Forge of War (Jack of Harts) (24 page)

John smiled back.  “I know.  But I mean there is an actual
problem
with the idea.  And not just from a reactionary theologian,” he added with a wink.

Charles relaxed back into the pew and waved for John to continue.

John licked his lips.  “If God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were just some alien space traveler playing with the local population, why haven’t they returned?  Face it, Chuck, a glowing man floating down from the sky would be an
easy
illusion to generate with Peloran technology.  Even now, most of us would probably fall for it, but realistically they should have pulled it two or three centuries ago at the latest.  After World War II or the Second Great Depression would have been the times to do it.  The Peloran have the tech to pull it off but they didn’t try.  If what you say is accurate, the Shang
did
try it, but only
after
the Peloran made Contact so it didn’t
stick
.  Why didn’t they try earlier, when it might have
worked
?  If they’ve been coming here for thousands of years, why not take advantage of those times to show
everybody
that the old gods have
true power
?  Christianity would have had some real hard times expanding into many of the places we did if the locals could point to things they’d actually
seen
their gods do in their own lifetimes.”

Charles rubbed his chin and nodded.  “You have got some good points.”  He shook his head.  “You know this better than I, but Jesus’ teachings were not big on taking power and ruling people, were they?”

John chuckled.  “No.  They weren’t.  More like being better people.  Being nice to people.  Helping when they need it.  Not judging.  Not what I’d expect an alien with delusions of grandeur wanting people to worship him would talk about.”

“Indeed,” Charles said with a smile.

“Teachings like that don’t gain some alien who doesn’t know us a thing as far as I can tell.  But someone who already knows us and wants us to become better? 
That
is someone who would say those things.”

“True,” Charles said slowly.

John smiled.  “So, did you really come here for an academic discussion?”

Charles sighed and shook his head.  “Not really.  Look, I do not know what to do.  I know what my family
wants
me to do.  But I just do not think I can…” he trailed off and chewed his lower lip.

John nodded and patted his friend’s shoulder.  “We all have those moments, Chuck.  I had mine five years ago.”  He smiled.  “And see where I am now.  Look, there’re a lot of people who think they have the power and the right to rule us like gods, to demand our worship, our offerings, and our sacrifices.  I do not say they have no power.  I say they aren’t
worthy
of us standing with them.”

“Smart,” Charles said with a nod.

John smiled.  “Let’s accept that the Shang tried to get us to follow them.  We said no.  They smote us.  We’re still standing.  A hundred years ago, we never could have stood against them.  But today, the Peloran stand with us.  Why?  What do they gain from fighting with us?  What have they asked in return?”

Charles smiled.  “So far, just me.”

John blinked and pulled back in confusion.

Charles’ smile grew and he decided to explain.  “The Cowboys.  We fly off the
Guardian Light
.  Aneerin asked for that after the Battle of Fort London.”

John smiled in understanding and steepled his fingers, considering things for several seconds before answering.  “What does he gain by doing that?”

“Well, he has taken heavy losses in his fighter groups, so we are helping to keep his squadron in the war.”

“Yes, that would be the foremost reason, the public reason, the reason that can be sent to the media so everything can look good to the civilians.  Do you know another reason?”

Charles pursed his lips and shook his head.  “No.  Perhaps…understanding?  I have learned more about them in the last month than the rest of my life put together.”

John shook his head.  “That is how it helps
you
.  How does it help
him
?”

“Well,” Charles began, considering the question very carefully.  “It is possible that us understanding him is important to him.”

“True.  Do you want to bank our survival on that guess?” John asked with a frown.

Charles scratched his chin.  “No.”

“Good.  I only see one source of action here, Chuck,” John said with a nod of approval.  “If what you say is true, we know what the Shang want.  They want us to serve them.  We don’t know what the Roderan want, but they don’t seem to get involved much.  We know what the Peloran say they want.  Friendship.  But is that true?  They have serious power.  We have to know if they really
are
here to help us or if they are making us dependent on them and all of their technologies before taking us over,” he finished with a nod towards Dorothy.

“Now hang on,” Charles said, anger that he would suggest that about his partner boiling up.

Dorothy placed a hand on his shoulder and he stopped.

“He makes a good point,” she said in a calming tone.

Charles growled under his breath, not mollified.

John licked his lips and looked between the two for a second.  Charles recognized the concern in his friend’s face, but John shook his head and it cleared.

