meister.” Chantell added quietly with an evil smile and seductive whisper.
“High Priestess, I propose meeting the secondary and/or alternate guardians before proceeding.” Aunt Cora suggested. The tone she used didn’t go unnoticed by me.
“Excellent suggestion, Lady Cora. Mr. Castor, perhaps you could arrange the suggested meeting? We shall await your communication onboard Pegasus.”
“An appropriate security precaution, though I can assure you the children will be well accepted by their new guardians, High Priestess.”
“Mr. Castor, I look forward to our next meeting. Until then?”
Castor bowed his head ever so slightly.
We all filed back up the ramp and secured the hatch. Everyone followed me back to the bridge.
 
 
“Okay, am I the only one whose ‘Bullshit’ meter flew off the scale?” Chantell asked in her own, unique way.
“I too felt a disturbance in the force, M’lady.” I said as I turned to exit the bridge again, Savanna and her car seat again in hand. “Unfortunately, it isn’t ‘bull’ shit I’m smelling.”
“How the hell she keep doing that, Hopewell?” Chantell asked just as the Bridge door closed behind me.
 
 
“Oh mighty oracle, please grant that I may attend and converse thee.” Dell’s voice asked sarcastically from behind to awaken me.
Once again I had sought refuge up in the Observation lounge, Savanna by my side.
“Honestly, Dell? Out of everyone onboard, I had hoped you and Sinae could stay somewhat serious.” I responded before opening my eyes.
“I assure you that I am quite serious and have been for countless millennia, Chance Summers.”
“God, here we go.” I said as I began to lean forward and turn toward her voice. “So what manner of bull has mom and Chantell put you up…to?”
There behind me was Dell. Dressed in a beautiful white toga style gown with gold accents, a golden braided rope belt, and golden, strapped sandals. Oh, and she had an ornate golden bow and a golden quiver full of arrows on her back.
“Aw, shit.” I cursed as I hurried off my seat and fell to my knees before the real Huntress- Artemis, herself.
Her laughter was light and heartfelt.
“Oh, get up you silly girl! We, you and I, are more alike than you think, Chance Summers, Lady of Two Realms.”
“Um…we are?” I squeaked as I stood, checking on Savanna while doing so.
“Have you not visited the Current, as your species call it?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“I too, have dual citizenship, M’lady. Though not in the Current.”
“Um…okaaaay? Give me a moment to get Dell up here. I’m sure she has a multitude of questions to ask.”
“Please don’t, Chance. I only came to offer you a quick visit to Olympus. Dell wouldn’t understand my arrival here, nor would she even see me.”
“Huh?”
“My people have the ability to project ourselves to groups or even a single individual, like I’m doing now. Like you can do if you so wish it, M’lady.
“Why?”
Artemis smiled brightly.
“Because I wish it, Chance Summers. Because I wish to get my point across and thought this the best way to undertake it.”
Savanna began gurgling and…waving? At Artemis!
“I know! How sweet that you thought to remind me, little one.”
Savanna gurgled more.
“Yes. She is impressive, isn’t she? I wish all my nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins could be more like her.”
Savanna gurgled yet again.
“I think you were right in choosing her to take care of you on this plane of existence, M’lady.”
“You…you can understand her?”
“I can understand her thoughts, as can the young Lynxin, Chance. As can you, if you so wish it. Didn’t you know that?”
I shook my head but didn’t say a word.
My baby gurgled once more.
“Yes, she is quite humble and you should learn from her, but right now she is about to lose herself to the dream realm, so let us get back on track, shall we?”
Savanna waved her chubby little hand.
“Thank you, M’lady. Now Lady Chance, would you care to visit Olympus or not? I will not take offense if you choose not to accept. I only mean to offer you my hospitality while I have the means of giving it.”
“Would I be able to bring Savanna along?”
“Alas, no. M’lady. Being also of dual citizenship makes her a candidate, but your daughter is far too young to survive or comprehend a trip to our Realm. No worries though, to this realm you will only be gone for a dozen of your seconds at most. Now, M’lady, shall we go where few mortals have gone before?”
She giggled as I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, I got that one from your mother.” She said as she offered her hand.
“So I just click my heels together three times while reciting: ‘There’s no place like Olympus’?”
“I must admit, M’lady, it vexes even me how you reference sayings and catchphrases from your mother’s original era so effortlessly. Is there perchance some psychic bond between you both?”
My eyes widened as I beheld the quintessential mountain topped by a vast and dominating Parthenon. We were standing on the edge of a vast meadow stretching at least a mile in three directions.
“Oh come now! This surprises you? Lady Chance Summers, Lady of Two Realms?”
“Its…its beautiful!”
“Why thank you, M’lady. We try to keep Olympus well maintained. Please come this way and we can talk while walking to our destination.”
“Are we…are we going up there?” I hesitantly pointed to the mountain.
“Way up there? Heavens no, Chance. The Parthenon is only used as an icon these days. We haven’t used it in ages though. The species of this galaxy are far too advanced for our collective tastes.”
“Yo, Artie! Who’s the new babe?” A male voice called from off to our right. He was sprinting toward us and stopped a few feet away.
“Are you getting that forgetful, Ari? Don’t you recognize your daughter Nike?”
My mouth dropped wide and I started to imitate a Canzian water breather!
“Come on, Di! I’d know my own daughter and this babe don’t come close. Yeah, she’s good lookin’ an’ all, but this ain’t my Keke.”
“And you don’t look like the blood-thirsty Aries anymore, so how do I know its you? I still look like me, don’t I?”
“I’m me, Di. Knock it off with the head games.
So who is she?” ‘Ari’ motioned back to me. “I mean, really.”
“Lady Chance is High Priestess to a Coven of women in the mortal realm. She IS the reincarnation of your daughter Nike. And a damned powerful witch in her own right! She also works with my greatest granddaughter, Dell, who happens to take after me to a ‘T’- abilities and all.
“Well whoever you are,” Ari took my hand and kissed it gently. “Welcome to Olympus and enjoy your visit.”
“Ari, Chance is of many realms.”
“Really? Then I am doubly honored to make your acquaintance, M’lady. Welcome to Olympus and enjoy your stay if you so wish it. Good day, ladies.”
“So…why am I here again? Was it to learn I am the rebirth of Aries’ daughter Nike, Goddess of Victory?” I asked carefully.”
“Well that, but there is another reason to visit, Lady Chance. And don’t worry about Ari. He’s knocked up so many women over the years, he couldn’t possibly recognize all his kids!”
“That’s…reassuring…I think.”
“Come along, now. Our time together grows short.” She said as she took my hand again and pulled me toward the mountain.
“I thought you said we weren’t going up the mountain?”
“Silly girl, not up, under… under the mountain. Our brother has forged something for you and my granddaughter.”
“Forged?”
“Hephaestus is the premiere artiste when it comes to jewelry, Chance. When word reached me that the Witch Corps had started recruiting again, I was overjoyed! You should know that we- Charli, Chantell, and your mother shared some very memorable times together. Our adventures have been some of the major highlights in my life. Oh, and tell ol’ Hope I grew bored with those abominations and let the big nasty win. It wasn’t then and is not now my lot to destroy the Hobgoblins. That must be accomplished by your collective species alone. Ah, here we are. Follow me and be careful, the walls of the passage might be hot.”
Artemis guided me into the cave-like passage and deep under the mountain. It began to get very warm. After a few minutes we arrived at what could only be described as a huge forge.
“Artie! Chance! I’ve been expecting you two.”
“Hey, Hephus! Are they ready?”
“They just cooled enough to touch. Here, have a look.”
The huge, middle-aged, bearded man gingerly reached over to some items on a nearby worktable.
“These are yours, M’lady.” He said handing me the most beautiful, delicate looking earrings I had ever seen. Each earring was made of what looked like Platinum and held a brilliant blue-green gem in its center. I was at a loss for words!
“Hephus, these are for pierced ears, Chance hasn’t found the time for that ritual as of yet.”
“Well, I am of the firm belief that pierced ears are more fashionable and also announce a certain bit of courage on behalf of the wearer. Perhaps you can help Lady Chance in that regard, Artie?”
“Only if Chance agrees, Hephus. Would you like me to pierce your ears, sister? It shouldn’t hurt in the least.”
The earrings were very beautiful. Best of all I was in Olympus and Artemis, the actual Huntress offered to pierce my ears so that I could wear a pair made by Hephaestus, himself!
“Of course. Who am I to refuse any gifts from the Gods and Goddess’ of Olympus .” I giggled nervously. “By the way, just send the bill to Major Hopewell Summers.”
“HO! That’s the spirit, M’lady!” Hephus boomed gregariously.
“Now hold still, M’lady. I haven’t done this in years.” Artemis giggled and placed a thumb and finger on both ears. “That looks about right.”
I felt a mild sting in both earlobes
“There, all done. How did that feel, M’lady?”
“Would it be too much trouble to add a hole to each side?” I asked, as I suddenly felt adventurous.
“I like your thinking. If one pair of holes shows courage, two pairs show determination. Well met, M’lady.” Artemis said approvingly.
“I’ll allow you to install the trinkets yourself, Lady Chance.” The big, burly man told me gently as he handed me my pair.
A tingle ran through my body after securing the back to the second earring.
“Um…what just happened? I felt a strange tingle run through me.”
“I told you, didn’t I?” Artemis punched big, burly Hephus in the arm.
“Aye, you did, Artie. The gems only initialize when the proper genetic strand is recognized. Indeed, she is Keke returned to flesh.”
“Ha! Take that Ari of Zeus!”
“What are these earrings actually for, Lady Artemis? Sir Hephaestus?” I asked in confusion.
“The gems, when paired, grant the wearer- if of the Olympus stock- certain gifts. These gifts can only be enabled by one possessing the genes donated by Father Zeus to his progeny, their progeny, and so on.” Hephus smiled to me and I felt instantly warmed and safe. “You, M’lady Chance, felt the gems initialize. Therefore, Artie has been vindicated in her belief that you are the newest representation of Nike- daughter of Aries, but OUR sister in all matters that count. Now, let me tell you some of the things these little babies can do…”
After a somewhat lengthy tutorial, Hephus reached for a wooden box of about ten by ten by two inches. The hinged box itself was beautifully stained and finished in a rich earth tone in the way of finely crafted furniture.
“Lady Chance. In making your trinkets, I also took the liberty of fabricating several more for your Coven sisters.”
Opening the box, he revealed eight pairs of distinctly individual earrings. All had a single gemstone mounted to each.
“When presenting them, allow the individual to select the correct pair. The gems are matched for each of your sisters genetically and will only activate when worn by the owner. Now,” he picked up a smaller box and handed it to me. “Lady Artemis had me create these for her granddaughter specifically. You may look if you wish.”
Inside the small decorative, strained and finished box was a pair of earrings and two things that looked like bracelets.
“Dell is going to absolutely love these, M’lady! On behalf of Lady Artemis Dell, I thank you Sir Hephaestus!”
“Now, about those unfilled holes.” Artemis said with a smile as she touched my earlobes again. “These are my gift to you, Chance Summers. They are a gift to symbolize our family relationship to Father Zeus.”
Again I felt a slight tingle in my body.
“Wear them at all times for added protection. But, above all, listen carefully to them; they will never lie to you, Lady Chance, Lady of Many Realms, High Priestess of Witch Corps, Granddaughter of Father Zeus. Come now, our time grows short and we would not want little Savanna to worry.”
“Thanks again for the exquisite jewelry, Sir Hephaestus! I shall treasure it all my life.”
“You are most welcome, M’lady. Stop by any time. We’ll talk over tea and I may just ravish you with more trinkets you have inspired me to create. Fare thee well, Lady Chance Summers.”
On impulse I approached the burly man, stood on tiptoes, and kissed him gently on his cheek- well actually his gruff beard, but he blushed all the same. I then followed Artemis out of the mountain.
“Artie? Is that who I think it is?” A woman’s voice shouted shrilly from not far off. A young looking woman ran up to us and began looking me over intently.
“You did it! After all this time, you finally found our sister! I never thought you would do it, but here she is and I guess I owe you an apology. So here it is. Please forgive me for doubting the Huntress of the forests,” The woman prattled.
“Demi, Lady Chance Summers of the Witch Corps. Lady Chance, our sister, Demeter, or Demi in these modern times.
“Very nice to meet you, M’lady. I’m very sorry I can’t stop to chat further, but Lady Artemis claims I am running out of time in this realm. Plus, I feel I must return to care for my daughter. I can feel her pull increasing as time goes on.”
“Oh, okay! Well, stop by if you’re ever in Olympus again. I’ve got some epic stories to relate to you.”
“It would be an honor, M’lady.” I replied with a bow of my head.
“Oh no you don’t! Come here, sister!” She said taking me by surprise and pulling me into a tight hug then kissing me on both cheeks.
“As you can see, Demi is a hugger, but we love her despite her quirks.”
“Oh hush! Don’t you have some mortals to smote or something?”
“The word is ‘smite’ and you know father is the only one that can legally do that! Say goodbye, Demi.”
“Goodbye, Demi.” She and I chorused, to Artemis’ chagrin. Lady Demeter hurried away in the direction she had been heading previously- a small DataTab appearing in her hands.
“You are every bit your mother, Chance Summers.”
“Here or in my realm?” I asked innocently.
“Here, don’t forget these or Hephus will never let me live it down.” She handed me the large box and made sure I had Dell’s box along with it.
“Thank you, M’lady. Until we meet again?” I asked before I found myself standing next to Savanna’s car seat. I was still holding both boxes in my hands, too.
“Hi, sweetie, did you miss me?” I asked my daughter. She had a wondrous, curious look in her fully opened eyes and her mouth was slightly open in a tiny ‘O’, which quickly became a closed-lipped smile.
Though just a ‘gurgle’, I somehow felt she was very glad to see me back safe. Another gurgle and I felt she wanted her crib, but only after I changed her damp diaper.
 
