Shenda Read online

  Shenda looked inside. "Corrosion?"

  "Yep. I'm swapping out metal parts and replacing them with plastic versions. What brings you to my inner sanctum?"

  "We read your dossier.”

  "I figured you would. Trust is not an easy thing to give anyone."

  "Are we going to have a normal life?"

  "I hope so. Things have been quiet lately, and I'm thinking it will stay that way for a while." He walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed two mugs of tea.

  "Thanks," she said, taking one. "Why us?"

  "Don't know. Hunch? Gut feeling? Smuggler sense?" he shrugged. “I look at you sitting there, and I can't help but feel you're supposed to be there, and we're supposed to have this talk. I don't know, though I will admit it is very strange."

  "Ummm, not really my business, but is it possible you have kids and don't know it?"

  "Many elves mate for life, and I’m one of them. There were no others, ever."

  "Good looking guy like you? Did you use a stunner or just a big stick to keep the ladies away?"

  "I'm a real fast runner."

  Shenda stopped. "You're right. This feels too normal, too easy."

  "My sister is an MD, and a good one at that. Part of the adoption process is to check your DNA. The results were inconclusive."

  "How can DNA be inconclusive?"

  "I'm not really sure. Losi and the other docs can't explain it. You four are healthy, though."

  "I should stop worrying, shouldn't I?"

  "Yeah. Worry isn't good for you."

  "What was it like when Atmar took over?"

  "I was finally able to stop feeling guilt. Unfortunately, it didn't actually disappear. It was only deferred. I don't recommend my experience for any sane individual."

  Shenda nodded, then yawned. "I need sleep."

  "I'll walk you back. Mabel, shut off the lights after we leave."

  "Yes, sir. Good night."

  "Good night, Mabel.”

  Chapter Three

  Like Earth, and countless other inhabited planets, Ventos Prime had a lot of empty space for people to hide. Considering the advances made over the years in imaging, satellite surveillance, scanners, and robotic probes, many people are amazed at how easy it is to remain hidden from prying eyes. All you need is money, wherewithal, and a strong desire.

  Loki had them all.

  Ventos Prime was similar to Earth, which isn't surprising since its inhabitants used to live on the blue green home of humanity. Like Earth, Ventos Prime has forests, jungles, deserts, and oceans. One, in particular, was of interest to Loki. The Tantamount plateau.

  Similar to the Altiplano plateau in South America on Earth, the Tantamount is on average over ten thousand feet high and over a quarter of a million square miles in surface area. Loki's interest in the plateau is its total lack of elves. You see, the plateau is reportedly haunted.

  No one goes there.

  No one visits.

  Tourists avoid it like the plague.

  Loki loved the views.

  "Sir, we may have found what you have been looking for."

  Loki stepped away from the window and looked at his servant, Pater.

  "Report."

  "Your worms detected a pre-adoption DNA scan. The subjects were four elflings of approximately fifteen years of age—two males, and two females."

  Loki smiled. "Do the results match the criteria?"

  "Perfectly."

  "Who adopted them?"

  "Harmon Aymar and Marta McMurphy."

  The smile on Loki's face would have frightened a wombat.

  "And they say the universe doesn't have a sense of humor. Where are these children now?"

  "Here, on Ventos Prime, at the Aymar's residence near Castle Atlantea."

  "Harmon must be doing well to be able to afford those kinds of digs."

  "Sir, the residence sits on one thousand acres of Royal parkland."

  "How is that possible?"

  "Harmon Aymar is Prince Lucien Irithyl. His identity was confirmed by the Queen herself."

  "This just gets better and better. My old friend is the long lost Prince of Ventos Prime. Pater, assemble the team in the dining room in one hour. It is time they earn their keep"

  "Yes, sir." Pater turned and left the room to attend to his duties while Loki returned to the window to watch the setting sun.

  ###

  The dining room was large, even for a castle from the old times. Around the central fire pit, a table of delicacies had been prepared. Meats, breads, and fruits from all over the planet were laid out in amounts which would choke any normal gourmand while at the sides of the room were tables laden with the finest Ventosian wines.

