The Forever Peace Read online

  “No,” screamed Rasraller, “my place is with Molly.” She stepped to close the short distance between the two of them.

  “No,” I shouted back, “freeze.”

  Fortunately, she did.

  A soldier burst thought the doorway, training his weapon on me. Julregar started to yell no to him, but I put a big hole in his chest before she had the chance.

  “No one attack the intruders,” said Julregar in a resounding command voice.

  “You, move,” I waved at Rasraller again.

  She inched away from Molly and toward Julregar. When she was a couple meters away, I spoke to Molly. “Here,” I tossed one of my rifles to her, “catch.”

  I threw it so that it would land on the floor well beyond her reach. It thudded to the deck and skidded past her feet. Molly bent to retrieve it. I turned my back on her before she was halfway to the gun.

  A big female standing right next to Molly pounced on her like a bolt of lightning. The Berrillian roared and crushed Molly to the floor. They began to roll. The female cat seized Molly’s head between her jaws and began tossing it side to side viciously.

  Rasraller flew through the air every bit as quickly as the Berrillian had. Roaring at a deafening volume, she hit the other female with impressive force. Rasraller grabbed her massive head between her paws and sank her teeth into the top of her head. Partly Rasraller was attacking, but partly she was attempting to stop the cat from shaking Molly’s head.

  Subject to a full-on assault, the female officer dropped Molly and wriggled to face Rasraller chest to chest. They tumbled to the floor, both clinging with their claws and snapping their jaws. Completing a roll, the other female pinned Rasraller against a bulkhead. With her improved leverage, she started burrowing though Rasraller’s paws, going for her throat.

  That’s when I put two plasma bolts into her exposed spine. Rasraller’s defensive thrusts pushed the dead female off instantly.

  “Get into the vortex Rasraller,” I shouted loud enough to be heard among all the noise and confusion.” I began firing randomly around the bridge. Panels and personnel erupted with blue-light impacts. Some of the Berrillians dove to the deck, others dashed toward me. I had already moved to Wrath’s open portal. From there I continued to cover Rasraller’s sprint toward Molly’s limp body, where it was crumpled on the floor.

  Rasraller grabbed Molly by the loose jacket at the base of her neck and lifted her, much like a mother cat does with a kitten. With two great leaps, both were through the opening, and I closed it.

  “Okay, we’re safe now. They can’t get in,” I said casually to Rasraller.

  “Are you blind, you monster? I think Molly’s dead,” she pointed to the back of Molly’s still limp body.

  “I think Molly’s just fine,” I replied as I deployed my command prerogatives to Wrath’s inner hull.

  Rasraller pounced on me. At least she tried. I was ready. I sidestepped her flying arms and wrapped my arms around her big neck as she passed. We crashed to the deck with her struggling to reach back at me and me tightening my grip on her throat.

  “Rasraller, stop,” screamed Molly as she ran into the room. “Rasraller, I’m fine. Stop or Jon’ll hurt you.”

  Rasraller looked at Molly standing there unharmed and went limp in my arms. Yeah, I bet she was confused.

  I released her, and she ran to embrace Molly in a powerful bearhug, nearly knocking her to the floor next to the other Molly. Rasraller lifted her up and swung her in her arms. Then, as suddenly as she’d grabbed her, Rasraller set Molly down and pointed to the Molly on the floor.

  “But, what…you…I don’t understand,” was the best Rasraller could manage to stammer.

  “Did you notice the Molly on the ground isn’t bleeding?” I asked.

  Rasraller stared a second. “No. That bitch crushed her skull. How can she not bleed?”

  “Because robots don’t have blood to bleed,” I responded with a chuckle.

  “You…” Rasraller gestured to Molly and then to me, “you tricked me.”

  “Yes, dearest Rasraller,” explained Molly, “Jon and Toño felt it was necessary. I didn’t, but I was overruled.” She stuck her tongue out at me. “Toño put my face on a blank android and powered it with a low-level AI.”