 
“Oh, there you are. Castor called and said that the kids’ guardians will arrive on the morning transport. He asked if you’d be available for dinner tonight. I told him that you were with Savanna and that I’d pass along the invite. Nice earrings by the way. I especially like the little lightning bolts…in the…second…holes? Chance? What the hell, buddy? You didn’t have earrings an hour ago!” Lokust gasped in surprise as she approached and touched them lightly. “When did you get your ears pierced, anyway?”
Instead of answering, I retrieved the large wooden box from atop my dresser and opened it.
“Here, pick one pair of earrings, buddy. I was instructed to offer our Coven sisters one pair each.”
“Oooooh. Those look really cute! Can I pick them, buddy? You don’t mind?”
“If those are the ones that catch your eye, they’re yours.” I told her with a smile.
“Now if I just had pierced ears.” She sighed.
“I’d suggest asking Dell to pierce your ears. I think she can do it pain-free. In fact, let’s call everyone up to the Observation Lounge so everyone can pick their pair.” I said as I checked on Savanna, who was sound asleep in her crib.
 
 
“I asked Cmdr. Serangetti to watch after the children, High Priestess. What is this meeting all about?” Sandra asked as she and Lyra stepped off the elevator. They were the first to arrive. She stopped to look out at the stars overhead and the lights of New Sri Lanka. I had asked Pegasus to make the ceiling transparent earlier.
Lyra hurried over and immediately made a fuss over my new jewelry.
“Ooooh, pretty earrings, My Lady!”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over that…and what a view, too.” Sandra whispered as she claimed a chair and reclined in it. “Gods, these are so comfortable.”
 
 
“I set exterior security to full stun in order to keep those buzzards’ paws off, Chance.” Chantell informed as she and Kitty were next to step from the lift. “Nice view. Too bad the amount of bullshit I’m sensing from the locals muddies it.”
“It’s a shame I feel the same way- that our hosts have more ‘skeletons’?” Kitty looked to Chantell for confirmation, which she nodded, “in their closets than meet the eye. Nice earrings.”
Kitty’s eyes narrowed. Her ears twitched several times, but she remained quiet. Chantell also looked closer with narrowed eyes. She gave me a Cheshire grin.
Mom, Charli, Dell, Cora, and Simone were the last of our Coven to arrive.
“Why the Coven meeting now, honey?” Mom asked but stopped and stared at me- at my ears specifically. Charli, likewise, stopped and stared. Dell stopped and stared at both of them staring at me with a somewhat haunted look to her face. Simone just looked at us all in confusion, but Aunt Cora looked absolutely terror-stricken.
“Chance? I just got this really weird feeling. Like I’m being watched? You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Dell asked as her eyes scanned around the compartment cautiously- critically.
“She was here, wasn’t she, honey?” Mom asked cryptically. I slipped a slight smile.
“Fuuuu…!” Charli began.
“Language, Charlene! Remember our little sister.” Mom censored quickly.
“Who was here?” Dell asked quickly.
“Is she still here is what I want to know.” Cora asked. “I said I was sorry! I didn’t mean to laugh!” She said to the compartment in general, fear still in her eyes.
“Aunt Cora? What’s going on? You look like you saw a ghost?” Simone questioned.
“WHO WAS HERE?!” Dell shouted in anger and I swear the lighting dimmed.
‘Tell her, Chance.’ A faint voice told me.
“Artemis.” I said.
“What. I want to know who was here? How’d they get past our security?” Dell demanded.
“Artemis was here. She allowed me to visit Olympus.” I said with a hard swallow.
“Yes, I’m here…WHAT?! The REAL Artemis was here? Great grandmother was here? When, Chance? Why didn’t she visit me?”
“She claimed you wouldn’t understand, and that you wouldn’t be able to see her anyway. I wanted to call you up, but she told me not to. She did make me promise to give this to you.” I said as I picked up the small box from the small bookshelf next to where I was standing. She took it carefully and looked it over several times.
“It’s a jewelry box. Open it.”
Carefully, as if it would explode, Dell opened her box and peeked in. Assured it was not booby trapped, she opened it fully to reveal the earrings and pair of bracelets. Her mouth dropped open and tears filled her eyes instantly!
“Oh my God! How did you get these, Chance? How?”
“I told you. Artemis wanted me to give them to you. Hephus created them especially for you- at least that’s what he told me.”
“Who’s ‘Hephus’, Chance?” Lokust inquired.
“Hephaestus. I’m pretty sure he made them and the rest of the earrings I’m about to offer all of you.”
“So she really took you to Olympus.” Mom stated calmly. “I take it Artie also had ‘Hephus’ make these for you too?” She asked as she touched the double piercing on my right ear.
“Only the lower pair, Mom. She gave me the top pair.”
I think Lady Chance looks amazing wearing them, Lady Hope!” Lyra added excitedly.
“Speaking of piercings. Hey, Dell? I was wondering if you could pierce my ears. Chance said to ask you after I picked mine out…that you would be able to do it without pain.” Lokust asked.
“I never…I don’t know if…wait! Did Great grandmother pierce your ears, Chance?” Dell stuttered before catching herself.
“I thought it would hurt, but all I felt was a mild sting- both times.”
“And how did Great grandmother perform the piercing, Chance?”
“She placed my lobes between her thumbs and forefingers and I guess asked her Current to make a hole.”
“It’s as easy as that?” She asked to herself.
Our Artemis motioned for Lokust to step closer and gently touched her earlobes, making sure to position her thumbs and forefingers equally then closed her eyes. Lokust flinched only slightly. Dell lowered her hands and examined her work.
“Wow. It really worked. I guess I should do mine, if I want to wear Great-grandmother’s gifts.”
“I thought you had your ears pierced already, Dell?” I asked.
“I did, but I think my activation healed them. You want to guide me so they’re straight, Chance?”
 