  Pacing the room were a dozen hand-picked mercenaries from around the League, each as merciless and cutthroat as they come.

  "What the hell is up?" one of the mercenaries asked.

  "Don't know, but the food is excellent," another replied. "If this is a drill, I hope we have one every day."

  "I assure you, this is no drill," Loki said as he walked into the room. "For some of you, this may be your last meal."

  "Sir, what's the op?" the team leader asked.

  "In principle, a simple snatch and grab. We go in under cloak, taking out any ships on the ground. Once on the ground, we breach the house security, which I expect will be minimal, grab our targets, then get out. Pater is handing out descriptions of the four individuals."

  "And if we meet resistance?"

  "Why, shoot to kill, of course. Now, prep the ship for launch. We leave within the hour."

  ###

  "Sir, target dead ahead," the pilot informed them.

  "Scan for ships."

  "Scans are clean, sir."

  "Team leader, prepare for landing," Loki ordered.

  "Aye, sir. You heard him! Lock and load!"

  "Sir, we can't keep the cloak up for much longer. Being in atmo is causing too much of a drain," the pilot said as a yellow light on the dashboard lit.

  "Fine, drop it as close to the ground as possible. I mean really, what could happen?"

  The ship came in on a steep angle. When it was a scant three yards above the ground, the pilot was forced to drop the cloak. Immediately, every light on the grounds and in the house came on as gun emplacements rose up from underground storage silos before firing on the intruder. In seconds, two remote-controlled Minotaurs showed up and fired lasers at Loki's ship.

  "Shields! Return fire! Loki yelled as rounds glanced off the hull. "Team Leader, get the plark out there!"

  "Sir, we can't..."

  Loki shot him. "You," he said, pointing to a subordinate. You're team leader. Get the plark out there and take that mess with you," he yelled, while pointing to the recently deceased previous team leader."

  "I hate the unexpected," Loki yelled as the ship rocked once more.

  ###

  Harm awoke to the sound of alarms. "Mabel, status?"

  "A Wasatch 318 Advanced Battle Shuttle has decloaked and landed just outside the south wing. We have engaged. I am detecting multiple life signs advancing on the house."

  "Call Ventosian Security and apprise them of the situation. Call OffSec and do the same. Brief my wife and activate all perimeter defenses. Prepare Mariposa 2 for immediate launch. Where are the kids?" Harm ordered while strapping on a sidearm and inserting an earbud radio in his ear.

  "Christa, Bobby, and Torren are just waking up. Shenda and Aerith are in the den, binge watching some scifi movie series."

  Harm quickly dressed and donned weapons. "Lock the three in the complex and set defensive systems in the hallway to level two. Warn the two in the den and unlock weapons cases. How many unfriendlies are there?"

  "Over two dozen. Minotaurs have been taken out. Ground defenses continue to engage the ship."

  "Unleash the cats, while holding dogs and bears in reserve."

  "Cats have been unleashed. Defensive level?"

  "Are the unfriendlies armed?"

/>   "Heavily, sir,"

  "Set cats to max."

  "Copy that. Enraged felines are online and making their way to the south wing."

  "Seal the rest of the house and set to open only on my command."

  "Copy that, sir. Good luck."

  "Thanks, Mabel. If anything happens to me, you are to protect the kids at all cost."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Is this part of the house clear?"

  "Yes, sir. Intruders have only breached the south wing."

  Harm opened the bedroom door and ran out into the darkness. When he reached the door to the south wing, he found himself surrounded by at least thirty robotic cats, each sporting twin blasters on their backs.

  "Sir, sensors indicate the den has been breached," Mabel said over the radio.

  Harm slapped the door's lockpad, setting off the explosive bolts and blowing the door inward, taking out several of the unfriendlies in the process. Taking this as their cue, the cats leapt into the south wing firing weapons at anything moving that wasn't on their protect list. Harm, meanwhile, took out several more unfriendlies unlucky enough to show their heads. When the room was clear, Harm asked, "Mabel, where are my kids?"

  "With me, Harmon."

