Chapter 15 Lunch And A Coup
Lunch And A Coup
Jace’s words punched Khoth in the gut though he did not show it as a human likely would.
He merely went very still. His outburst as to his mother’s actions before had been bad enough, but now that he knew she was betraying everything the Alliance stood for--that she had stood for--had Khoth wanting desperately to act perfectly.
To be the Thaf’ell one should be in that moment.
But, if he were honest with himself, he was simply frozen.
Unable to act.
Unable to think.
Only able to dread.
“What is she doing?” Khoth finally managed to ask.
“Let me show you,” Jace said with a twist of his lips.
A hologram appeared on the center of the table between him and Jace.
It showed his mother in the command chair of the Ashaton.
Beside her was a view of the fleet moving into low Earth orbit.
Khoth’s mouth went dry. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and made a clicking noise when he forced it down.
“She was supposed to talk to you first,” Khoth found himself saying.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to say anything back that would have stopped this,” Jace told him. “Your mother respects actions more than words, I think.”
“Yes, yes, I think you may be right.”
“So this actually saves time,” Jace said with a one shoulder shrug.
His mother sat very upright in her chair. Her fingers curled around the ends of the armrests. Her knuckles were lightened, indicating that she was gripping the chair very hard. Her eyes looked almost feverish.
Can they not see that her Xi is leading her?
Khoth could glimpse other officers on the bridge behind his mother. They were all hunched over their stations, preparing for war against a species that had no defense against them. Or supposedly didn’t.
Her voice was deep as she told the fleet, “Our goal is to remove the Osiris from the hands of the unworthy humans.”
Khoth’s lips parted and his breathing quickened. He found that he could not blink or tear his eyes away.
What is she thinking? That the Osiris has no weaponry? That Jace will be so shocked by her show of force that he will simply surrender?
But his mother hadn’t seen what he had, which was the Osiris taking over every single ship in the Alliance and dispatching the current crews with a cold precision.
Humans were just as useful in the Osiris’ estimation as Thaf’ell.
Now with its Pilot and an army of Terminators there would be no need for other soldiers or pilots at all.
She continued, “Humanity has only crude weapons that will be no match for any of our vessels. The Osiris is not fully powered at this point and has a human Pilot. We will neutralize the Osiris’ force fields and weaponry before entering the ship and taking custody of the Pilot.”
“I really hope she gives this her best shot,” Jace said evenly.
His eyes sought Jace’s through the translucent hologram. They glowed the same blue as the pool.
Jace has control. He will make the determination as to what happens next, Khoth realized.
“You want her to realize that there is nothing she can do against you and the Osiris?” Khoth asked, but it was really more of a statement.
Jace gave a brief nod. “She’s got to really feel this defeat in her bones, Khoth. And not just her.” Jace’s eyes glowed brighter for a moment. “Okay, good. This is good.”
“What is good?” Khoth asked.
“I’m streaming this throughout the Alliance,” Jace explained. “It’s on every screen and being translated into all appropriate languages. No one in the fleet will know it until we’re done though.”
Khoth’s eyes widened. “You wish her to be humiliated?”
“No,” Jace said and his gaze focused on Khoth and became gentle, “I want to show that she has no choice about what happens next.”
Khoth considered this. “She will have the ability to accede to your and humanity’s demands because all will see the true power of you and the Osiris.”
“Yeah, the people who had tied her hands won’t be able to keep them tied. They’ll have to let her negotiate,” he said.
“Or they will send in someone else to do so,” Khoth said softly.
He immediately thought of Councillor Ardath Ulgex. His mother’s nemesis. But did it matter who they sent? And shouldn’t they send someone else? His mother was emotionally compromised, no matter what else she might claim or how others might perceive her.
“I’m sorry, Khoth,” Jace said, his lips flattening. “I know this likely isn’t going to end well for your mother. I’ll do all I can to help her see reason. No one should get physically hurt.”
“Her actions are her own, not yours,” Khoth assured him.
Jace had not caused his mother to do these dishonorable things.
His mother continued her speech, “If you encounter resistance, you are allowed to use deadly force.”
Khoth closed his eyes for a moment.
“Launch all ships,” his mother said.