 
As happened with me, the second Dell fixed the second earring, she shuddered.
“Woah! That was the strangest feeling I think I’ve ever had- even stranger than absorbing Hoblins.”
“That was probably the earrings determining your genetic heritage then activating. Mine did the same thing. So why the surprised look when you opened the box?”
“I haven’t seen this jewelry in years, Chance. They were my grandmother’s and we never found them after she died. So, you can imagine the emotions that ran through me the moment I saw the Golden Bow earrings and the gold chain bracelets with arrow charms… in a box that you said came from the real Olympus. Thank you, High Priestess!” Dell explained wrapping her arms around me tightly.
“So…this weird feeling you both had when you put in your earrings…did Artemis happen to tell you what it meant, honey?” Charli asked.
“She said that…” Did I really want to tell them what it meant and risk disappointing some of my sisters should they not feel anything? No. I decided to be cryptic just like mom. “I shouldn’t say in a group like this, but individually.” I smiled.
Charli and Mom narrowed their eyes to me.
“Okay. Now, about these earrings we’re to get?” Mom inquired, dismissing my previous mysterious answer.
Lifting the larger box from the table, I opened it and turned to Sinae.
“Take your pick, but take only one pair.” I instructed.
Her eyes immediately snapped to a single pair on the front right side.
“I’ve never seen gems like this before. May I take this pair, Chance?” She asked pointing to the pair that drew her attention.
“They’re yours, my sister.” I said as she gingerly took them from the box, took the backs off and raised one to her left ear. She winced as she drove the post through her virgin flesh then repeated the process on her right ear.
She shuddered only slightly and seemed to look around the Observation Lounge a moment.
“It is Lynxin tradition to install one’s own ear decorations. It is considered a show of courage and determination. I thank you, High Priestess.”
She too embraced me warmly.
“Simone? You’re next.” I said stepping over to her and holding the box open for her to make her selection.
“I like these.” She pointed to the rear left. “They seem to call to me…”
“Then they are yours, sister.”
“Dell? Could you do the honors?” Simone asked as she stepped over to her. While Dell took care of Simone, I took a step to my left.
“Pick your poison, Aunt Chantell.” I giggled.
Immediately choosing a pair, she proceeded to remove her present star earrings and inserted her new ones. She jumped as she placed the second backing and stared at me in surprise.
“Charli?”
The same thing happened when dad…Charli secured her new studs. I wasn’t even going to ask why she had her ears pierced already.
“Aunt Cora?”
“But I’m not an active member, High Priestess. I cannot accept such undeserved gifts.”
“You and your ‘Ladies’ get over here and pick a set, majesty!” I ordered then smiled.
Her eyes locked on a pair and she cautiously pulled them from the box. She too removed her lowermost hoops and replaced them with the new single gem studs. She let out a very unrefined ‘Eeep’ when secured, then stared at me in wonder before I looked to mom.
“Mom?” I offered the box toward her.
As with all my Coven sisters so far, Mom’s eyes targeted a single pair. I nodded to her to take them. She shook ever so slightly when she finished placing her new studs and stared at me intently.
Lastly I turned toward our remaining two sisters.
“Sandra?”
“Oh, no, I…I couldn’t. I opted out, remember?”
I motioned the box closer and her eyes darted to one of the pairs in the middle.
“First and only chance, M’lady. Not everyone is offered jewels from the Gods of Olympus, and I’m specifically offering these to you.” I urged and nudged the box closer to her. Sandra relented and took the pair then walked silently over to Dell.
By this time Lyra was almost in tears, her eyes wide and pleading, her lower lip extended in a pathetic pout- thinking she was being left out.
“My Lady, I have not forgotten you at all. Please choose only one pair.” I finally offered as I bent down to her.
“Oooh! They’re all so pretty, My Lady! Must I choose just one?” She said as she scanned the jewelry remaining in the box.
“Just one, M’lady. That was the agreement Artemis specified.”
Her eyes looked up to the box’s lid and grew bigger. “Then can I have that pair of funny looking ponies?”
Ponies? I turned the box around and noticed a pair of platinum unicorn earrings stuck dead center in the lid. The visible eye of each fabled horse was the same gem the other earrings contained.
This particular pair hadn’t been there when I left Olympus, I swear!
“Of course, M’lady. I suggest your cousin assist in their installation, though. I believe it acceptable for relatives to assist.”
“Okay. Thank you, High Priestess.” She said as she ran over to Sinae.
Moments later, the young Lynxin growled out in pain, sounding more like a hurt house cat.
“Are you alright, My Lady? I asked in concern as I saw Lyra holding her right ear. A huge smile formed on her face.
“I’m ready for the other one, Lady Kitty.” She said excitedly.
Her second insertion went much better and Lyra’s smile threatened to split her face in two.
“How do they look?” She asked while feeling her ears curiously.
“See for yourself, Lady Lyra.” I said as I conjured a full-length mirror off to our left.
Something caught my eye and when I turned to look, Artemis- the original Artemis- was standing there.
Dell must have seen her too as she was already kneeling on the deck with her head bowed.
“About time you decided to pop back in, Artie!” Chantell declared in annoyance. “What’s it been? One…three hundred years?”
“Who…?” Lokust asked before her mouth dropped open.
I noticed our two Lynxins’ fur all puffed up and tried furiously to stop myself from giggling.
I failed miserably. So did Mom, Chantell, Aunt Cora, Charli, AND Artemis.
“I’ve always thought Lynxins far too high-strung. They do add a certain…humor…though.” She teased in a haughty tone.
“She’s one of my best friends, Lady Artemis, as are all the people in this room.” I told the Goddess of the Hunt sincerely.
“So I am included in that declaration, as I am also here?” She smiled impishly.
“You are, but I do request professionalism in this Coven.”
Artemis bowed at the waist. “I am honored and will abide, High Priestess.”
“What?” Dell gasped as she looked up. “I don’t understand. The Goddess of the Hunt should bow to no one but Zeus.”
“That is very true, sister, but one so honored by Father Zeus deserves like tribute.” She nodded to me. “And why do you prostrate yourself before me, Lady Artemis Dell, Huntress of the Witch Corps? Never should my flesh and blood ever knee before me, so get off the floor, sister.” The Goddess smiled and reached down offering Dell her hand.
“So the jewelry helps bridge our two realms?” Mom asked.
“Ever the scientist, Hope Summers.” Artemis smiled pleasantly. “Of course, you are absolutely right.” Her eyes actually sparkled a few times before pausing; her expression turned serious.
“But more importantly, long ago, I vowed to all of Olympus to find our long lost sister. Now that I’ve found her, I wish to remain in contact to watch and advise her so she will not retreat to yet another realm. I don’t think I could bear the intensity or duration of another prolonged search.” She quickly wiped away her tears then looked straight at me with an intensity that made me shudder.
“The jewels forged under Mt. Olympus have been tuned to your individual genetics; honored arrays that are kept on file in Olympus. The earrings test and confirm these arrays and if matched, complete the realm- some call it rainbow- bridge connection. Some citizens though, are naturally adept at completing the bridge on their own. Eons ago we dubbed those with this talent: ‘of many realms’. I am one of those able to naturally bridge the realms. My niece, Keke, can also bridge realms easily,” Artemis paused while still eyeing me intensely. “I thank Father Zeus that I have finally found you, dear Nike!”
“You gotta be shittin’ me?!” Mom cried out. “My daughter? The Goddess of Victory?! Who’s that make me then?”
“Why, her mother, of course.” Artemis deadpanned with a flat expression.
Mom thought a second. “Yeah, I guess I deserved that. So what’s the angle, Artie? How may we entertain the Gods of Old today?” She asked sarcastically. I was beginning to think there was quite a bit of history between these two.
“As I explained, I wish to keep in touch with my niece. Keke disappeared from us once, many eons ago. I wish not go through that again.” Artemis again regarded me. “Even if it is her reincarnate! Hope Summers,” Artemis turned back to mom. “Had I known at the time of our alliance in this realm, you would bring Nike back to us…”
The Goddess stopped talking and wrapped her arms around my mother. Mom’s eyes bulged at the sheer lunacy that a God would actually embrace a mortal in thanks.