  The voice chilled Harm to his very core. He turned and saw himself holding a gun to Aerith's head. Next to him stood a merc holding a gun to Shenda's head. Harm holstered his weapon before turning to one of the cats and saying, "Standby." The remaining cats powered down their weapons as they lay down and watched. Harm looked up and stared at his doppelganger who he thought dead for all these years.

  "Atmar! Let them go. You want money? I've got vaults full of it. Need a ship? I've got one standing by a hundred yards from here. Hell, you want me? I'm all yours..."

  "Dad!" both girls yelled.

  Harm raised his hand. "It's OK. Atmar, whatever you want, I can get for you. Please, just let them go."

  "Harmon, Harmon, Harmon. You were always so naive. You have nothing I want except for Shenda. I need her help with a project. When I'm finished, I'll bring her back unharmed. Now, as for Aerith, I think I'll take her along to keep Shenda company." He took a step forward, and every cat in the room stood up.

  "Call them off."

  Harm snapped his fingers, and the cats laid back down.

  Slowly, carefully, Atmar and his remaining team made their way to the doorway, while Harm and the cats watched. "Shenda, Aerith, I will find you. I promise."

  Atmar stood at the bottom of the ramp, his gun to Aerith's head, as his team took Shenda into the battle shuttle. As the ship's engines spun up, Atmar looked at Harmon and said, "I'm sorry about this, but my project must come first..."

  "Atmar, if you harm one hair on their heads, I will hunt you down and end your existence the first chance I get."

  Reflexively, Atmar moved his weapon to point at Harm while he thumbed the power setting to kill. "No!" Aerith said calmly. "You hurt him and neither of us will help you. Understand?"

  Harm stared at Atmar, not even noticing the weapon aimed at him.

  "Next time, Elf," Atmar said as one of his team took Aerith into the ship. With a final look, Harm's doppelganger backed into the ship, sealing the hatch behind him.

  Harm trilled.

  A large highland-lynx jumped out from behind a bush, landing underneath the ship as it lifted off the ground. As the cat sat there in pounce position, a door opened on its back and two poker-chip sized objects ejected upwards onto the ship's hull where they stuck. Seeing its mission successfully completed, the cat sealed its back and returned to the bushes as the ship disappeared into the sky.

  Harm looked at his wrist chrono and saw less than five minutes had elapsed "Mabel, status of security forces?"

  "Local, Royal, and OffSec air and ground units are inbound. Orbital units and Space Command have been alerted. Sir, Director Devlin and your sister will be here shortly..."

  "Mabel, what's wrong?"

  "Intruder alert, bedroom annex."

  "Send the cats. I'm on my way."

  ###

  Bobby tried the door once more while Christa worked on accessing the network, neither having any success. Torren, meanwhile, sat back on the sofa and read a book. "You're wasting your time," he said. "We're locked down."

  "I can see that, fool!" Christa said as panic took over. "I don't like being trapped."

  "Christa, look at me," Torren said, putting down his book while establishing eye contact with her. "We are safe in here. If we weren't, Mabel would let us out, right Mabel?"

  There was a pause. "Of course, Torren..."

  Christa looked up with fear in her eyes. "Mabel, what's wrong?"

  "The situation is under control. Please keep your distance from the atrium door."

  "Why? What's going on," Bobby asked as he moved away from the entryway.

  "Assistance is on its way. Stand by for security force deployment..."

  "What the hell does that mean?" Torren asked as he got off the couch and joined his siblings.

  Someone pounded on the door.

  Twelve cats appeared from under furniture and placed themselves between the kids and the door.

  "I didn't know we had cats," Bobby said.

  Blasters emerged from the robot feline's backs and pointed toward the door.

  "They're not cats," Christa said.

  Blaster fire erupted from outside the door. The robocats, meanwhile, lowered to the ground. Two of them leapt on top of a pair of bookcases flanking the door, their weapons pointing down at a spot approximately navel height for an average size elf male.

  The gunfire subsided, then the door burst open followed by Harmon walking in, carrying someone by their throat one-handed. The guest was dressed in black military special ops garb. The kids glanced out in the hallway and saw several smoking bot carcasses surrounding a destroyed pulse rifle. Harm slammed the intruder into a wall and held him there while the cats targeted the merc.