The hangar bay doors of the Ashaton opened and dozens of Paladin-class ships flew out. At that same moment, almost as if choreographed, Gehenna came in, carrying dishes of food in both of her massive metal hands.
“Ta da!” Gehenna presented the food with a flourish, but the timing made it seem she was talking about the ships that were streaming towards Sunrise. “Lunch is served!” Catching sight of the ships quickly descending towards Earth, she amended, “Oh… or not.”
“We can eat and work,” Jace said with an ease that both impressed and worried Khoth.
How easy was it exactly for Jace to destroy the Alliance? Would it rest at all on his conscience since the Alliance had struck the first blow? But he immediately rejected these things. Jace could kill, but he was not a killer. No death would rest lightly upon Jace’s Xi.
“Okay,” Gehenna tried to sound easy about this, but she awkwardly placed a plate before each of them.
A burger and fries along with a Coke--Khoth recognized these items from his orientation--were put in front of Jace.
Immediately, Jace took the burger in both hands and took a big bite of it, eyes closing in pleasure before they abruptly flew open and he made a gagging sound.
He grabbed the napkin and spit out the burger into the cloth.
“Oh, dear! What’s wrong?” Gehenna cried, her arms lifting into the air in what likely wasn’t meant to be a menacing way, but came off that way just the same.
“Jace?” Alarm had Khoth half rising from his seat, but Jace waved both of them off.
“I’m okay. It’s just… gah! What is this? It’s terrible!” Jace pointed at the burger that lay on its side like a fallen soldier.
Khoth immediately scanned the food and gave a grunt. “It is made out of--”
“Space paste!” Jace’s eyes narrowed as if he had been betrayed. “It only looks like a burger and fries, but it’s really--”
“Far more nutritious for you,” Khoth stated, relieved that Jace was eating something that did not have cancerous chemicals in it or far too much sweetener.
“It looks like the Osiris made a mistake with your taste buds,” Gehenna clucked.
“My taste buds are fine. It’s this food--God, I can’t even call it food--that’s the problem!” Jace cried.
“Try it now,” Gehenna said with a gesture at the burger.
“God, no! I am not going to be on the toilet for a week like my dad was! Even if I could choke it down, I wouldn’t.
” Jace shook his head violently. “I’m trying to convince a galactic alliance to accept humanity and myself as equals and the Osiris is trying to get me to eat space paste!
And you’re helping it, Gehenna! You ought to be ashamed! ”
“You won’t get sick. I promise you! We can’t keep beef and potatoes and ketchup…
Well, we can’t have human food on board, plus food for every other species.
There’s not enough room and it would go bad,” Gehenna explained.
“Protein paste is the best option. Tuning your taste buds to like it, to think it tastes like things you enjoy is the only way to go.”
Jace glowered at her. “Dad got sick--”
“You won’t. Try a french fry. Pretty please, Jace?” Gehenna brought her metal claws together as if in prayer.
Jace glared from her to the french fry. He picked up one and dipped it into the ketchup. He bit the tiniest piece of it off. His forehead, which had been bunched, cleared slightly and he took another bite.
“This isn’t half bad,” Jace admitted as he popped the rest of the french fry into his mouth. “I don’t understand how the Osiris got the fries right, but not the burger.”
“Try the burger again.” Gehenna sounded ridiculously pleased with herself.
Jace suspiciously raised the burger to his mouth again and took another mini-bite. His expression changed to happiness and he devoured another bite of it.
“What the Hell?” Jace spoke through a full mouth. “It tastes great!”
“I know! I adjusted your taste buds!” Gehenna clapped her claws together and her blood red eyes glowed brighter. “Now everything in your meal should taste just as good as the best meal you’ve had like this one.”
Jace was bobbing his head as he stuffed another ketchup-laden fry in his mouth. “Dad’s going to be on the ship, too, Gehenna. Will the food taste as good for him?”
“Once we get true human biology down, it should be quite tasty for him and any other human crew! You, of course, will always have the best experience because of our connection!” Gehenna rocked back and forth on her metal feet with a clunking sound.
“Give Khoth his meal, too,” Jace said with a guilty glance at the plate that Gehenna had placed on the table while waiting on him.
“Oh, yes, of course!” Gehenna set down the plate in front of Khoth.