Lightning streaked through the sky over our heads to light the cloud tops.
“Oh, give it a rest, father! I have completed my labor- my self-imposed quest! You can’t have everything go your way after all!” Artemis rebelled as she pulled back and stared angrily to the heavens.
A handsome, bearded man in his thirties appeared toward the rear of the Observation Lounge in a white toga with golden, lightning bolt trim. He had a laurel wreath of all things, atop his head.
“I will allow such treason only once in a great while, daughter! As it is, I was just trying to warn you and the Stygian of the deceitful intentions I feel over-running this planetary body. I merely wish you caution and wisdom to whomever you interact with here, Lady Chance of Many Realms, newest incarnation of the honored Nike of Olympus, High Priestess of the Stygian order.”
“Hey, Allfather. When ya decide to shave off a few thou?” Chantell greeted our newest guest with a smile.
“Do you really care, irreverent speck of mortal annoyance?” He growled.
Was there anyone my aunt actually respected?
“Yeah, I missed you too, old man.” She said as she casually walked over and gave him a noisy smooch on the cheek.
“Hoooooooly…” Lokust began to swear only to think better of her response.
Dell was again on her knees!
“Artemis Dell, Huntress of the Stygian order and newest holder of my daughter’s array, why are you on the ground again? Has no one taught you the proper greeting between valid citizens of Olympus?”
“Valid…citizens….?”
“The gems, dear one. Have you not been told of the significance of the gems? That they are keyed to the arrays of Olympians?”
“I’ll be a son-of-a…”
“Zip it, Shan!” Zeus glared to my aunt. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to any of you! Not everyone has the ability to sense ‘Lifeforce’ like the Stygian order, and people of the same talents tend to find each other despite all attempts at distribution, after all.”
“Eeeeeeh…so what’s up, Zeus?” Mom cracked wise in a weird voice while miming chewing on something.
“I just wished to pass along my concerns about your present location…”
“And? Come on, Zeusie, dare’s gotta be more den dat! Dare gotta be some Olympian catch; some deadly quest or morbid assignment youse wish us ta fulfill.” Mom interrupted with narrowed eyes using the same strange voice.
“You wound me, Lady Hope!” Zeus responded holding his hand to his right pec.
With a wounded expression he regarded all of us for a moment.
“You are exactly correct though. I do have ulterior motive. It has been several thousand of your years since visiting your realm and I thought now, with the completion of my daughter’s labor, was the perfect time to observe and visit with my ‘Valkyries’.
“So now we’ve jumped to Norse myth, ‘Oden’?” Mom countered.
Zeus smiled teasingly.
“As you may suspect, we have multitudes of names from multitudes of cultures around the multitudes of galaxies. Whether the Witch Corps is called Valkyries, Keres, Tenebrae, Furies, Erinyes, Morrigan, or Shield/Shrine Maidens by the species matters not.”
“Is that what we are?! Tenebrae?! The Eaters of the Dead?!” Sandra gasped as she stared at me then Zeus in disbelief. She looked horrified!
This was all spiraling out of control quicker than I could handle; matter of fact, I felt completely overwhelmed by Artemis appearing; my recent ‘visit’ to Olympus; learning I was the genetic equivalent of the Goddess Nike; Zeus, himself appearing… actually, everything to this point, and I suddenly felt angered. I needed to quell things immediately!
“Look! Up until a few hours ago, I had no idea I was even known by the Olympians! Then, this woman”, I pointed to the Goddess, “appears to me wanting to take me there. Next thing I know, I’m holding jewelry made by Hephaestus, God of the Forge, and Demeter, herself, is calling me ‘sister’ and ‘Keke’- which, I find out is their nickname for the Goddess of Victory, Nike! So don’t look at me in that tone, Sandra Anderson! Until that point, I thought I was just carrying on the Summers family legacy!” I explained in anger.
Was my voice ‘echoing’ throughout the Observation Lounge?
I also noticed that my Coven sisters- even Artemis and Zeus- had taken a few steps back from me.
“By Chronos’ demise! Is it possible?” Zeus whispered.
“And now even the mighty Zeus has a look of disbelief!” I complained as I quickly raised my arms in defeat, turned away, and looked out at the far, planetary horizon in an attempt to center my emotions while repeatedly wiping my weeping eyes.
“I’m no one special,” I continued, still staring to the horizon, tears flowing freely down my cheeks! “I’m just Chance Summers, Specialist First Class. I didn’t ask for any of this- all the attention…all the fame…all the titles…I didn’t ask to reach my threshold! Sure, I’m very happy I have my parents and aunt back. And I’m extremely thankful that I still have my friends! I’m also glad I could help clean the Hoblin scourge from the Mare, but in the end, I’m just. Chance. Summers.”
I glanced back when a large, warm, hand gently touched my shoulder.
“Lady Chance, your humility is your strongest trait, well founded, and admirable, but I must disagree with you in regard to your importance. Though I agree with Aries that you look nothing like his daughter, Nike, you do embody the character and morality of the woman I bestowed honor on all those years ago. No, you didn’t ask for your life to take the turns it has, not even the Fates would venture to predict your future, but even you must know you are FAR from ‘Just Chance Summers’, M’lady.”
“Chance? I’m very sorry for that reaction. I greedily thought I had experienced my share of trauma- that unspeakable horror of you killing…I woke to. I failed to realize how much more you and the Coven have actually witnessed…how much more terror…the atrocities…the death… please forgive me, Chance?” Sandra said from beside me.
“Buddy? I can honestly say I sorta know how you feel. It is frightening how fast I acclimated to this form…version of me. It’s just as frightening to find myself accepting this freely, and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I cried myself to sleep more than a few times over the first few nights. So yeah, its overwhelming, but we can get through this…together, Chance. High Priestess, Lady Chance, Chance, or even just ‘buddy’, you’re still the same person I call my best friend…my partner. Hell, when I first set eyes on you just after your threshold, I thought you WERE a Goddess, now…well…I guess it’s just official.” Lokust confided, taking my hands in hers.
“Ummm…Wasn’t this the part where Ari brought about the huge fireworks display over the Parthenon?” Artemis asked Zeus quietly.
“It was also the exact moment Nike reached her psychological limit and vanished, now hush daughter! This is not the time for such humor.”
“I’m surprised you have so little compassion, Grandmother!” Dell reprimanded. “Chance has gone through so many changes over the last month. She had just begun accepting her parents’ untimely death then everything began hitting her at once…I’m amazed she’s still sane!”
“Bridge to Lady Chance.” Cmdr. Serangetti’s voice called from overhead. Zeus nodded as if expecting the page.
“Go ahead, Commander.”
“My Lady. Sensors have picked up a large group heading toward Pegasus. Several pieces of heavy machinery follow. Those are registering as industrial particle drills used for mining. I’m not going to presuppose their intended usage.”
“ETA?”
“The lead group in thirty minutes, My Lady.”
“I’ll take care of it, Commander. Chance out.”
“With all due respect, High Priestess, WE will take care of it!” Lokust corrected as she gently took my arm to stop me. “Pegasus is a member of this Coven and the Coven will protect her. All nine of us.”
“You knew about this, Father?” Artemis glared to Zeus.
“If you mean the reemergence of the nine Furies? Yes. Let us see how they handle this situation.”
“What is it with you and ‘Tests’? God you are such an asshole!” Mom exclaimed as she glared at Zeus angrily.
“You and you.” I said pointing to our two visiting deities. “Get down to the Bridge. You’re both taking orders from Commander Serangetti.”
I picked up Savanna, in her car seat and handed her to Artemis. She accepted with a huge smile.
“I shall do no such thing!” Zeus rebelled angrily.
“I said,” I repeated growing more upset by his ‘superior’ tone. “Get down. To. The Bridge. And do whatever Serangetti says!”
I noticed Savanna burp ever so slightly.
The God’s eyes opened wider than I had seen up to this point.
“Well…since you asked… so nicely…” He surrendered as he and Artemis headed for the elevator.
“Did she just fully manifest us into this realm, daughter?” Zeus asked quietly just before the door slid closed.
I didn’t hear the reply.
“Chance to Bridge. I have two reserve members of the Corps heading your way to help. They are under your command. The rest of us are heading out to protect Pegasus. Please monitor us and prep for emergency departure if needed. Chance out. Let’s go, ladies.”
 