  “Yes, we did,” I replied rather smugly. “But, before we get all misty eyed, I need to get us off this fracking ship. Wrath, take me home. I want to go home.”

  Boom, we were on Wrath’s landing pad.

  “You were aboard Wrath the entire time, Molly?” Rasraller asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “I think the plan was brilliant. Seriously, Ryan, who knew you were that clever?” said Rasraller

  “I did,” I replied, patting myself on the chest.

  “But, I mean, who else in the universe would have?” added Rasraller.

  “I didn’t like plan,” said Molly. “There were a dozen ways it could have headed south. You might have been killed. Both of you, for that matter.”

  “Me?” I pointed to myself. “No way. I’m too good.”

  Rasraller and Molly looked at each other, then at me, but said nothing. They didn’t have to.

  “The important point is you passed with flying colors,” I said.

  “Thank you, Ryan. Thank you for allowing me to prove I am as I say I am. One thing troubles me.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “At the end, when I charged you.”

  “Yes?”

  “You physically bested me. That’s not even remotely possible.”

  “Maybe you’re not as tough as you fancy you are,” I teased.

  “Perhaps,” she replied, “but there isn’t a human alive who could do what you did.”

  “He’s an android,” responded Molly. “Like the one that ended up on the floor.”

  Rasraller took a step backward. “You have mechanical humans? How obscene.”

  “Gee, thanks,” I said.

  “He’s has a slightly larger computer in his head compared to the one on the floor,” Molly said with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “This is insane. Robots that pretend to be humans. Robots that father children. I think I might be in the middle of a nightmare.”

  “Welcome to the family, Rasraller,” I said with a smile.

  TEN

  “I repeat that I did not allow them to escape. They blasted their way out of here. I was fortunate to survive,” protested Gortantor.

  “That, tiny one, is a matter of opinion,” replied Claudus. He was pacing the floor of Gortantor’s ballroom. It was one of the few indoor spaces large enough to accommodate the Berrillian prince.

  “I do not see that it matters. The Alliance came, snooped around briefly, and left with one prisoner. She was moribund, that I know. She stank of death.”

  “But dead she was not. If they revived her, and if they forced her to talk, they will know something of my master plan.”

  “I doubt the girl knew more than her own name, let alone the details of our plan,” responded Gortantor. “Why you insist on using female operatives is well beyond me. Females are for breeding and rearing purposes only. To employ them in a man’s work is to court disaster.”

  “There are a goodly number of things beyond you, little king. Keep that in mind if you wish your planet to survive.”

  “Why waste time threatening me? I know the only reason you haven’t stormed across our world is because most life here is fortunate enough to be poisonous to your species.”

  “That would not prevent me from killing you for the sport of it. Our gravity waves would rip apart your world in hours.”

  “Yes, but then you wouldn’t have a covert advanced base, would you?”

  “No, but I’d have a satisfying erection.”

  “You are little more than a wild animal, and you are revolting.”

  “Keep that in mind if you want to live to see the next dawn.”

  “This bickering is pointless. We must work together to destroy the Allian
ce,” protested Gortantor. “They threaten us and limit you. Please keep that in your mind.”

  “We nearly conquered the galaxy without a single ally. One as small as you aren’t sufficient to swing the tide this time out.”

  “Mock us at your peril. You are physically larger, but we are intellectually larger and we offer a mutually beneficial union. Pray I don’t tire of your arrogance and your smell.”

  “I’m suddenly bored,” said Claudus. “I will return to my ship and mate. On the matter of prayer, small one, you would do well to pray the female died quickly. The moment your species becomes a liability will be your last. I am forced to tolerate you for now. But that which I cannot eat, screw, or rely upon is short-lived.” He roared a laugh. “Ha. Short-lived for a short race. I do so love puns.”

  Back on his command ship, Reign of Terror, Claudus could no longer delay reporting in to his idiot father. He would so prefer killing him and eating his still-beating heart. But the realities of the current political situation made that move inadvisable. That time would come soon, but never soon enough for the voracious Claudus. No. He over-consumed meat lustfully, he forced himself on countless bitches, whether they were in heat or not, and he murdered foes with a glee and frequency that frightened those morons near him who mistook themselves to be his friends.