“I’m sorry Charles, but it had to be said, assuming we really
are
going to the end points of this discussion.”

Charles growled again, but finally nodded in reluctant agreement.  “Agreed,” he said in a low tone that said he disagreed, no matter what words he was using.

John reached his hand behind the pew and pulled a Bible up.  “Good.  Now you
have
to find out what they want. 
Really
want.  And you are in a good position to
do
that.  Take this with you.”

Charles gave a firm shake of his head.  “You know I do not believe.”

“I know,” John said with a smile.  “But if you truly want to study about gods and men, you really have to study some of the source material.”

Charles looked at it doubtfully.  “I suppose.  But I can get a portable copy for study.”

John chuckled.  “Ah, but I practice throwing a
real
book at people when they need it.  Real paper and leather makes an impact that electrons never will.  Take it, Chuck.  Read it.  There’s a lot of information in these pages that can be helpful, even if you don’t believe.  A favor for an old friend.”

Charles shifted uncomfortably on the pew and looked at Dorothy.

She shifted her head to the side and smiled, signaling her agreement.

Charles sighed and reached to take the Bible out of John’s hands.  He shook his head and looked at it with a raised eyebrow.  “So if I am looking for information on gods and aliens in this, where would I start?”

John laughed and tapped the leather cover with one finger.  “Why, ‘In the beginning’ of course.”

Charles shook his head and pushed himself up onto his feet.  “Right.  I should have seen that coming.”

“Yes.  You should have,” John said with a smile.  Then he turned serious.  “He’ll know you came.”

Charles blinked at the change in subject, then nodded.  There was really only one “He” when it came to his family.  “Yes.”

John looked grim.  “He won’t be happy.”

“No, I don’t suppose He will be,” Charles returned with a sigh.

John put a hand on Charles’ shoulder.  “If your family is as involved as you seem to think, he may force you to choose between family and the investigation.  If that happens…”

Charles placed his hand on top of John’s and smiled.  “I know who to call.”  Very few people had the resources to anger his father and not disappear afterwards.  John was one of those very few.  He hadn’t always been a shepherd of men after all.

John smiled.  “Good.  Now get going, old friend.  You have work to do.”

Charles rose to his feet with a smile of his own.  “Yes, I do, old friend.”

“Ten!” the crowd shouted.

Lights shown down on the crowd, playing every color of the rainbow across the shadows filling the dance hall.

“Nine!”

The light cans spun to focus on a single point in the air, leaving the crowd in darkness.

“Eight!”

A ball of pure glittering light appeared where the lights focused, hovering ten meters above the floor.

“Seven!”

The ball began to lower towards the floor.

“Six!”

The lights spun back to light the crowd, creating living shadows of every color.

“Five!”

The lights cut out, leaving only the falling ball to light the room.

“Four!”

The light began to pulse on and off, causing shadows to appear and disappear between each pulse.

“Three!”

The light fell below head level and the strobing shadows of people seemed to teleport from place to place between flashes of light.

“Two!”

The ball pulsed on and off faster and faster until it was a constant flicker of light almost too fast for the mind to make sense of it.

“One!”

The light cut out, leaving the room in total darkness.  Only the leftover strobe effect of phantom lights remained in the eyes of the crowd.

“Happy New Year!” the crowd shouted.

Fireworks exploded into life, shooting through the crowd with trails of flame and sparkling heads.  Jack blinked his eyes against the light and a firework shot through him.  He spun to see it explode behind him, surrounding Betty and Jasmine in a halo of crackling fire.  The light cans came alive again, strobing multicolored beams into the crowd in time with the holographic fireworks and the music that came with it.

People laughed and cheered and danced all over the floor.  People threw their hats and multicolored scarves into the air.  Scores of boys and girls enjoyed their first kisses of the New Year in joyful celebration.

A flash of red caught his eyes and he braced barely in time before a young woman he certainly did
not
know embraced and kissed him with laughing lips.  She wasn’t really kissing
him
, just the first man she’d run into.  Or given her speed, maybe he was the second or third.  Well, whatever the case, he certainly couldn’t have people kissing him when they weren’t even kissing
him
.  That just wasn’t right.

He placed one hand behind her lower back, cradled her curly red head with his other hand, leaned in, and proceeded to bestow on her a
very
thorough kissing.  Bright green eyes shot open in surprise and she struggled, hands turning to fists and moving between their bodies.  Her mouth opened in protest and he smiled as the freckles on her pale cheeks flushed bright in a growing expression of outrage.  He placed a foot behind her and stepped forward in a dance move he’d learned years ago.  He held her in his arms as she fell backwards and her protest turned into a squeak of shock.