 

 
 
Pegasus Bridge:
 
 
“Ah, Lady Artemis. I’m surprised you didn’t accompany the others outside.” Kimbou Serangetti greeted the first of two people to enter the Bridge. He stopped to regard the tall, bearded man following her.
“The High Priestess has ordered us to assist, Commander. What would you have us do?” Artemis asked as she placed the child seat down tenderly. Her intonation was off and immediately made him suspicious.
“I’ll need you on the weapons to provide cover fire should it become necessary. Sir? What talents do you possess?”
“Why, I can do anything, for I am Zeus!”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Zeus. Still, what is your forte?”
“I am all-knowing! Therefore I can do anything.”
“So you are well versed in Trans-dimensional, UltraAU propulsion systems?”
Artemis began to snicker quietly.
“What is a Trans-dimensional, UltraAU…?”
“Sit at that panel over there and read the online manual, sir. It should explain everything. Artemis? Why aren’t you at the weapons console preparing the particle cannons?” He asked before raising his hand to stop a reply as nine Coven sisters appeared outside in presentation formation and instantly change into their Corps uniforms. He recognized Lady Artemis next to Prin…Lady Kitty.
“Who are you two?”
 
 
New Sri Lankan Plain:
 
 
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but did Zeus call us his nine ‘Furies’?” Lokust asked as I accessed the hatch control to open it and extend the ramp.
“Why? Don’t you think it fits, buddy?” I asked. “In concept, we did eat the dead and, when able, spit them… resurrected them?” I looked to Sandra, sternly.
“I’m just saying, buddy.”
Everyone remained quiet as we left Pegasus and formed up in a line.
“Uniforms, everyone.” I ordered. “And just so you know, Sandra, I never deactivated you. I felt your role in the Corps had yet to develop. If you still feel unable to help, I suggest you think about what kind of life those eight children would have here. From my research, Eden started out as a penal colony- a prison world. Over the last three hundred years, Eden has rehabilitated itself into a free society able to govern itself as it wishes while still acting as a correctional institution. What I believe we are seeing here is a breakdown of that government. I also believe those ‘escaping prisoners’ were the remnants of Eden’s legitimate government.”
“That would explain the desperate act of destroying the pods, Chance.” Lokust agreed.
“Kinda like Australia started out. I get it. Botany Bay, Major?” Chantell added.
“I get the irony, Shan. So how are we going to handle this, honey?”
“First, I need to know if Sandra is all in. By that I mean she isn’t going to just stand here and make herself a target. We need you, Sandra Anderson! We need your talents and your wand! So…will you stand with us or do you want to retreat to Pegasus. I’m sure Cmdr. Serangetti could use your assistance. I’m not too sure how the Olympians will react to our Bridge controls.”
“High Priestess, with all due respect, I am wearing the uniform of my own free will. I have never, nor ever, run from a fight in my life! I’m with you all the way, M’lady.”
“Welcome back to the Corps, Lady Sandra. What I need for you to do is, on my order, project those wonderful blue plasma balls, as big as you can make them- up and over our unwelcome guests. If I’m right, a small number of them will cower and withdraw. After that do what you feel you must in order to protect Pegasus. That is their objective.”
“As you wish, M’lady.”
“What about me, My Lady? What is it you wish of me?” Lyra asked as maturely as I’d ever heard.
I leaned out to look at her. “I think you’ll know what is required when the time is at hand, My Lady. You have the natural talent. Just resist the temptation to kill. I do not want you to feel that burden at such a young age, for it never leaves you and taints your innocence forever.”
“As you wish, High Priestess.” Lyra nodded her understanding.
“Lady Charli, try to tap into the automation of those drilling rigs. They pose the greatest threat to Pegasus- not that she can’t hold her own. I’m not sure how up to date Artemis is with weapons control.”
“Understood.”
“We hold this line. Chantell and Lokust, I might need you to go airborne and keep those drills busy if Charli has problems. Huntress and Kitty, watch our flanks. Mom and I will negotiate.” I looked to mom beside me. “You don’t mind if I ‘negotiate’ right?”
“What? Oh. Sure, sure.” Mom nodded as she smiled deviously.
“Did she just quote…?” Chantell asked before stopping abruptly. Her eyes shifted to the oncoming front. “Looks like the party’s about to start.”
“Everyone save your wands.” I advised. I didn’t want us to show our hand quite yet.
“Well now! I didn’t think we’d be droppin’ in on no costume party!” Able Castor grinned as he motioned for his army to stop.
“Now if ya all just step the side, we’ll start claimin’ our prized acquisition an then start the party off right.”
“So…how long have you been mayor of this city, Mr. Castor?” I asked calmly.
“Whether its been three years or three days, what’s it matter, my…lady?”
“Three days would explain your ignorance as to our registry number and affiliation. I must ask…do you have any idea what the initials: E.F.M.C. refers to.”
“Um, every female’s my concubine?” Castor sneered.
“Hardly” I hrrmphed with an impish smile. “More like…Earth Force Marine Corps, Mr. Castor. I take it you’ve never heard of us. It’s a shame, really. All this could have been averted had you actually paid attention in your instructional years.”
“I like my meaning better, Miss Hoity-toity, High an’ Mighty Priestess.”
“I have another question for you and you’re soon to be smaller group of mercenaries. Do you recognize our, as you call them, costumes?”
“Enough with the questions and games! Hand over the ship and we can begin to have our ways with you wenches.”
I screwed up my face into a wince. “Oh you were just sooo close too!” I said as my expression instantly became serious. “Not ‘Wenches’ Mr. Castor. Witches! Some would call us ‘Current Mages’ nowadays.”
I could hear several gasps from the large militia gathered before us. Apparently some in the crowd had heard of us.
“Wenches, witches. They’re all the same kneelin’ before ‘n servicin’ me! Move aside and we’ll get back to you, babe.”
“You will not address the High Priestess that way, Mayor Castor!” Lyra declared from down our line.
“Aw lookie there boys the kitten wants us to pay the proper respects to her High-assed Priestess! Show ‘er ‘er place, Hinkle.” Castor mocked our little sister.
Lyra hissed angrily as a husky, filthy man closed on her. In the blink of an eye Lyra had pulled and waved her wand. ‘Hinkle’ was now wearing a pink tutu with a white leotard and pink ballet flats instead of his grimy overalls and dilapidated boots.
Laughter filled Castor’s ranks as the imposing man turned and ran back into the crowd in embarrassment.
“Nice trick. We all know’d him swishy anyways. Now move aside, Priestess.”
“We won’t do that, Mr. Castor. You see, Lady Lyra is the youngest and least experienced of us and I’m afraid she’s gone very light on your comrade. We, however,” I motioned down our rank. “Will not go so lightly. WANDS!” I shouted as I manifested my own.
Seven wands now pointed at the thousand or so opponents.
Mom and Chantell had instead each calmly pulled their pistols and proceeded to check and, if necessary, load any empty chambers.
“Think we’ll have enough ammo, Lady Hope?” Chantell asked loudly.
“Well if I get a good line, I might top my record of ten kills with one bullet, so…oh yeah, we’ll have enough!”
“Frogs or toads, Lady Charli?” Lokust asked as she got into the act.
“I tend to do better with Bunnies and Duckies, Lady Lokust.” Charli giggled as Mom and my aunt stared at her with whimsy grins.
“Shelf paper…who knew?” Charli shrugged comically to them.
“Lady Kitty? What’s your opinion?” I asked.
“I’d say toads because the ground is so dry.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Huntress?”
“I’ve just finished development on my newest arrows. I can guarantee several dozen kills in a single shot.” Dell replied as she produced an arrow from her quiver and cradled it in her hands reverently. It had a very nasty looking tip on it and was pulsing with a dim blue glow.
“Lady Sandra?”
“I would recommend snails, High Priestess. The galley is running low on Escargot.”
Our Coven, as a whole, made a disgusted face as we looked to her.
“You asked.” She countered. “Just being practical here.”
“Understood.” I giggled.
“Oh, will you all just shut it an’ step aside so’s we can claim this pertie ship as ours an’ get off this rock?” Castor groaned, not seeming impressed or daunted by our nonchalant conversation.
“No.” I answered casually.
“Shame. We woulda showed you a good time. Fire them drills up boys. Isolate the girls from our plunder.”
“Really?” Chantell chuckled. “Tell me you didn’t just use the word ‘plunder’ in a modern sentence. Who are you? Jack Sparrow?”
“Let’s see if they ‘knows’ how ta swim, me hardies!” I suggested in a low, raspy voice.
“Oh Lordy! Now see whats ye done?” Mom moaned in resignation.
Several rows of men just dropped out of sight behind Castor’s first two lines and water was heard splashing along with cries for help.
“I’d wager that were the first bath theys had in a while.” Sandra tittered getting into the act.
“Fire the drills!” Castor shouted.
Nothing happened.
“I said, FIRE THE DRILLS!”
“We’re waiting, Mr. Castor.” I said in a pastoral calm.
Mom conjured something that looked like a plasma pistol but when she pulled the trigger the head of the appliance spun around at a moderate speed.
“Here, honey. This drill works. You want this one instead?” She said as it hovered over to our surprised opponent.
He accepted it, squeezed the trigger to make the chuck spin then threw the ancient drill to the ground. It vanished after a moment.
“I want the ends closed NOW!” Castor demanded to nobody. He must have had a comm. device in his ear. That had to be disabled. Apparently Charli thought the same thing as Castor’s hand hurriedly went to his right ear and pulled out a very small device and threw it to the ground. Music of some type was blaring from it so loudly we could actually hear it across the distance between us!
“Aw. ‘The girl from Eepa-Neepa’! My favorite elevator music. You remembered! You’re so thoughtful, Lady Charli. Thank you.” Mom mock swooned.
“Get them!” Castor hissed as he pointed to us angrily.
“Huh uh! I haven’t drawn my line in the sand, yet.” I said as I pointed my wand to the dried, wasted ground between us and Castor’s front line. A line of red-hot, molten earth about a foot wide appeared. It ran the distance around the perimeter of our Pegasus.
“Ok, I’m ready now. Cross it if you dare, sir.”
 
 
Pegasus Bridge:
 
 
“So you claim to be the actual Diana, Goddess of the Hunt?” Serangetti asked, trying to comprehend how two ancient Gods could be here, on the Bridge, with him.
“Let me try something, commander. Lady Hope once asked me to assist Witch Corps on several missions. Unless the new High Priestess has blocked that ability too, I should be able to call forth my official uniform.” Artemis suggested. She began to concentrate and suddenly she was dressed in skirt, stockings, blouse, boots, hat, and bustier.
“The uniform looks good on you, daughter.” Zeus complimented from the engineering console.
“Think you can start the propulsion system yet, Sir Zeus?”
“If he can’t, I certainly can, Commander.” Pegasus’ A.I. reported confidently.
“Pegasus?” He had forgotten about the sentient AI. “Is it possible to hear the conversations going on out there?” Serangetti asked in curiosity.
“Of course. Enabling Comm group audio.”
“I said, FIRE THE DRILLS!” They heard Castor demand.
“We’re waiting, Mr. Castor.” Said Lady Chance.
“Here, honey. This drill works. You want this one instead?” Taunted Lady Hope.
 
 
“I want the ends closed NOW!” An angered Castor demanded before reaching to his ear.
“Aw. ‘The girl from Eepa-Neepa’! My favorite elevator music. You remembered! You’re so thoughtful, Lady Charli. Thank you.” Lady Hope mocked.
“Get them!” Castor shouted.
“Huh uh! I haven’t drawn my line in the sand, yet.” Lady Chance countered as a red line formed on the ground in front of her and shot around and out of sight.
“Ok, I’m ready now. Cross it if you dare, sir.” Lady Chance taunted teasingly.
 
 
“They’re just playing with them! Why won’t they take this seriously?” Serangetti asked in confusion.
“Because it is so absurd, Commander! The Furies…I mean the Witch Corps, can whip these mortals with their little fingers, while blindfolded- while actually asleep. Since they have taken on much more dangerous beings, there simply is no challenge here. This could never be a fair fight.” Artemis replied.
“Commander, I’m sensing a hemispherical protective shield established around us. From the readings it is quite formidable.” Pegasus’ A.I. reported.
“As before, Keke takes command to assure others are not harmed.” Zeus nodded his head. “I believe I am able to enable propulsion on your command, sir. If needed.”
Serangetti nodded to him.
“How are the weapons, Lady Artemis?”
“Cannons are loaded and several key targets have been recognized as defensive suggestions, Commander.”
“Mr. Castor, you may try to take our ship away from us, but you stand no hope of gaining even a footfall beyond our line. I would suggest you dismiss this inevitable folly and accept the Galactic Council’s ruling on unlawful planetary domination. Otherwise, there may not be a planet left to dominate. Are we clear, ‘Mr. Mayor’?”
“See, that’s where you bimbos is wrong. We out number you and have the advantage of nothing to lose.”
“Really? So at this point, I suppose there is no mutually cooperative negotiation that can solve this very lopsided dispute?”
“We want our ship, and we wants it now, babe. Step aside.”
Lady Chance laughed. “Nope. Not going to happen. We still outnumber you, Mr. Castor. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.”
 
 
“I must say this incarnation of Keke has the brass. Wouldn’t you agree, father?” Artemis said as they continued to listen.
“Brass and cockiness are tenuous traits, daughter. Wisdom is required to control either, though Lady Chance seems to know that intrinsically.”
“Pegasus? How are the children doing?” Serangetti inquired.
“Shy of having to rebuild the Multipurpose room…again, they are unaware of the events outside my hull.”
“Thank yo… What in Libra’s name is my daughter doing?” Serangetti choked out as he stared at the Witch Corps’s line.
“Hey, High Priestess? We have several hundred men approaching from our left. Is this one of those times you said I’d know what to do?”
“You are clear to engage, Lady Lyra, but still go easy on them.”
“WHAT? She’s willingly putting my kitten in danger?!” Serangetti shouted out as he watched his six-year-old pull her wand again and point it at the advancing invaders.
Instantly, the offending group was dressed in furry, oversized, blue teddy bear costumes and began stumbling and falling into each other. The kitten’s laughter could be heard loud and clear.
“Well met, My Lady!” Lady Chance praised.
“I concure! Well met, Lady Lyra.” Artemis said then watched the young Lynxin eagerly wave back to the ship. She turned to Serangetti. “You have a very resourceful offspring there, Commander.” Artemis gave him a bright smile.
“She shouldn’t be out there in the first place, My Lady! She is but six standard years of age.”
“I wouldn’t dare try to stop her, sir. She has the drive of a true Valkyrie and seems quite capable of handling herself so far.”
“So far, yes, but what if things become serious?”
“Our High Priestess will let no harm come to the Kitten, Commander! The Fates have seen no blood spilled this day.”
“I thought you just said the Fates could not- would not- predict anything for Chance, father?” Artemis frowned.
“Though somehow bound to this realm by our High Priestess, I still have my contacts, daughter.” Zeus answered.
“How did she bind us here, father?”
“I’m afraid this version of our beloved Nike has evolved. I am no closer to determining what spell or other binding magic she has used. It seems beyond me…beyond us at the moment.”
“Are you saying that Lady Chance may be more powerful than even you, Sir Zeus.” Serangetti asked for clarification.
The Greek God of Gods blushed deeply.
“In Lady Chantell’s vernacular, I would not ‘piss her off’, Commander.” He admitted.
“But we are of many worlds, father…”
“And yet neither of us has been able to break whatever enchantment has been placed upon us.”
“Something is happening!” Artemis announced suddenly and pointed out to the confrontation.
“Pass the word to have the drills advance! Best possible speed!” Castor ordered.
Within a minute the huge machines started moving…
Backwards!
“I take it you were successful in hacking their controls, Lady Charli?”
“It didn’t take much. Nothing in the way of security protocols exist in their AI’s. They probably stole them too.”
“I don’t know how you are doin’ that, but stop right now before we have to hurt you!”
“Funny. I was about to give YOU the same ultimatum- only without the ‘how you do it’ part. We already know how we do it.”
“Enough of this! They’re all yours, boys!”
 