  “Do you have news other that the litany of your failures, son?” asked Erratarus. His face was one of sullen constipation on the com-screen as he glared at Claudus.

  “Father, dearest, if anyone were present who did not know of your powerful affection you have for me, they would think you despise me.”

  “And they would be correct, my valueless, treacherous, waste-of-a-sperm-cell son.”

  Claudus stiffened. Were he not several light years distant, he’d have struck the old fool dead and been done with him. Probably lucky for both he wasn’t.

  “I have an excellent update, my lord,” said Claudus as he tried to change the subject. “My plan for defeating our enemies is shaping up nicely.”

  “Your plan, is it now? And here I thought it was I who set you in the proper direction, that I put you in charge of my project.”

  “Be that as it may, father, I am close to completing our goal. You and your predecessors allowed our foes to develop such superior abilities to fight us in space that we cannot engage them there. I—”

  He stopped when the power of his father’s roar struck him like a shovel. Perhaps he’d gone too far. No need having a price put on his head before he could eliminate the old cat.

  “Lord, why are you so angry?” he asked submissively. “I merely said your forefathers were unable to keep pace with the enemy’s technology.”

  “No, you said I and my line. You will die a thousand deaths for that insult.”

  “With respect, lord, I did not say that. I must have spoken so unclearly and the transmission is of such poor quality that it appeared as though I suggested such an absurd idea.”

  “You know this conversation is recorded, right?”

  “I would assume so.”

  “Yet you still lie to my face.”

  Claudus shrugged inscrutably. “I can only state what I know I felt and hope I said.”

  “Go on with your report, imbecile spawn of my loin.”

  “Ah, yes. We have significant numbers of warriors hidden away on one hundred seventy-three worlds. The pattern we have successfully infiltrated spans most of the space not yet under our control.”

  “You mean my control?”

  “That is what I said. Not yet under the control of the Berrillian Empire. Father, why is it you prefer verbal sparring with me, your loyal servant, rather than uninterrupted communication?”

  Erratarus said nothing. He simply glowered at the camera.

  “So, when you give the word, our forces on the ground will engage the locals sufficiently to allow massive numbers of our people to land and join the battle. Worlds will fall like feathers from a shaken bird.”

  “Assuming, of course, the Alliance does not discover the transport ships and pop them like bubbles floating in the air on a hot day.”

  “Again, as we will be using vessels designed to look like run of the mill trading ships. That will not happen.”

  “Initially, I’ll grant you that much. But once we’ve assimilated a few planets, they will know of our ruse and doubtlessly develop a counterstrategy.” The king placed his paws behind his back and paced side to side. “And what of this annoying planet I heard of, the toxic one? Have you come to a solution for it?”

  “No. It is of no consequence. We will simply go around it for the time being. When I have time, I will return and rip it apart with the gravity weapons.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not comfortable with loose ends like that. Why not destroy it now and be done with them?”

  There was no point letting his father know about his forward bases on LH 16a. The walking penises were useful to Claudus, and his father not knowing of their cooperation only strengthened Claudus’s hand.

  “Have faith, father. Do not give the Alliance such credit. Victory is a foregone conclusion.”

  “Yes, it is. I wish I had faith it will be our victory and not theirs.”

  Either way, thought Claudus, you cursed waste of space, I will triumph. If we win, I will kill you and take over. If we lose, someone else will kill you and I will take over. Win/win is such a happy situation to bask in.

  ELEVEN

  It didn’t take long to discover that having a Berrillian warrior as a BFF was not going to be easy for Molly. Everywhere Molly went, there stood, right beside her, the terrifying mortal enemy we all feared. She was constantly having to explain the presence of the big cat so that no one shot her. And forget about going into a bar. Yeah, if Molly wanted trouble, just walk into a room full of drunks with a huge target by her side. We had convinced Rasraller to bathe regularly and change her clothes daily, so smell wasn’t an issue. But she was literally the five-hundred-pound conversation stopper in any room. The two of them stayed in a lot.