He froze, holding her in mid-air, and kissed her again.  He felt her heart skip a beat, felt the breath leave her lungs, and felt sparks shoot through both of them.  She gasped and really
looked
at him for the first time, struggling to catch her breath.  He smiled, kissed her a third time, and stepped back, pulling her onto her feet with gentle hands.

She stood there for a moment, on shaky legs, and studied him.  He smiled back with a confident, but not overconfident, posture and pulled his hands a few millimeters away from her body.  The next move was up to her and he would give her whatever space she needed.  She could step away or she could…

She gave him a sly smile and leaned into him, laying her head against the breast of his Dress Whites.

“Well, happy New Year
indeed
,” she whispered into his neck with a light Scottish accent and warm lips.

A keen awareness of every centimeter of her body filled Jack and he smiled.  “You know, I thought about saying something like that, but then I worried that you might take it the wrong way so I kept my mouth shut.”

She patted his arm.  “Smart boy.”

Jack chuckled.  “That’s what my momma always called me.  I was her smartest little boy she always said.”

“I
thought
I detected an only child,” she said in a needling tone.

“Oooh,” Jack returned, impressed with her quick wit.  “Good one.”

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he whispered and wrapped his arms around her.  He chewed his lower lip as she relaxed into him.  “There aren’t any boyfriends involved here, are there?”

“Are you worried?” she asked in amused tone.

“I’m allergic to boyfriends,” Jack whispered.  “They get all angry and clingy and bring out shotguns and stuff when you kiss their girl.  Kinda like fathers only a bit more unpredictable.”

She laughed in his arms.  “No boyfriend any
more
,” she finally whispered.

“So, does he
know
he’s not a boyfriend anymore?” Jack asked, just to make certain the coast was clear.

She laughed harder and patted his arm.  “We broke up a week ago,” she finally explained.

Jack pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow at her.  “So I was a rebound kiss?”

Her cheeks flushed again and she nodded.

He aimed his best charming smile at her.  “Wanna rebound again?”

Her eyes sparkled with amusement and she reached up, grabbed his head, and pulled him down so she could kiss him again.  This time she truly
did
kiss him, and this time he felt
his
heart race as eternity passed them by.

When they came back up for air, Jack opened his eyes to see Betty and Jasmine standing next to them, still wearing their Dress Whites.  “Hello, Jack,” they said in perfectly harmonized tones.

Jack thought he heard the girl squeak and most certainly felt a shiver run down his spine.  “You know that can be a bit creepy, right?” he asked.

They rolled their eyes in perfect synchronation before Betty stepped forward.  “Jack, we need to go right now,” she said, alone.

Jack coughed and held the young lady a little tighter, his expression turning bullish.  “Like Hell.”

Betty gave him a sad look.  “The Shang are here.  All leaves are canceled.”

“Frak it,” he swore and shook his head.  He looked down at the young woman in his arms.  “Sorry, girl, but I really
do
gotta go.”

“Wait,” she said and kissed him again, hugging him so closely that every curve of her body electrified him from head to toe.  Every hair on his body stood on end, and he felt his toes climbing up into somewhere that couldn’t have been much short of the stratosphere.

“Jack,” Betty said in an insistent tone that broke through the spell.  “The shuttle’s coming.”

Jack pulled away, licked his lips, and let out a very long breath.  She was a
damn
good kisser.  Maybe even as good as
he
was.

The young woman examined him for a moment, seeming to measure him for something.  He forced a confident smile to his lips and spread his hands out in a “this is it” gesture.  She nodded, pulled a scarf from around her shoulders, and hung it around his neck.  She ran her electric hands down the scarf until it ended somewhere near his belt.  “For luck.  Bring it back tonight,” she ordered and sparked a finger across his nose.

“Yes,
Ma’am
,” Jack answered with gusto.

She smiled, turned her measuring look towards Betty and Jasmine for a moment, and then turned away with a “Later, Jack,” disappearing into the shadowy crowd as quickly as she’d appeared.

“Wow,” Jack whispered, still rooted to the spot by that last kiss.  “Did you get the name and number of that bus?”

“Yes, I did,” Betty answered with an amused chuckle.

“Thank
God
.”