 
“I can’t believe those people are stupid enough to think they could just rush them!” Artemis said, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched the first wave of dissidents’ crash headlong into the invisible barrier.
“Garfield has nothing on these morons.”
“Convicted criminals, Lady Hope, remember?”
“How could I forget! Next they’ll start firing plasma weapons, Shan.”
 
Several blue explosions hit then ricocheted off the unseen shield.
 
“So many people enlisted by the aspirations of one or two men. Why would so many follow blindly?”
“Maybe the legitimate government left them no other options, Lady Lokust.”
“So if there were fewer followers, this siege might lose momentum, Lady Chance?”
“It is a possibility, Lady Lokust. What would you propose?”
 
 
“What just happened?” Kimbou Serangetti choked as he witnessed several hundred insurgents simply disappear. “Did she just…”
“I sensed no decrease in the life energies of this planet, Commander. Apparently, Lady Lokust simply ‘relocated’ some of Castor’s forces to the other side of Eden. It will take them several days to return.” Artemis reasoned.
 
 
“Before you ask, Lady Chance, I redistributed some of the combatants to the other side of Eden. Now maybe Mr. Castor will reassess his chances of success.”
“So, you HAVE been paying attention. I commend you on your ingenuity, Lady Lokust.”
“Thank you, High Priestess. I hope my effort resulted in no casualties.”
“Castor! You might want to look around. Several legions have deserted your cause. Shouldn’t you rethink this failing coup?”
 
 
“She has more patience than even I could muster, daughter. By now they all would have been standing in wait at the entrance to Tartaris.” Zeus remarked as Pegasus’ Bridge crew continued to watch the scene unfold.
“I applaud them for their morality and control during this situation, Father.” Artemis smiled proudly.
“Thank you for the vote of confidence, Lady Artemis.”
“Lady Chance, as you heard, Father Zeus grows impatient. Might we end this confrontation sooner than later?”
“Mr. Castor must see the error in his belief of success, or his greed will be his undoing, M’lady.”
“I’m thinking Lady Artemis may be right, Buddy. Maybe we should enlighten him?”
“Lady Sandra? Could you ‘enlighten’ these citizens to their futile effort? Two overhead should catch their attention.”
“What is she telling Lady Sandra to do? I thought the idea was to disrupt without destruction?”
“I don’t think those core ideals have changed, Commander.” Artemis clarified as two huge, blue balls of plasma erupted from Lady Sandra’s wand. They quickly gained altitude in an arcing trajectory then exploded into two brilliant flares that lit the twilight like twin Suns.
“Many of the aggressors are falling back! Soon his forces will number only in the hundreds.” Serangetti said remaining hopeful that even more would retreat.
“Such power from one so new to the Coven! I’m wondering about the magic involved finding such talented individuals.”
“Father, you said it yourself: People of like talents seen to find each other. No matter what amount of chaos involved. Olympians will always attract Olympians.” Artemis explained, Mostly for the Lynxin’s benefit.
“So they are all Goddesses?” Serangetti gasped in surprise zeroing in on his six-year-old standing valiantly next to her cousin, outside.
“Genetically, all species are considered ‘Olympian’, Commander. Strength of character, mind, AND body are the discerning factors; for without one or the other, the individual is weak, over confident, and reckless.” Artemis continued.
“Lady Artemis, could you please check on Savanna for me?”
“Right away, Lady Chance.” Artemis answered. “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen?” She said turning for the child and car seat.
 
 
New Sri Lankan Plain:
 
 
“Look, Castor, we could stand here all night if needed. I can assure you you’ll never set foot on Pegasus. Why not give up now and go home to your wife and children?” I said after having the feeling Savanna needed me.
“There are few women here, Miss High ‘n Mighty. No women to use, no kids to abuse- none that stay alive long. The real stuck-up bitches took their kids and joined the Galactic’s to get off this rock. That’s why we intend to have our ways with you and yer shiny ship.”
“Artemis to Lady Chance.”
“Hold that thought, Mr. Castor.” I said as I held up my finger. “How’s Savanna, M’lady?”
“Princess Savanna has been cleaned and changed, but requires that which only you can give, High Priestess. I cannot get her to calm.”
Artemis sounded stressed. According to the myths Dell had told of her ancient homeland, Artemis was depicted as virginal.
That contradicted the fact that Artemis was supposed to be Dell’s greatest gram!
“I’ll be right in, M’lady. Chance out.” I said knowing I was wasting my time with these people- this man in particular as he stared like a hungry coyote.
I glared back at the heathen standing menacingly, mere feet from me. The man, Castor, seemed to flinch involuntarily.
This insipid exchange of rhetoric was keeping me from my motherly duties!
Motherly duties…
That was it!
“So! Is that what this is actually about, Mr. Castor? You wish to dominate and abuse that which eludes you? You wish more females to be present on Eden? You wish to have children to abuse? I wonder how your thinking would change if your wishes became fact?”
I began concentrating- on him and all the followers of Castor standing imposingly before me.
 
 
Pegasus Bridge:
 
 
“So what did I miss?” Artemis asked as she re-entered the Bridge holding a very cranky baby. She seemed agitated and far outside her comfort zone.
“I think the infant has just caused a summit, daughter. I feel something immense building…something the likes of which I thought impossible for the species.” Zeus answered with a frightened expression.
“I feel it too, father! What is our High Priestess conjuring that would require such collection of magic?”
“What are you two talking about, and what is going on out there?” Cmdr. Serangetti asked in alarm. For some strange reason he felt his fur standing stiff and the feeling of tiny insectoids crawling and biting at his skin.
 
 
New Sri Lankan Plain:
 
 
“So be it, MISTER Castor! You shall think things over tonight and politely convene a meeting to discuss your decision at an hour past midday tomorrow. Until then, Mayor of New Sri Lanka.” I declared as I clapped my hands loudly in front of me.
The remaining force of five or six hundred men gathered before me, disappeared.
 
 
Pegasus Bridge:
 
 
“By Libra, what just happened?! Did she just,” Serangetti choked in disbelief, “are they all…?”
“The balance of lifeforce on this world has not decreased, but increased slightly, though I fail to see how that is possible.” Artemis reported- awe showing on her otherwise neutral face.
“Away team is secure and we’re heading back inside, Cmdr. Serangetti.”
 
 
New Sri Lankan Plain:
 
 
“So, what happened to them, Buddy?” Lokust asked in surprise and confusion. I had turned and started back to Pegasus. “I felt this massive buildup of Current in you. It made my skin crawl.”
“I’d like to know the answer to that as well, Chance. It felt like I had been re-infected with insectoid pests!” Sinae inquired.
“You didn’t blast them all to smithereens, did you?” Chantell hurried to my side and tried to stop me.
“No! I did nothing of the kind, M’ladies.” I answered quickly without stopping.
“Then what happened to all of them, High Priestess?” Lyra asked as she floated past me at eye level then lowered herself to block my advance. “You told us not to kill, didn’t you?”
I stopped at the base of our boarding ramp.
“I merely granted Castor’s wishes, My Lady.” I told the young Lynxin calmly. “I assure you no one has been injured or deleted, and we shall see how the opinions of our aggressors have changed tomorrow. Now, let’s get inside and get some much needed rest.” I explained further. Savanna needed fed and I felt very fatigued from my last action.
 
 
“Well good morning, sweetie.” I said as I lifted Savanna to my shoulder. As was becoming a normal morning routine, she needed changed. Though insistent to be fed, I maintained the order of rituals.
Lokust began to stir in the bed we had shared last night. Artemis was still sound asleep in the other, and looked in no hurry to wake.
“How’s she do it? I mean; do Goddess’ even need to sleep?”
“Maybe your bed is to her liking, Buddy. She might decide to take it back with her, who knows?”
“I could never sleep like that. I think I was up every time Savanna squirmed or…”
“Grunfuller slept through everything, Buddy! Don’t embarrass yourself by thinking otherwise. Let’s get dressed and head up to Observation.”
“What about the Galley? I’m starved.”
“I’m pretty sure Pegasus hasn’t finished repairing all the damage yet.”
“Damage?”
“It seems while we were trying to stop an assault, the children wrought down death and destruction of their own.”
“Again?”
I nodded.
 