  "You kids OK?"

  They nodded. "Yeah, we're, fine," Bobby replied. "Who's your new friend?"

  "A rat that got past our cats. You! Speak!" he growled as he turned his full attention to the perp.

  "Boss, what's happening? Did you secure the target?"

  Harm's mind raced. "I hate 'Boss.' Use my name, damn you."

  "Loki, I don't understand."

  "Loki!" Harm dropped the perp and trilled. A robocat shot the merc with a stun charge, sending him to a crumpled pile on the floor. Harm trilled once more and the cats stood down from protect mode.

  "Damn," Bobby said as Harm grabbed the three and hugged them.

  "Anyone hurt?"

  "We're fine," Torren said as Christa just hung on and cried. "Christa doesn't like being confined."

  "You're fine," Harm said as he comforted his daughter. "Look, see, the door's open."

  Christa looked up and saw sunlight streaming through the open door. She looked up and saw the security shutters retract from the skylights. "Thanks. Better."

  "Dad, what about the cats?" Torren said, while petting a rather rotund Persian.

  "You called me Dad! The cats are part of an advanced security system I had installed. They're just robots, no AIs. They've been programmed with the DNA signatures of all family members."

  "Cool," Christa said with a sniffle. "What happened?"

  "Atmar happened. I thought the bastard was dead, but he landed a cloaked ship outside the south wing."

  "What did he want?" Bobby asked.

  "There's no easy way to put this. He wanted you four."

  "Where's Shenda?" Christa asked.

  "He's got her and Aerith."

  The sibs froze. Finally, Christa asked, "You're going to get them back, right?"

  "You can count on it."

  "Sir," Mabel said over the intercom, "We have several ships on approach including security and the Royal shuttle."

  "Good, landing clearance granted. Open the doors and recall the cats. Stand down all security systems."

  "
Yes, sir."

  "Kids, how would you like to meet my sister, Losira the Queen of Ventos Prime, and my boss, Ciara Devlin, the Director of the Cube?"

  The three of them just nodded.

  Chapter Four

  "Let us go, damn you!" Shenda yelled as she struggled to get free from the two mercs holding her.

  "Tsk, tsk, such language. Place our guests in their room. Make sure they have food and water," Atmar ordered the mercs.

  "How about a nice chain gun while you're at it," Aerith yelled as they pushed her in the room behind Shenda. "I know a really cozy place I'd like to stick it..." The door slamming shut cut her off before she could finish.

  "I don't remember Harmon talking like that. They must get it from their mother. She was such a hellion. Captain, where to next?"

  We refuel and restock our mercs at Pentecost. I'd like to stop sooner..."

  Atmar glared at him.

  "But you've made it clear we need to put as much distance as possible between us and Ventos Prime. We will have to reduce speed, though, and don't give me the look. The laws of physics cannot be broken. Speed is fuel, and we don't have enough fuel."

  Mollified, Atmar nodded. "Do it. ETA?"

  "Several hours. I'll give you a more precise estimate after an hour or so."

  "Very well. Team Leader!"

  "Sir!"

  "How many men do we have left?"

  "Six, sir."

  Atmar looked at him in shock. "We started with two dozen. Are you telling me that one elf and a few cats took out eighteen highly trained, heavily armed, and extremely merciless mercs?"

  "There were over thirty blaster-equipped robot cats, two Minotaurs, and several ground-based gun emplacements. It is my humble opinion that we are lucky to have gotten out of there alive."

  "Harmon has changed. He would have never done this in the past. What changed to rile him up so badly?"

  "If I may make a suggestion, sir," the pilot said.

  "By all means."

  "Mr. Aymar is a male elf with children, a gender known for berserker rages when their offspring are threatened. And, sir, we still have two of his children in our custody."

  "Well, I guess this is going to be an exciting trip. I may have underestimated my doppelganger. Team leader, when I'm finished, have two of our more imposing mercs join me at the girls' cabin door."