“Men are as dense as a rock. If you want one for yourself, you have to stand up and get him!”
***Outer Rim***
***Silith***
“Are you alright, Dear? You look agitated.” I study Antioch on his throne as he plays the untouchable monarch while grinding his jaws. His fists are clenching and unclenching in anticipation. It seems like my words have little effect, so I place a hand on his shoulder.
I sigh. “Sometimes you behave like a baby. A big, dangerous baby. Their ship will dock any second, and then you will get what you wanted all those years, although I still think that it's foolish. You kept it together all that time, so what are a few more minutes?”
“They should already be here.” He looks at me, turning me into the object of his ire. “And why is revenge foolish? You blew up a space station to get back at your tormentors.”
I try to school my expression. “You aren't exactly wrong.”
“Two space stations. You remember the pirate base?” he adds.
“Now you are unfair! Yes, I destroyed the research lab. I did it as much for revenge as to cover our escape. And if I remember correctly, both of us had a hand in the riot on the pirate station. The thing was still standing when we left. It had a few holes here and there, but that wasn't our fault.” I huff and raise my chin in defiance. “I just want to say this. I won't stand in your way, but when it's done and over with, you may find out that it doesn't feel as good as you may think it will.”
He furrows his forehead in confusion. “You mean that killing Ouluk won't be as much fun as I may think it will be? Don't get me wrong, but I-”
I hold up a hand to stop him and rub the bridge of my nose. “I understand that you aren't that sort of person. But you have a mean streak that's undeniable, even if you aren't aware of it. I won't even say that killing Ouluk doesn't have its own appeal. All I want you to understand is that when it's over, it's over. There won't be some feeling of accomplishment. That's what I wanted you to know.”
Frowning, he surveys the throne room which is a perfect copy of the one we had in our previous colony. Lined with gold and a huge fresco to our right. The only difference is that the wall to the throne's left is a huge holoscreen which doubles as a fake window, showing the miniature star in Haven's centre.
“I understand,” he admits. “But this is something I have to do. You are probably right that holding a grudge for this long isn't healthy. That's why I have to face him and confront the bastard with his betrayal.” He looks at me. “We never really talked about our experiences in those facilities. Oh, we talked about it, but we never shared the details.”
I nod and take my hand off his shoulder, now that it seems like he has cooled down. “I understand. Maybe we should do just that at some point, but I never formed any sort of attachment to the people around me. They were the ones who were starving me and stinging me with needles. They were the ones who wanted things from me.”
He presses his lips together. “It may have been easier if Ouluk had been just that. But he wasn't. He was like a father to me. And if not a father, then at least a friend. That made it all the more shocking when he pulled that gun and shot me.”
Antioch looks around. “By the way, where are Lisandra and Fiona?”
“In the medical centre. The transport with Siegfried and the eggs arrived just a few hours ago and they wanted to be there during the wake-up procedure,” I explain and smile. “We should probably be there too, but I figured that you would want to see Ouluk asap.”
His expression crunches up in dismay and he snorts. “Probably, but Fiona and Lisandra should be enough. They don't have to see this.”
“They can watch a recording.”
We stiffen when a female guard enters the throne room, opening the door for Jill and Veronica. They are wheeling a little, purple creature on a wheelchair. The alien must be Ouluk, so I decide to listen and observe after greeting each of my daughters with a quick hug.
“I am glad that you two are back.” When I am done with Jill, I extend the same affection to Veronica. The smaller girl hugs me fiercely when we step closer, and because of the close contact, I realize that calling them girls may not be accurate anymore. They matured a lot over the past year. “Look at you. You two grew up so much while you were gone. I am glad that the mission was a success and I have to admit that I wasn't happy with your father for sending you two off on your own.”
I try to step away, but Veronica doesn't let go. “Over three hundred days!”
“Pardon me?” I pet her shoulders, surprised to get that much emotion from V. Not that I would complain, but shouldn't my own flesh and blood be more emotional about this encounter. Looking up, I study the Blue who has a sheepish expression on her face.
“Three hundred days with Jill! You have to stop it!”
Forcing a smile, I pat V's head and look at Jill who just rolls her eyes. She regards her sister in my arms for a few moments and then walks out of the room without a further word.
I return my attention to V and try to reassure her. “We will make sure that you get a little time off.” Like a decade… or two.
