THE VROL TRILOGY (16 page)

Draagh grinned, but turned away, saying
nothing. The old man waved his hand out and released Bagatelle and
Jennie from his grip.

"Yes! I need to make sure that Gunnarsson
doesn't try to escape, and that these two aren't pulling a scam."
Jennie turned and continued by straightening her shoulders and
looking to her commanding office. "Sir, I request permission to go
with these two and make sure everything is on the up and
up."

Bagatelle nodded his head. Looking at Max and
Draagh, down at his console and then back at the two he said, "I
agree. This will allow me to concentrate on tracking down Lt.
Johnson, as his crimes shall not go unpunished. Plus, I think there
is a deeper plot to this, with Johnson's father having a hand in it
all."

Nodding to Jennie, he continued, "Jennie, I am
going one step further. I don't want your efforts hampered by
military protocols. I am temporarily relieving you of your duties
and placing you on leave. This can be justified because you have
accrued months of paid vacation time. Go, be safe and do what you
need to do. I'll take care of the Council back home. Our new friend
here has given me enough information to justify retrofitting the
fleet."

Jennie nodded to the admiral, and then both
looked over at Draagh, as well as a very perplexed Max, who was
slightly miffed, not having been able to convince Draagh to
basically do the equivalent of a mind-wipe on the very pretty, but
unkind dega. Still, he was looking forward to being in charge of
her.

Bagatelle started flicking through his portable
console some more, while Jennie glared at Max, and then stood up to
extend her long, femininely muscular legs. Raising her arms above
her head and yawning, she further stretched out luxuriously, with
her curvaceous figure accentuated by her pose, with Max looking at
her out of the corner of his eye.

"Ok Draagh, then what are we doing?" asked Max.
"You said we are going somewhere, so spit it out."

"Spit it - out? My dear boy, I shall do no such
thing. The act of spitting is a practice best done in private,"
exclaimed the old mage.

"I think what the idiot means is that he wants
an explanation about where we are going," said Jennie, which made
Max look at her with a perturbed expression.

"Lieutenant, you may not like me, but I am a
superior officer. Show some respect."

Jennie rolled her eyes and made a sound out of
disdain in response to Max's comment.

Bagatelle interrupted the three-way
conversation and said, "I'll have to make up a story about how we
never found Gunnarsson or his ship, and why one of my junior
officers didn't return with us. I can't very well lie and say she
perished when the airlock was blown because there are logs showing
her activity afterwards."

"Why don't you say she took a transport down to
Sienna once you reached Azul system? She could have been
traumatized by the sabotage and was… in need of a sabbatical?"
suggested Max with an inquisitive tone to his voice, while
receiving a hateful glare from Jennie.

"Excellent idea! Excellent!" exclaimed Draagh.
"Very well then. To answer your question - we are going to the
Black Forest in what was known as Bavaria, in the European
continent. In fact, this is from where your kind
originated."

"Hey, I thought my ancestors were from South
America," stated Jennie.

"Oh my dear, not originally. You will see, as
all will be revealed quite soon. Yes, quite soon
indeed."

"Are there humans in the Black Forest? Was it
left untouched during the Vrol invasion? Or were they all killed?"
asked Max.

"Oh, there are many humans, and lycans - even
some ghouls and a few cannibals… but no, it was not left untouched.
It was destroyed. However, after millennia it grew back quite
nicely. In fact, we retuned that energy I was speaking of earlier,
so you will both have a chance to - how should I put it -
grow?"

"Draagh, I did a scan on the planet and
detected no life. How could I have missed it? Do all humans live in
caves or something?" asked Max.

"Oh, right now they do, yes, right now. That is
why you could not detect them, but where we are going people live
in lovely little homes, in quaint villages. It is very beautiful.
One of my favorite periods."

Jennie and Max gave him an odd look as he
reached his arm out, causing his ornate, mahogany staff to come
flying into his grip. Bagatelle's jaw dropped as Draagh gave him a
wink and said, "Come, let us begin. Max, put on some fresh clothes.
Oh, and you might want to bring a toothbrush. Dental hygiene is not
on the top of everyone's list where we are going."

"Or should I also say, to
when
we are
going."

###

In a dark office in the Azul System Security
Council headquarters, New Sydney, Oz, Councilman Len Johnson looked
at the readout on his private console. As communication between the
two parties had a delay of hours for each message sent, plus a few
minutes for the translator to run its course, he had collected them
all into a page, making it easier to read.

Johnson: My agent reaches Earth soon. Are you sure
there is no further danger of infection?

X'than'dor: No imminent
threat

Johnson: What is your ETA?

X'than'dor: 5.317 of your standard
years

Johnson: And you will not approach Earth?

X'than'dor: We have no interest in
Earth

Johnson: Excellent. I get Earth,
and I will give you Azul

X'than'dor: We shall take it
anyway

Johnson: That is fine. My agent reached Earth.
Planet is intact

X'than'dor: Explain what means word
"fine". It is logic. It is reality. Earth died. We continue. Azul
dies. We continue

Johnson read the script over and over again,
and, being completely amoral and borderline sociopathic, had no
regrets. The plan was, once Ryder got Gunnarsson's transport and
brought it back, they would reverse-engineer the craft and outfit
three of the barges left over from the Exodus, returning to Earth
to yet again create a brave, new world.

How fortunate, he thought, that the Vrol didn't
have faster-than-light travel capabilities.

Chapter 10
- Packing

Max finished gathering a gear bag and
made sure he didn't forget his toothbrush. He was unsure of where
they were going, but as he had travelled to Los Angeles with Draagh
in less than a second, he knew he was going somewhere, and that it
was all real. An extra change of clothing, his Stinger, a portable
console and other assorted sundries and he was ready. Exiting from
his cabin, he saw Draagh standing in galley, so he set his bag on
the deck, kneeling to go through it.