“Now let’s
go
,” Betty ordered, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him hard.  He had no choice but to follow her.  The dance club’s hardlight projectors gave her a form as solid as any avatar he’d ever run into, and she cut through the crowd like a shark through a school of fish.  The only difference was that she didn’t leave any blood or guts behind her, which he supposed was a good thing.  It wasn’t nearly as much fun to watch of course, but it was a good thing.

They stepped out of the club, Jasmine bringing up the rear, and Jack’s arm slipped through Betty’s hand.  She stopped cold for a moment, looked at her hand, and then met Jack’s eyes with an expression of profound loss.  He opened his mouth to say he was sorry but she shook her head.  “Not now,” she said and turned to walk out onto the street.  The shuttle came down to land in front of her, the ramp lowered, and Jack followed her onto it, Jasmine behind him.  As soon as they stepped inside, the ramp pulled up behind them and the shuttle shot away again.

Jack turned to see he wasn’t the first Cowboy picked up today.  “Hey, Buckaroo,” he said with a smile and an outstretched hand.

“Hey, Jester,” Ken responded and clasped the hand for a moment.

“You ready?” Jack asked and took the nearest seat.

“I was
born
ready,” Ken answered with a grim smile of his own.  The Free Japanese had settled in California after the fall of Japan.  The fall of Yosemite all over his home gave him a lot of reasons to be ready.

The shuttle slowed to a stop, the ramp dropped, and Jessie walked up the ramp.

“Dutchman,” Jack said.

“Jester,” Jessie answered and the ramp lifted back up to seal them in again.  Jessie’s eyes took in the scarf hanging down nearly to his waist.  “New fashion statement?”

Jack shrugged.  “A good luck charm, from a very concerned young lady.”

“I see,” Jessie said with a chuckle and sat down next to Jack.  Jack saw a small handkerchief sticking out of his pocket that was most definitely
not
uniform standard.  It was pink and frilly and Jack could have sworn he smelled perfume wafting from it.

“I see you found one too,” Jack said with a smile.

Jessie shifted his hand to cover the pocket and sighed.  “She was
very
concerned,” he finally said with a wink.

The cabin darkened and Jack saw space through the viewports.  He turned to where Betty, Jasmine, and the other cybers sat, a confused look on his face.  “Where are the other Cowboys?”

“On the other shuttles,” Betty answered.  “They’re in a hurry.”

“Right,” Jack whispered as the shuttle shot into one of the
Guardian Light’s
launch tubes and came to a halt in the bay itself, next to an Avenger’s landing gear.

The hatch opened into Cowboy Country’s launch bay and the pilots ran out.  Jack stopped and looked up at the Avenger, then to the small shuttle next to it, and shook his head.  He’d forgotten just how huge the Avenger was.  It made a shuttle designed to carry ten men look small.  Jack let out a long breath and turned to run towards his fighter.

He saw the ladder to the gantry that ran down to where the Avenger’s cockpit waited for him, but smiled and jumped as hard as he could.  He could actually jump very far, though no where near far enough, or high enough to reach the cockpit.  But that wasn’t really his plan.

“I’ve got you,” Betty’s voice whispered in his ear as he felt gravity shift around him and pull him up towards the gantry.

“That’s my girl,” he returned and landed on the gantry as light as a dancer.  A quick step forward dropped him into the cockpit with a smile.  “Always thinking ahead.”  Jack sat down and reached for the five point restraints.

“Always,” Betty said with an amused smile as he began locking the restraints in.  Then she sat down on the console, her Dress Whites flickering away to be replaced by her comfortable yellow sundress.

“Better?” Jack asked and rubbed a hand down the dark scarf with a smile.

“
Much
better,” Betty whispered and examined the scarf.  “She seems like a nice girl.”

Jack sighed.  “Yeah.  She does,” he said and felt her lips on his again.

“Cowboy One, to all Cowboys,” Charles transmitted and Jack blinked back to the present.  “Report your status.”

Jack’s eyes flicked over to the displays that showed the British fleet, a quarter of it shattered and floating away from the Shang fleet that numbered over a hundred warships.  Only a massive
Dreadnought
and her escorting battleships held the British fleet together, and even as he watched another battleship exploded under the Shang assault.  He looked up at Betty and she nodded.

“Cowboy Five is ready,” Jack said in a grim tone.  He took several deep breaths, bringing himself totally into the present.  He couldn’t afford to be lost in the past right now.

“Launch,” Charles ordered.