Ouluk just looks at us with a crunched up expression. It doesn't look like he recognizes any of us.
Antioch stands up and walks over to the little alien, looking down at him with a grin that shows his perfect, white teeth. “Ouluk! We meet again.”
“Who are you?” Ouluk looks up at Antioch, somehow finding the courage to be defiant despite the situation he is in. “Why did you abduct me? This is against any form of civilised behaviour.”
Antioch stops grinning and kneels down in front of Ouluk, bringing them to eye-level with each other. “I am Antioch, and I am the one who killed the woman who you claimed to have feelings for.”
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At first, Ouluk doesn't react. Instead, he studies Antioch for a long time, searching for a recognizable feature. It takes a while, but then the alien surprises me by laughing.
Which in turn causes Antioch's mood to plummet. “What's so funny?”
I step over and place a hand on my mate's back to calm him.
Ouluk shakes his head. “You killed Vizir and I swore to kill you in turn. It's just too hilarious that I already killed you before that. I didn't know, so I followed you through half the galaxy to take some elusive form of revenge, knowing that it's almost impossible to kill you humans permanently. I bet that you have already dozens of those Hardware Backups all throughout this sector of space and maybe even beyond. I always told myself that I just wanted to kill you once.” Ouluk points at Antioch, imitating a gun with his hand. “The irony is that I had my wish all along.”
Clenching his teeth, Antioch reaches for Ouluk's lower arm. Grabbing it, he squeezes while using his thumb as a lever. There is the cracking of bones, quickly followed by high pitched squeals from the cocky alien.
I notice Veronica wincing, wondering if she still has feelings for him. I may not know Ouluk very well, but he is quickly making it onto my shit list, which makes me wonder why V would be affected by his predicament.
Antioch lets go and points at V. “Did I mention that your one true love stands right over there? Her body may have died when the research station went down, but she infected herself with a hacked version of our nano-tech. Her mind was saved and now she is one of us.”
Ouluk's eyes widen a little and his head flicks back and forth between Antioch and Veronica until he settles on V. His pain seems to be gone. “Vizir?”
V closes her eyes and draws in a deep breath. “Yes, but I am Veronica now. I settled into this new life and I no longer think that what we did to the humans was right. Nobody deserves extinction just because they prefer a different way of living.”
“But- but-” He shakes his head. “That's impossible. Human nano-tech is hard-coded to work only for humans. There is no easy workaround.”
V put on a wry smile. “That's true, but your observations on the manifold nature of the technology allowed me to find a backdoor. Do you remember when you told me about the phages which attach to the human nerve-centre? I found out that they are the first step to upload a mind. They wouldn’t allow me to interact with the technology, but they would copy every nerve inside my brain. That’s a basic fail-safe function they always perform. All I had to do was to trick them by injecting myself with the human protein that allows the phages to synchronize with the brain. All they do is to copy – to mirror – all nerve activities to the human supercomputer that manages all their personalities. It was you who allowed me this breakthrough when you told me about their protein requirements on our fourth night.”
“You... why?” Ouluk’s expression turns pained as the realization hits him like a sledgehammer. “Injecting yourself with that protein! I see how that would have worked, but it would've also killed you soon afterwards. There is no way that my Vizir would have done that. She would have never left me like that!”
“She would have. I would have done so in the blink of an eye. I am sorry Ouluk, but you were just a means to an end. All I ever wanted was immortality… because of personal reasons. I was obsessed with it. You were someone whose knowledge helped me along on that path, so I did my best to be nice to you. Being nice always worked if I wanted something from the male scientist types. They are too isolated from society and if a female shows just a little interest, they think it's love at first sight. Don't get me wrong. I liked you well enough... but only as a friend and only as long as you didn't stand in my way.”
V looks up at me and then her expression turns worried when she looks at her father.
Neither of us says anything after that speech. V is too agitated, I just want to observe, and Ouluk just sits in his wheelchair with an expression of utter horror and betrayal on his face.
Antioch says nothing while he studies Ouluk’s expression. My mate scratches his chin, seemingly drinking in Ouluk’s emotions while he considers what’s about to happen next.