  That said, I was beginning to get to know the Berrillian well. She was fiercer than an arrow to the heart, more stubborn than a boulder in the middle of a river, and more opinionated than my first mother-in-law. But, she also possessed a wry sense of humor I hadn’t expected, an intelligence that impressed me, and empathy that I never saw coming. While she was devoted to Molly, she and I weren’t heading down Friendship Road together. But we did more than tolerate one another. We were cordial. We both loved Molly, we were both an intimate part of her life, and we understood without saying it that if we wished to remain in Molly’s world, we’d best coexist.

  TCY was another matter entirely. Most pilots reflexively went for their side arms when they saw Rasraller coming. General Hijab was apoplectic at the mere mention of her name and couldn’t look at her without visibly trembling. As to her being anywhere near a vortex under Faiza’s command, no way. It was strictly forbidden. That order didn’t cover Wrath, because everyone knew the rules didn’t apply to the old android. On paper, maybe, but even Faiza thought better than to do anything but suggest what I might do. Faiza was adamant that somehow Rasraller faked her near-death and rebuke of her species to gain intel of our defenses. I knew the commander only allowed her to live because I was involved and was clearly sympathetic to Rasraller. I tried on multiple occasions to convince Faiza otherwise, but she never listened.

  That hostile environment on the worldships to the crew of Expectation, namely Molly and Rasraller, was not tolerable in the long run. We all knew something had to give, and it wasn’t likely to be TCY or the humans who’d suffered at the jaws of the Berrillians Empire. Molly started spending more time on Azsuram. Though the planet had suffered mightily under the Berrillian invasion, their unshakable loyalty to me allowed the two women to live there without the slightest issue. I’d have thought they were both Kaljaxians for the ease with which they moved in the ever-growing society. Whether t
hey were out to a restaurant or just sitting in a park, not one stray look or disparaging remark was directed toward them. JJ, nearing retirement and more popular than ever, took the pair under his wing, which really helped. I was, once again, most proud of the citizens of Azsuram, and my boy.

  I sort of figured Molly would do what all the other original Project Ark astronauts had done and drift away from TCY and the human fleet. Molly was younger and still wanted to prove herself, but I imagined she’d opt for her friendship with Rasraller over the prejudice of her own kind. Having lived many lives over the centuries, I couldn’t much fault her. Her parents, Amanda and Kendra were less excited about their baby slipping away, but they raised her right. They were going to love her and be proud of her whatever she chose to do. Man, I wish I’d had parents like them. Don’t get me wrong. My parents were fine and all, but those two were the best I’d seen. And no, it wasn’t because I’d have liked to have grown up with a couple of hotties for moms. I was not and would never be that type of pig. Many types, for sure. Just not that needy a one.

  As my one kindred spirit in TCY faded away, I was even more isolated. I’d have loved it if Azsuram was falling off the tracks and needed my personal attention. But it didn’t. So, I had no excuse to leave the worldship fleet and drag my wife back there. Plus, dragging the kids at their ages would take more energy than I possessed. They’d freak out about their friends and schools. Fortunately, Kayla knew me well enough to know I was going through some changes. She was just as warm, supportive, and tolerant of me as ever. Couldn’t have made it without her, that’s for sure.

  Then, an assignment fell into my lap from heaven. It was perfect. Go figure. The leaders of the UN defense forces decided they needed to know more about two variables. One was the extent and rough dimensions of the Berrillian Empire. We really had no clue as to how many star systems it controlled and how they were spread across the galaxy. We had intel resources to help in that regard, but they were limited. Rasraller told us what she knew, but in a totalitarian, repressive government like hers, secrecy was tight. Almost everything in Berrillian society was on a need-to-know basis. The average Joe only needed to know their job and the consequences of not doing it.