"Max, you can leave your weapon and
computing device. They fail to work where we are going."

"What?" exclaimed Max. "They won't
work? You mean I'll be defenseless?"

Draagh chuckled, being amused at the
lad's dismay, and said, "My boy, you most certainly will not be
defenseless. Oh no. You will be quite formidable. In fact, there
are a few particulars regarding you that I left out of our
discussion, as my intention was to convince our friends out there
that we needed to leave, and that Jennie needed to come with us. It
was an incredibly burdensome decision for the commander to make.
Sending one's own blood to whereabouts unknown is always
difficult."

Max's heart skipped a beat as he
blurted, "She's his--"

"Shhhhhh!" hissed Draagh, cutting Max
off. "Quiet my boy. As of this time, she is unaware of their
relationship, but he well knows, and that is why he has always kept
her under his command since locating her. However, he was never one
to overly-protect the girl. He expects more out of her and pushes
her harder to be at her best. He now merely sees this as another
opportunity to help her to reach the next level, as they
say."

Max lilted his head to the side,
pondering what Draagh had said, and then popped back up, saying,
"Ok, I'm ready. Let's go."

Max and Draagh walked out of the Machu
Picchu, the loading ramp and bay doors gently closing behind them
as they approached Bagatelle and Jennie, who were still by the fire
pit. Bagatelle was giving Jennie last minute instructions, so Max
tried to appear busy, picking some stuff up and screwing the cap
back on the Glenfiddich bottle, which Draagh eyed appraisingly. He
wanted to listen to what they were saying, but Draagh casually
strolled up and commented on the woman's belongings.

"Jennie, you may as well leave your
weapon with your superior officer. It will be of no use to you at
our destination."

"Hey, just a minute," exclaimed
Bagatelle, "she will need to be able to protect
herself."

Draagh put up his hand as if it were a
motion to stop and said, "Luigi, where we are going there is that
energy I spoke of. No modern technology will work there, so the
weapon will be useless."

Jennie looked at Draagh with pleading
eyes. "Can I bring it anyway, even if it doesn't work?"

Draagh considered her request for a
moment, and then said, "I guess that would be fine."

With that, Max went running back to the
Machu Picchu, and hitting a button on a fob in his hand, caused the
loading bay ramp to drop. Once the bay doors opened, he bounded
inside and grabbed his own equipment. He gave everyone an expectant
look as he departed the craft.

"Well? If she gets to bring hers along,
then so do I."

Jennie rolled her eyes
back, and turned, making an audible
gawd
, while heading for the open
area outside where the Machu Picchu was docked.

Looking back she found the location
quite lovely, and wished she had gone there on a friendlier
mission. Now, as it was, she was basically stuck with this Max,
whom she still considered a traitor - and a geek - and an old
Viking with some impressive parlor tricks - but she felt in her
heart it was all real.

Draagh called everyone together to
explain what they were all going to do. He would use his staff to
transport himself, Max and Jennie, to the Black Forest, but when he
started the power accumulation sequence on his staff, Bagatelle's
ship would be visible, so the rear admiral had to lift off either
before or after they had ported out. Bagatelle chose to stay and
watch, wanting to make sure that this wasn't a bunch of
hooey.

"Draagh, what about my ship? Will it be
safe here?" asked Max.

"Yes, my son," he replied, "I shall
conjure a light-bending wall that should hold until we return.
Anyone who comes here will only see an empty, naturally-occurring
cave in the jungle."

Max felt a bit more relieved and walked over
to Bagatelle and spoke.

"Sir, I know that you came here to
apprehend me, and I appreciate that you were following orders. I
broke the rules, and for that I am sorry - but there is something
much bigger than either of us here, and I think we both know that
the Vrol should be our main concern. I'm tooting my own horn, but
thanks to what I did, you were able to travel through side space
and prove that military vessels can, and should have SSCC
technology installed. I only hope you can convince the Council of
this."

He looked over at Jennie, and then back
to Bagatelle and continued in a low whisper, "You may not believe
it, Sir, but I'll take care of her… with my life."

Bagatelle's eyes slightly widened in
surprise, but he immediately returned a dull stare. Max stepped
back, and gave Bagatelle a smart salute, which the commanding
officer returned in sharp fashion.

"So, are we ready?" asked
Draagh.

Jennie stepped forward and asked, "Sir,
am I officially relieved of duty?"

Bagatelle nodded in the affirmative.

"So, Sir, I am no longer bound by rank,
and Gunnarsson is no longer my superior officer?"

"Hey! Wait a minute!" yelled Max,
while Bagatelle again nodded to her in the
affirmative.

"Shut up, Gunnarsson. You're not my
superior. This isn't a military operation."

Draagh snickered, quite enjoying the
antagonistic banter between his two young charges. Max gave a look
of slight resignation, muttering under his breath, and turned to
Draagh, who said, "Very well then! Let us begin. Commander, you
will need to be at least 300 meters away from us, as the energy
field produced by my staff for such a far-off port is immense. May
I suggest you wait up in your transport?"

Bagatelle looked up toward the ruins,
which were not visible from where they stood and said, "Well, it
will take me a while to get up there, so give me a bit," not
looking forward to the hike up the switchbacks that led to the
top.

Draagh then said, "My dear Admiral,
there is no need. I shall take you up there, as a slip this small
can easily be facilitated."

Motioning to his side, he said, "Please
come stand next to me."

Jennie looked over at Bagatelle and
said, "Well, we'll see you later Lui - "