Finally, he smiles and waves a hand, calling for the guard. “It’s perfect. Those feelings of betrayal, I wanted nothing more than have you experience them while I get to watch. Lock him away with the other political prisoners from our short contact with the G.S. I want him to live with the knowledge until we decide on their ultimate fate.”
That wakes Ouluk out of his stupor. “You are not going to kill me?” He tries to turn as the guard rolls him out of the room, but his shattered arm makes itself known with the movement.
“Of course not, my dear friend. I want to revel in the knowledge that you won’t escape your punishment easily.” Antioch waves at the departing prisoner, an expression of glee on his face. “And it’s not like I can’t pay you a few visits whenever the mood strikes me.”
I pat V’s head. “See? All your fears were unfounded. I told you so.”
Veronica lets out a sigh and nods.
“Which fears?” Antioch turns to look at us.
“Nothing important,” I deflect. “Just a daughter’s worries about the actions of her father.”
Luckily, that’s the exact moment when Jill chooses to return. She enters the throne room as the guard wheels Ouluk out.
Tail in hand, Jill pulls an unconscious body with her into the room, creating a small trail of blood as she approaches us.
“Veronica, I-”
I don’t allow her to speak. Stepping forward, I place myself in her path and point at the young man who became my daughter’s latest victim. “Now you have done it, young lady! Killing some stranger from the street! What did this poor guy do to you!? Who is he?”
Jill looks genuinely confused. “I killed nobody. Look!” Pulling at his tail, she drags him around like the catch of the day. “That’s our mate, Joan Walen. Seventeen, eight science degrees and unattached. After intensive observation through the Myriad, I judged his personality to be compatible with V’s and mine. He is a natural-born child of Julie’s, which means that his personality won’t be too overwhelming for V. As for me, I am okay with younger men. On top, he looks exactly like the guys who always catch V’s eyes.”
“Then why is he out cold?” V mumbles, her left eye twitching as if she is about to pop an artery in her brain.
“He didn’t want to come when I invited him to a meeting, so I had to use force. It’s perfectly acceptable as far as Demon-society is concerned. Young women have it tough with so few unattached males around, so being forceful is the only choice if a woman wants to found a family. There is also the point that he won’t be playing around with other women if we train him early enough.”
“There is a dent on his forehead,” Antioch observes coolly, a single eyebrow raised.
“It will heal,” Jill reassures him. “Like I said, he resisted rather vehemently when I dragged him out of his quarters.”
Slowly, a dull, pulsing headache develops just behind my eyes and the corners of my vision turn reddish as I fumble for the meat-cleaver which is strapped onto my back beneath the clothes.
Of course, that’s when Fiona’s offspring bursts into the room. Julie, Kylie, and Alie look like someone just abducted their baby.
“My Joan!” Julie cries with tears in her eyes.
“Someone broke into our quarter and abducte-” Alie calls out, stopping abruptly when she sees Jill’s catch of the day.
All three of them scream in surprise and swarm Jill, trying to get their hands on their progeny. But Jill doesn’t let go of Joan’s tail, refusing to give up the handsome male. Julie is trying her best to tend to her son, while Alie and Kylie are trying to pry him out of Jill's hands.
Without much success.
Antioch studies the evolving catfight without comment. After a few seconds of observation, he looks at me. “I don’t want to be involved in this.” Turning, he walks away, heading for his office.
“But-” I raise my hand, trying to stop him.
“No.” Shaking his head, he continues walking. “You are the one who gave birth to Jill. I told you not to, but you did. You even have a contract with her. This is your problem.”
It’s not like I had much choice in the matter! And having Jill around is as much a boon as it is a bane! Although, I have to admit that I currently want to mince her… again!
I look at V, hoping against hope that she can assist me, but the poor girl has a blank expression on her face, studying something only she can see. Although, from time to time, her eyes flick to the boy on the ground and then she averts them, chanting something incomprehensible like a mantra.
Wringing my hands, I return my attention to the three sisters who didn’t have much luck with getting their boy out of Jill’s hands without causing more injuries.
“If you want him, you have to pay the wedding fee in contribution points, and that’s more than you have!”
“Let go!”
“...”
There will be rumours if any of this gets out. Sadly, I have too much experience with Jill’s oddities to assume that this can be solved without the threat of violence. Knowing no other solution, I draw the meat-cleaver. “Jill, let go of his tail, or you can kiss your hands goodbye!”