“For vodka’s sake Svetlana, yes, the President’s Cabinet has a system bounty on them.”
“What about your other enemies?” She gets closer, trying to show me more of her quite full breasts.
“I haven’t made other enemies. Most are just strained relations. Listen. I still want that deal on a corundum mine. I don’t want to make relations, as it were.” She frowns, stands up and buttons the clasp across her chest.
Finally. A girl can only be so strong.
“If that is the case, St. Petersburg enjoys our continued friendship.”
“Throw in a bottle of . . .” one of Svetlana’s lackeys comes in with a case. “Well, it seems you came prepared to risk offending me.” I kiss her cheek as diplomacy dictates. “I look forward to our continued negotiations.”
I have to give them credit, these ladies really put an effort into tying up relations into Diplomatic, sexual, and monetary all at the same time. If I had been lonely, their offer would have been very . . . attractive.
Speaking of not lonely, Mel, Kay and I have been partners for a month and Andromeda registered us as a triple immediately. They apparently have all of my authority save Primus.
Within an hour of my departure, someone tired to mess with my island lease, and then nearly simultaneously, someone sold me the island and re-instated a government contract under a charity program. Fucking admiral, trying to help me while triggering me. Five-head move that is.
***
“How did you think it was wise to start a fight with the US?” Mel chastises.
“Lady and her bunched undies decided to blow me off until I hit the go button. Then they pulled guns on me and tried to keep me from leaving. Who started what?” I say, tinkering with another basic orbital drone I bought from the Exchange. Katie says I should keep working on the construct creation because she has an magitech idea. She also tells me we absolutely don’t have access to enough materials to build them ourselves on Earth. Stupid inhabited planet.
“I’m going to set up another meeting, and this time I’m coming with you.”
“But Mel, c’mon. I’m already on the slate for ISV Brahe’s thruster overhaul in three months. Galilei is due next but is currently on mission, and Kepler’s not due for a year. Fuck! Curse my stupid mouth for agreeing to this.”
“I want to do something with your mouth, but cursing isn’t it.” Katie says from behind me. I look up and see she’s in range and give her a peck.
“Not the time? Sorry hon, but I want to work on this project while I can still work outside?” She frowns a little and thumbs my neck a few times before walking over to Melissa and seducing her.
“Yeah, that’s on me. Have fun you two.” Katie’s been thirsty lately and I think it’s the latest series of warps that has intensified her Vampiric tendencies. They both crave sex more than I do, so I guess it works out. If I didn’t feel so shitty for neglecting my wives/girlfriends/partners.
It’s weird how different this triple hits than my last attempt. It must be that I’m the focus for both of them, instead of one of them being the focus. It’s the kind of reassuring I need when they’re off screwing without me.
//EMPRESS PENNY ASTORIA HAS ADDED THE HUMAN ORIGIN WORLD TO THE ANDROMEDA SUPERCLUSTER COMMUNITY WITH OVER 7 BILLION MEMBERS//
/As a result of your actions, 7.3 billion Humans were added to the Matrix. On your order, 75 million people died during efforts to integrate. /
What?!
/CE and AE have been distributed via existing political borders as requested. Your population rank in the supercluster is 1001. As Primus, and the responsible party for integration, you have been awarded 0.1% of the wealth awarded to Humanity. /
75 million people. That’s more than California and it’s surrounding states. I just murdered more people than I could conceivably meet. I just murdered more people than anyone else in the history of the Earth.
Your actions also made the average human stronger with much better life prospects. Even the poorest person with the system doesn’t have to go hungry. You have potentially saved 20million deaths a year from that alone. And based on WHO data, the health benefits of the swarms will likely save another 20 million, this year alone. TLDR: The 0.1% that died were dying already.
Telling me I euthanized instead of murdered, isn’t super effective. I also profited from it, which is gross.
There is a lot of good you can do with those credits, Penny. Your colonies can help a lot of people if you make space for them, and all of it takes credits to build.
I hate to ask this, but what are the odds that someone will call me out on this, hold me responsible?
Too soon to tell, but I suspect that many people will make miraculous recoveries and the focus will be on that. I should also alert you that there have been 37 attempts to contact you since the alert two minutes ago.
Send the ones from the President to Melissa, send the Russian mobsters to Katie, and prioritize the CNO or Naval Reactors over the remaining messages.
Connecting you to the CNO’s office.
Damnit, Tessa. Fly over a drone that can project and record. She does and I see two angry old men.
“Admirals, good to see you. Thank you for defusing my real-estate debacle.”
“Please try to remember that kindness through this discussion.” Oh shit. The CNO was just polite. “First of all, the President has decided to reach out on multiple fronts, and . . .” I hold up a hand and he pauses.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“Admiral, I’ve forwarded the President’s communications to someone her staff hasn’t shot at. In fact, she and her cabinet are on a list of people I won’t willingly be in a room with.” I add a solid sneer at the end.
“And named us as your contacts, so we heard. What the overall problem is the credits awarded to other countries around the world.”
“Ahh, I instructed the System to segment the people of the world into current political borders, Admirals. It decided how to award the credits, not me.” They nod at that.
“You don’t seem the type to micromanage that part of a project. With those items addressed, you should know that you’ve been labeled a terrorist, something about a bounty being placed on the President and her cabinet for attempted assassination.”