 
“How goes the warzone, Sandra?” I asked as a much disheveled, very tired looking, Cassandra Anderson emerged from the elevator.
“Pegasus will live to fight another day. Me? I’m not so sure. I could probably sleep for three weeks straight. Are you sure you got all the tainted Current out of those little demo…children?”
“I thought you were trained in caring for them? Isn’t controlling them…teaching them to behave- part of that training?”
“You know what? You can kiss it wildly, High Priestess!” Sandra exclaimed in irritation.
I laughed quietly so as not to wake my baby.
“You try getting any sleep with those…those demon-spawn lurking in wait to pounce on you! Just wait until Savanna comes of age! I want to see how you handle things then!”
I conjured a steaming cup of coffee in my grasp.
“Here. Someone needs their morning cup of ‘Joe’.
Sandra accepted it with a tense smile, tasted it and retreated to a nearby lounge chair.
“Domo, High Priestess.”
“Chance. My name is Chance, Sandra. How do you keep forgetting that?”
She took another sip as Lokust and I watched her tired face brighten.
“So what has become of Castor and his followers, Chance?” She asked after a few more sips.
“I’m sure they have new perspective on our resolve to protect what is ours.”
“And that means….what?”
“It means, the mayor and all those who continued to follow him will see things differently now, and we will see what happens today after midday, Lady Sandra.” I answered somewhat tersely.
“Fine! Be all mysterious!” She said, looking away from us and pointing her nose in the air smugly. Lokust and I laughed softly at her antic.
“Seriously though…You say they’ll see things differently today. You didn’t activate them, did you? That would be bad, right?”
“I didn’t activate them…and it would be very bad if I had.” I considered that a moment. “Though it would make for a more balanced confrontation.”
“Well I, for one, am relieved things are about to change on this planet. This is no place for young men and women to grow up. I was debating on arguing the logic of releasing those eight to their supposed guardians care here on Eden. I see now that there was reason they left.”
“Depending on how things work out in six hours we might have to find foster homes for th…”
“No! No foster homes! I went through that system and wish it on no one else, Chance! I’d just assume take them myself. At least they would learn what is right from wrong instead of how to pinch a mining drill or spacecraft.”
“I thought you said your father was an accident investigator?” Lokust asked in confusion.
“I was one of the lucky ones that found a secure, caring family at eight years of age. The last foster home however, taught me the perils and negative possibilities.”
“Bridge, Lady Chance. We’ve just received an automated invitation to a meeting scheduled for 14:30 today. We have also been offered landing permit to the accompanying landing area adjacent to the meeting hall. A reply is requested.” Dell’s voice…maybe Artemis’ voice reported.
“Send confirmation for thirteen adults and forty adolescents. Prepare Pegasus for flight. Chance out.”
 
 

 
 
Several men greeted us as we stepped from the ramp onto the landing port’s deck. They appeared frightened and very cautious as they nervously escorted us into then seated us in a large meeting hall.
“Quite the turn around, M’lady. I must say I am pleasantly surprised by it.”
“They only needed confirmation of our intentions, Grandfather Zeus.” I answered.
“My lady? What if this all begins to unravel? Where and how do we evacuate the children in our charge?”
“Relax, commander. I’m sure they will be more accommodating during this meeting.” I smiled as I cradled Savanna in my arms and rocked her gently.
Aunt Cora and Sandra were in uniform and kept a critical eye on all forty of our young charges- not one of them daring to get the least bit out of line so far.
“Lady Chance? Are you sure it was wise to bring Savanna with us?” Lyra asked from between Sinae and her father.
“Everything will be fine, Lady Lyra.” I smiled. “And if something should develop…” I winked as I left that statement hang.
A group of twenty disheveled and poorly dressed women entered the room quietly. They all looked to be in the later stages of pregnancy and very uncomfortable.
I motioned for our contingent to courteously stand while waiting for them to be seated. It took a rather long time though, as they struggled to awkwardly seat themselves. All of them looked ashamed and blushed deeply in embarrassment.
“Good Midday, ‘Mayor’ Castor. I see you have been granted the wishes made on the field of confrontation last evening. Have you had any change of heart or attitude this afternoon as to your need for our ship?” I said to the woman that seemed to be the leader. She looked about ready to go into labor.
“How did you do this? Over five hundred and forty of my men are now…” She looked down to the table with even more embarrassment. “Expecting. Please return us to what we were before, High Priestess.” She pleaded.
“I can’t do that, Miss Castor. I will not jeopardize the new lives you all carry within you. I’m afraid this is who you are now- just lowly women- playthings for the men of this planet- nothing more than toys to be abused and subjugated as the men of this world please. In just a short time they will also have offspring to abuse to their liking and twist to their will. This IS what you wanted, right? More women and children for Eden?”
“No! This isn’t what I wanted! What we wanted… Turn us back! Now!” Castor cried as tears streaked her face.
“And what would you have me do with the unborn? Remove them from existence? Allow them no chance to live?”
“I want this…this…this thing out of me! I’m a man, dammit! Havin’ kids is women’s work!”
Savanna ‘gurgled’ and waved her chubby, little right arm. She flexed her tiny fingers.
“I won’t let that happen, sweetie. They’ll all come around. It just takes time for their minds to adjust, but we can help them with that, right?”
My daughter ‘gurgled’ again and smiled for a moment.
“I’m glad too! Shall we?” I smiled to her while gently caressing her cheek with the back of my finger.
Lokust, Mom, Charli, and Chantell were staring at me intently.
Ignoring them, I floated up out of my chair and flew the short distance to the Mayor then landed softly. Savanna remained quiet, but her eyes stayed amazingly observant. Castor’s eyes, as well as the other non-Coven eyes in the hall, remained locked on me in fear.
“Let’s see now,” I said as I examined the ‘Mayor’ with my gaze. “Yes. Tomorrow you shall have what you desire; only it won’t be quite what you want, will it, Miss Castor?” I said with a mixed sneer/smile.
Her eyes widened instantly.
“No! That can’t happen! I’m a man! A male! I can’t have a kid!” Castor cried, her hands absentmindedly rubbing her huge, distended belly.
“Keep tellin’ yerself that, sweetie!” Mom giggled. “It only hurts while you’re in labor…whiiiich varies widely among mothers. Anywhere between ten minutes to two or three days I believe.
“And usually within six months you can go and start it all over again. If the timing is right, that is.” Charli added.
“NO! I don’t want that!” Castor exclaimed in tears.
“Then you and your cabinet have policy to make, Miss Mayor- policies that protect women and children; policies that punish men for what they could do to women…to you, Miss Castor.” I stopped long enough to lean down and stare intently into her eyes.
“There, that’s better.”
“What did you just do?”
“I just gave you a compulsion, Miss Castor, a compulsion to make you want to care and nurture your baby when it’s born. Your new compulsion also makes you want to find a loving partner and raise a family. All the things a woman- like you- wants out of life.”
“You can’t do that! This isn’t right!”
“For you or the baby?” I asked calmly.
“For both of usssssoh Gods, no!” Her eyes widened. “You actually did it! I am soo fucked!” Castor cried as she covered her mouth in shock.
“Now, as for the eight children we have transported here to Eden. I assume their guardians are here and in attendance?” I asked, wasting no time.
“The kids…” Castor began to answer but instead her expression softened while she absentmindedly continued to rub her belly, caught herself then looked to me in fear. “They have no…guardians here. They were trying to escape in the ship you blew up.”
“WE did no such thing, Miss Castor! The occupants were so intent on eluding you, they fired on us thinking we were in league with your coup, but when that failed, they caused a Current breach that destroyed the ship. That speaks volumes for the stability of this society AND your government!”
“All we wanted was equal rights. We wanted what they had.”
“And what DID they have that you didn’t, Miss Castor?”
“They could get off this rock if they wanted to!” She hissed angrily, her mood changing instantly.
She actually seemed surprised by the sudden change of mood before her face again softened.
“And the majority of you couldn’t?” I asked. “You couldn’t apply for visas for travel to other systems; petition your government for legislation that could change your quality of life; use the legal system I know was in place before the Galactic Council would even grant Eden membership, the way it was intended? Tell me, Miss Castor, did you exhaust all legal avenues before inciting your coup d'état or did you simply bypass those methods in favor of brute force?”
She remained quiet, as she looked though her tears to the other nineteen expectant members of her cabinet in shame, her hands still idly rubbing her belly.
“We demonstrated on the Parliamentary steps for more rights and better treatment! It all fell on deaf ears.” She finally stated.
“Really?” Charli asked in mock surprise. “So you all were paroled then? Freed men that had fully paid their debt to society? Because, according to your planetary archives, Able Castor is serving a life sentence with no option for parole. Many of your ‘cabinet’ have similar decisions against them.” Charli paused a moment. “You do understand that while convicted and sentenced, you forfeit many of your rights. That is why we call it punishment, dear woman.”
Castor began crying outright.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered in embarrassment then suddenly looked stunned.
“Not only am I crying like a female, I think I’ve just peed myself. If you all will excuse me, please?” She cried despondently. Carefully standing she screamed out in agony and doubled over onto the floor.
“I’d call a doctor, ladies, unless you want her to give birth on the floor right here.” I suggested as I looked down to my daughter, still quietly observing from my arms. She hadn’t fussed one bit through this whole altercation.
Kitty and Simone hurried over to help her off the floor while two men hurried over to us.
“I take it you two are proficient in maternal care, both pre and post natal?” I asked to make sure she got the proper treatment.
“I was a surgeon before my conviction, ma’am.”
“Dr. Milton Douglas Seivers. Convicted on ten counts of unintentional manslaughter. Serving twenty years. Specialty: Reconstructive Epidural Surgery.” Charli recited as if reading his file.
The man looked appalled by her briefing.
“Don’t look surprised, doctor. Lady Charli is our Intelligence Officer. I’m sure she could go on and on about your professional and private life if she deemed it necessary. I believe Miss Castor to be expecting twins. I’d get her to the local medical facility as soon as possible. Say…” I looked to the woman who was obviously having her second contraction. “Within the next fifteen minutes? In the meantime, we shouldn’t waste the hospitality of our generous hosts. Shall we continue negotiations while feasting on this delicious banquet?”
“You cold-hearted bitch! She just went into labor and you show no compassion or warmth for her condition? You, with your own child! Are you even human?!” A brown-haired woman at about six months rambled over and got right in my face as the two ‘medics’ helped Castor from the room. She was Castor’s right hand man…woman. Savanna began to fuss.
“Gaston Flinch. Convicted on eighteen counts of deliberate arson, nine counts of homicide by incineration, twenty counts of aggravated assault, five counts of resisting law enforcement representatives, oh, and one count of dereliction of spousal duties. Stellar record you have going there, MISS Flinch.” Charli reported almost clinically.
“Thank you, Lady Charli. Now, to answer your accusations; yes, I am a member of the species. I am far from ‘cold-hearted, and I do feel Miss Castor is in good hands. Next. If you do not back away from me and my daughter, I will see to it that the only fire you crave is that of a ‘burning desire’ to service men, as many and as often as you can. Have I made myself clear, Miss Flinch?”
She backed away immediately, staring at my eyes in fear while doing so.
“Would anyone else care to question my genetic makeup?” I asked the assemblage as I gently rocked Savanna in my arms to calm her. “Now. Let’s get back to what the new administration needs to accomplish before all its members must take maternity leave.”
 
