Chapter Twelve #2
A hysterical giggle escaped me. Fight? I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand.
The vortex spat us out on the battle cruiser’s bridge. Bolts of lightning danced and pulsed over the walls.
Kaelen’s battle armor engulfed him from head to toe. “Stay behind me.”
“Yes, sir.” I pulled my Glock and scanned the ship. “I’m not sensing anyone.”
Kaelen’s helmet retracted. “Gael had his vengeance.”
“It’s not enough. Not nearly enough. How many worlds have the Tai-Kok destroyed?” I demanded angrily.
“No one knows.” Qa’a morphed back into the old man and his power filled the bridge. “The cargo hold is filled with the remains of your people.”
“They need to be given a proper burial,” I said, swallowing the sob rising in my throat.
Lightning bolts crackled around Qa’a. “Done.”
“Just like that?”
Kaelen pressed a gentle kiss on my mouth. “The Katanic cremate their dead.”
“Thank you, Qa’a. Now their families may find some peace.” Tears rolled down my cheeks as grief overcame me. The funerals were unending and the suffering endless. We had lost so many. So many.
“Never forget that because of your selflessness and extremely reckless actions hundreds of thousands of your people still live,” Kaelen declared.
I smiled at him. “I’m glad I fell into your lap. Even though you were a snotwad and stunned me.”
“We were fated to meet.” Kaelen kissed the tip of my nose.
Lightning bolts crackled around us. “Children have you forgotten your purpose? Find proof of Ziyn’s treason.”
“As you command.” Kaelen gave a slight bow and took a seat at the command console.
I touched Uncle Saul’s mind. “Sir, Qa’a cremated the human remains on the battle cruiser.”
“Good, I’ll notify the Pope to perform the Rite of Committal. The ship is empty?”
Since we had lost so many clergymen, the Pope was now our go-to guy for funerals. “Yes. Gael ate every one of the monsters.”
I felt Uncle Saul’s satisfaction and relief. “I’ll fly to the bunker and have Ben port me to the ship.”
“That will not be necessary. It will be my honor to bring the general to the ship,” Qa’a interjected.
I stared at him in horror. I was still dripping slime all over the floor and I never, ever wanted to ride the funnel again. “That’s a generous offer but not necessary. General Jones can use the portal.”
“I insist.” A tentacle guided me over to Kaelen. “Help your mate.”
A brilliant orange glow popped into existence.
“Yes, sir.”
The spinning light accelerated until a vortex formed. Bolts of green lightning crackled wildly around the growing opening. Qa’a walked into it and with a snapping crack it vanished.
“Uncle Saul you’re about to have a visitor and please accept his gracious offer of a ride.”
“What?” I felt his shock as the vortex appeared in the office.
Shit! Uncle Saul had gone into battle mode. “Put your gun away and pray Qa’a doesn’t have the munchies.”
“Not funny,” Uncle Saul growled.
Qa’a linked with me. “Where is your father?”
“Ah, booking prisoners. I think. Why?”
“He will assist you in finding evidence on Ziyn,” Qa’a answered.
Holy shit! “My father isn’t psychic, and he won’t be able to understand you. Please don’t eat him, if he shoots at you.”
“His disability is easily fixed.” Qa’a vanished from my mind.
I grabbed Kaelen’s arm. “What did Qa’a mean by that?”
“He will give your father the ability to mind speak.”
Blowing out a long breath, I sagged in relief. “Okay. Dad will like that.”
One of Kaelen’s warrior’s braids fell to the floor. I stared at it in horror, then examined his head. Oh, my, God. Half of his warrior’s braids were missing. “Ah, sweetie, I think some of Gael’s gastric juices got on your hair.”
“What?” He felt his head and frowned at the gunk on his hands.
Since I didn’t have a mirror, I did the next best thing. I gave him a mental review of his hair.
Kaelen grimaced.
“Sorry.” Warrior braids were a sign of rank and proficiency in battle.
Another braid fell to the floor.
“Before you end up bald, let me cut your hair.”
Kaelen gave me a get serious look.
“I cut my dad’s hair all the time and I do a good job, if I say so myself.” I pulled my boot knife. “Your choice. Bald or short?”
“Short.”
“Yes, sir.” I quickly hacked off all the damaged hair. Dang, it was now a bit longer than Dad’s military cut. “Once I get access to some scissors, I’ll trim it up for you.”
He stared at the black hair covering the floor for a long moment.
“It’ll grow back, sweetie.”
The command console beeped.
Kaelen’s fingers flew across the keyboard and he cursed viciously. “The Tai-Kok high command is trying to contact this ship.”
“Can’t we just ignore them?”
“No. All of their ships are equipped with a remote self-destruct switch.”
A knot of apprehension formed in my gut. “Can you disable it?”
“I can try.” Kaelen grabbed me and teleported. Poof! We appeared in what looked like the engine room.
“What can I do to help?”
“Drop your shields and link with me. I need to share my knowledge with you.”
Huh? “Just to be clear, you want to merge our minds and what you know, I’ll know?”
“Yes.”
I rubbed my hands together and grinned. “I’ve always wanted to fly a spaceship.”
“Goddess, help us. Drop your shields.”
“You’re now stuck with me for all eternity, sweetie.” Dropping my shields, I winced as Kaelen slid into my mind and made himself at home.
“You allowed the general to link with you,” Kaelen growled.
Oh, shit. “Yeah, he needed to know everything I know about the Tai-Kok,” I hurriedly explained. I could feel Kaelen rifling through my memories.
“The general has concealed his true strength from us,” Kaelen commented.
Crap, the cat was out of the bag now. “Tick-tock, we’re wasting time.”
A fleeting second later our minds fused, and we became as one. Everything abruptly clicked into place. His memories became mine. His power became mine.
“Zarek’s blood runs true,” Kaelen stated in delighted surprise.
I reveled in his strength. “Look out universe.”
“I will disable the kill switch while you reassure the Tai-Kok high command.” Kaelen grabbed a tool kit and went to work removing the explosives from the warp engines.
Huh. Kaelen was an expert in Tai-Kok technology and could read the monster’s hieroglyphics. I did a fist pump. Now, I was too. How awesome was that?
I quickly reprogrammed the computers and sent the Tai-Kok high command a properly coded message. The message was simple and short. The Katanic shapeshifter had been recaptured and was safely locked away.
Their response iced the blood in my veins. The treaty with the Rodan had been signed. A battle fleet was being formed, and the idiots gave me the coordinates for the rendezvous location.
I grinned evilly. All we had to do was pull a Trojan Horse and fly this ship into the middle of their battle fleet. Kablooey! No more monsters.