I start laughing at that. Serves the backstabber right.
“Yeah, not lifting that unless I have a good reason. Coercion and attempted murder are not something I appreciate.”
“Ah, then, Admiral, can I call you Admiral?”
“Admiral is appropriate, Empress, Penny, or Astoria are also fine.”
“Very well, Rich and I are hoping you won’t hold the White House’s actions against the rest of us.”
Andromeda does it feel good to hear these codgers respect my place above them. “Rest assured, the people of Earth are still my people, and I honor my contracts. However, if anyone tries to arrest or detain me while I’m working on your ships, I will space the leadership and take command of the vessel. Building a ship that size is tedious and I would thank you for saving me the time.”
“The ISV’s are not beholden to a single country. We can talk to other Navies and make sure that doesn’t happen.”
I nod at that, and then there’s silence on the line. It’s uncomfortable, so I address the other Admiral on the call.
“So, Rich, did you need anything?”
“Yeah, I’m old and need advice on this system bullshit. My kids and Grandkids too. The AI isn’t very forthcoming, and mine’s an asshole.”
Peter, the CNO, stifles a laugh and I do the same. “Tell you what, Rich, set up a get-together with food and I’ll give a class.”
They like the idea and want to plan something for the Pentagon Picnic next month. I remind them who is persona non grata and they acknowledge my assertion. I think I actually like those guys. Huh. Respect both ways is a powerful drug.
You know what else is a powerful drug? Nearly two meters of Katie walking up the beach on me stark naked.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Opening the call to the Russians while Melissa was . . . occupied. They ‘ate it up’.”
Oh dear lord. Fuck, what a powerful image that is. Katie taking a call while a woman works on her. A video call, with another woman who would absolutely do the same thing.
“Did she take notes on how to boss bitch?” I turn around to grab her neck and kiss her, but she picks me up.
“She swore several times in Russian, called Melissa a lucky girl at least once, and did in fact say she would use that play on a different call.” She smiles into my neck, licking it to ask permission.
“We can, as soon as you finish telling me about the call.”
She growls into my neck, “They’re interested in working with us. Potentially for us. You have credits, they want credits. I told them about your list and they said they’d work on it.”
She’s playing with the band on my shorts now, nuzzling my neck clearly done talking.
“Fine, but be a good girl and time it properly.” Katie shudders around me and sets me on my workbench.
In less than ten minutes she’s got me screaming her name and sinking her teeth in me. She holds me down like I’m having a seizure and both waves of pleasure crashing into each other has me fading in an out of consciousness.
“God, Penny, your blood is like drugs. Atropos is telling me that if this goes on, I might literally need you to survive.”
“As much as I love you Kay, that sounds horrible for you.”
“Feels pretty good right now.” She says, licking the wound again. I giggle ferociously and push her away. Fierce Empress, giggling pixie.
“No really, Kay, is it going to be a problem?”
“I get energy from sex too, so, I’d like it if you played more. Melissa gets, tired.”
“I’ll try, okay? I didn’t know you were actually suffering, I just thought you were irredeemably horny.”
She pinches me in my belly fat, so I bite her boob and teleport away.
>K] It’s on, you shit. That hurt. [<
I spend twenty minutes looking over my drone plans before teleporting back into my workshop to get some parts.
“You weren’t even on the planet were you.” I get attacked from behind.
“I was not.”
She turns me around, grabbing my jaw with the ‘V’ of her hand. “It’s less thrilling to hunt you when you teleport.” She’s in a swimsuit this time. Black two-piece. The shorts make her butt look fine.
“While I appreciate the distraction, hon, a lot happened today and I’m not really in a playful mood.”
She raises an eyebrow, “did the Admirals threaten you?”
I shake my head with a sad smile. “No, they were great. It was the system message. I got a personal message afterward telling me the numbers. 7.3 billion new members of the Supercluster community. 75 million dead.”
“That’s like two years of heart disease? That you probably cured. I could make charts if it would make you feel better.”
“Tessa said something similar.”
“Well, Penny, if you’re going to surround yourself with smart people, you should probably listen to them.”
“Of course I would try to appeal to the logical one. Though, I think you’re what I need right now. Thanks Kay.”
“Of course, anything for my adorable little blood bag.”
“HEY!” I say, punching her iron abs to little effect. I absently pet her belly a few times before stopping myself.
“And now, you’re going to bite the proverbial bullet and look at your messages, and see how ridiculously well you’re doing.”
I pout, but I know she’s right. “I think I’m going to check it in space though. Or maybe EVA suit in the ocean.” Katie is a little handsy helping me put on the suit, but she earned it.
Less than a kilometer off the coast the shelf the atoll is on drops into an abyss of water. I put myself down about 10m. Tessa adjusts for neutral buoyancy and I sit and float in my private bubble. Alright Tessa, lets see it.
Your portion for integrating 7.3 billion users is 0.1% of the total award, your portion being 7.3 million CE
Your reward for culling and strengthening your species is 10AE per person.
That is so much blood money. How can I make this money speak for the dead?
Do you need another distraction?
Yes please.
The V’tek delegation returns with a ruling from the Forum.
Great, now I get to find out that some aliens are hunting my ass for being a war criminal. Perfect.