 
“I can’t believe you made them all pregnant! How in the world did you come up with that, buddy?” Lokust asked as I changed Savanna. We had concluded lunch and negotiations with the new Eden government and had returned to Pegasus moments ago.
“I noticed that everything had a strong sexual innuendo last night and Castor’s frustration with our defiance seemed excessive. I was happy with us just toying with him…frustrating him even more until Savanna woke and needed fed. Nothing is more important than her. Castor will understand that concept in another few hours, and no, I actually didn’t place a compulsion on her so relax.”
“Okay, I get that, but knocking them all up? All six hundred of ‘em? A bit excessive wouldn’t you say?”
“What do you think the odds would be that just one member of Mare’s crew would be pregnant, buddy? Out of ten thousand people- half of them women?” I asked and paused to let her think on that. “Before we left Mare, I asked my Current to find and assemble what they could of all the unfortunate terminations resulting from conscriptions. At least now they have a chance at being born…of living.”
“You’re getting to be very frightening, buddy! I’m starting to worry about what you might do if somebody really provokes you.”
“You do understand that any one of us could have easily dispatched them all, right? Even Lyra, had she felt threatened. I felt we needed to show them that some people…some species should never be antagonized. They needed to be reminded that their actions had definite consequences.”
“‘Consequences’ is an understatement, buddy! The only consequences from all this is the rise in births here on Eden. And I’m not sure if your solution would have been the one I’d choose. It seems a bit harsh- maybe a bit reckless too. I mean… we don’t know how they’ll all react to their new situations.”
I smiled back at her as I lifted my daughter to my shoulder and considered my partner a moment.
“Tell me truthfully. Do you think you are the same old Grunfuller Lokust in either of your forms, Lokust? Do you feel the same way in any given situation in this form versus your male form?”
She thought on that for a moment before blushing.
“I…I guess… maybe? Your point?”
“At our meeting, did Castor still seem all full of ‘piss and vinegar’, as Chantell would say?”
“Well…no, but you did transform him into a woman on the cusp of delivering twins. That would humble anybody! Trust me; changing sexes has that effect on a guy’s ego.”
“And I didn’t know that already, buddy?” I asked as I sat down and bared my left breast for Savanna. She wasted no time.
Lokust regarded me with an expression of longing before breaking visual contact. She rubbed her face with both hands and sighed audibly.
“Sorry, buddy. I completely forgot about you hitting threshold. Since then though, you’ve just seemed so…natural…I mean; you took to Savanna like her real mother! I see absolutely no remnants of the male Chance save for the verbal intonations, inflection, and smart-assed-ness.”
“I don’t think that’s a word, buddy.” I giggled, “but I do appreciate your candor. I’ve noticed the subtle changes in my personality, too.”
“I wouldn’t call them subtle, Chance! You are more like your mother now. Before, you played everything cautious and comfortable. Now, you seem unfazed by even yesterday’s rebellion. That first day the Hoblins invaded? Especially when Dell and Sinae were conscripted, you were barely able to function- barely able to handle the loss of our friends. After that and your threshold… ever since, you take chances…meet every challenge head on. Even your demeanor has changed somewhat. Don’t get me wrong, your humility and kindness…the old Chance’s high moral standards still remain…I think they’ve even expanded slightly…and your confidence…I’ve never seen you so sure of your abilities…of yourself. I believe you’ve become the best possible instance of yourself and I’m very proud to be your friend and Coven sister.”
Carefully, I detached Savanna from my breast and gently laid the confused baby down in her crib. I then rushed Lokust and wrapped my arms around her as tears filled my eyes.
“That had to be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. Where did all that come from?” I sniffed.
“Hey, I’m not just any dumb blonde!” She smiled then looked confused for a moment. “Wait, that didn’t come out right, did it?”
“I think it came out fine, Lokust Grunfuller.” I giggled while sniffing back my tears.
Savanna proved to be very impatient, crying angrily to let me know we had interrupted her supper.
As before, Lokust stared with envy as my daughter greedily latched back onto my offered nipple.
“Would you like to try it? Just ask your Current to help you feed the baby. That’s how I did it.”
“What? No. Someday, maybe, but I’ll let you finish. I wouldn’t want her getting confused.” Lokust politely deferred. “Besides, now that the danger is over I can change back.”
“Your choice, buddy. You have the power within you.”
“Yeah…about that. I still can’t believe I relocated all those guys… I guess I’m still learning.”
“As are we all, buddy.” I smiled peacefully.
“About the ‘still learning’ part. I overheard Zeus complaining that you locked him and the real Artemis in our…realm. How did you do that? I mean…to be able to trap a God- not to mention two Gods…wow!”
“It’s not as hard as you would think, buddy. They just have to believe that you trapped them.” I whispered. “I just dosed them both with a bit of Current that I asked to mimic a random number generator. It’s constantly generating two-thousand-forty-eight byte random numbers then dividing them by the square root of pi before multiplying by forty-two.”
“Interesting. But why forty-two?”
“It’s the answer to the universe and everything.” I deadpanned and received only a look of confusion. “Mom, Charli, and Chantell would’ve gotten it.” I added in a stage whisper.
“Oh, okay. So it’s just computing numbers and that’s been enough to keep them guessing about what kind of hex you used on them? I thought they were more evolved than us?”
“That has been said about us, M’lady.” Artemis said with a pleasant smile as she passed effortlessly through our closed and locked door. “But that does not make us immune to deception. We enjoy slight-of-hand and illusion just as much as you. Remember, we shared ‘theatre’ with your ancestors.”
“So I take it you and Zeus will be leaving?” I asked sadly.
“No, I’m just tired and decided to come to bed. When I found the door secured, I decided to use my ‘magic’. Don’t tell Father Zeus though. He still thinks your ‘spell’ is holding us here.” She giggled politely.
“So you knew Chance was pulling a fast one?” Lokust asked in astonishment.
“Not at first I didn’t, but then I looked closer at the ‘enchantment’ and found it to be an arithmetical calculation. A somewhat complex calculation, too! Soooo…I decided that my old man should work it through, himself. He’s never been good at anything other than ‘multiplication’.” She winked.
“This will knock his ego down a few pegs and hopefully pull his head out of the clouds for awhile. He hasn’t been duped like this in eons. I mean…who am I to spoil the fun, right? Thank you, Keke.” She continued as her uniform changed into an all-too-see-thru, pale blue nightgown.
“Ah yes, the Goddess of Victory places another feather in her pointy hat.” Lokust giggled quietly, unaffected by our guest’s change or choice of sleepwear.
“Laugh all you like, Shina. Don’t forget that the gem correlated your genetics too. You might not have heard of her, but you are the code match to Shinatobe, Eastern Goddess of the Winds.”
“So, if we are wearing the jewelry, we’re genetically Olympian? Cool!” Lokust glibbed. “And Mother said I’d never amount to anything important.” She whispered.
“If the gem found any discrepancy the jewelry would not have caught your attention, M’lady. Only Olympians are attracted to the stone. And once accepted the jewelry cannot be removed- thus limiting theft.”
Lokust’s face paled.
“Let’s say…theoretically? That the person wearing said jewelry was to change…um…physically…genetically. What would happen?” She asked cautiously.
“Well,” Artemis thought a moment. “I suppose that person would die a monstrous, horrifying death; melting into oblivion while remaining conscious the whole time. Why?” She answered neutrally.
Lokust gulped loudly as she looked around nervously.
“Oh, you are sooo gullible!” The Goddess laughed animatedly. “Yours, Charlene’s, and Simone’s special situations will not result in any dark repercussions, dear sister! The Olympian gene sequence is resident in the twelfth order of your array- what the species call chromosomes. So, male or female, it does not matter. Rest assured you are safe. And you can remove the jewelry if you want, but I pity the thief that attempts to liberate them from you without permission.”
“Well, I’m feeling very tired. Good night, sisters. Good night, little one.” Artemis said as she leaned close and kissed Savanna’s tiny forehead then climbed into her borrowed bed and pulled up the sheets.
 
  
Lightning flashed angrily in the skies above us.
“Boy, I thought Zeus would have a better sense of humor. I hope he doesn’t try to punish Artemis. She did laugh a little too long when he found out.”
“They’ll be alright, buddy. I think he’s just embarrassed I got the better of him. He probably isn’t used to being the subject of a rouse.”
“So some form of retaliation is forthcoming?” Lokust questioned as her eyes darted around the Bridge.
“Lady Sandra, everyone set back there?” I asked as my Coven sisters finished their preflight’s.
“Lady Cora and I have all the little…darlings…strapped in, High Priestess.”
There was a certain ‘glee’ to her answer.
“Thank you. Please report to the Bridge, Lady Sandra.”
“As you wish, High Priestess. <Hey! Why do I have to stay…> Lady Sandra out.”
“You know Cora’s gonna be pissed, right, Chance?” Chantell laughed evilly.
“She had her stint, now its Sandra’s turn on the Bridge Crew.”
 
 
“You wanted to see me, Chance?” Sandra asked as she entered.
“Take a seat and strap in, M’lady.”
“High Priestess, New Sri Lanka Air Control has approved our departure.” Dell announced.
“Everyone ready?” I asked as I looked around. Receiving nods from everyone, I rechecked Savanna’s seat restraints, and nodded to Mom.
“Hit it, Major. Let’s break some windows!”
The stars instantly surrounded us and I looked back to see how Sandra had handled things. Her smile was priceless.
“Eden system boundry, High Priestess.” Mom announced calmly.
“Set course for our next destination, Major.”
“Aye, M’lady!”