THE VROL TRILOGY (171 page)

"Oh yeah? And just how are we gonna find
Gadreel?" asked Max.

"Father put a special tracker on him. In
fact, not only do we know his precise location, we are also aware
of whom he is with. We shall go to him when the time is right,"
said Gabriel, as he waved his hand, releasing Krynos and Jessica
from their holding cells.

###

Michael sat at Bagatelle's desk,
concentrating intently while he developed a cantus that would
effectively protect anyone on the ship from having their mind
controlled by an outside force. The Admiral had gone to the bridge,
along with Jessica, to communicate with the Regan and other ships
in the vicinity. Max and Jennie sat on the small couch in
Bagatelle's office, with the woman curled up on his lap, as she
would usually do. However, this time they were holding on for dear
life, never wanting to be separated again.

Max put his hand up, with Jennie doing the
same and placing her pam against his.

"
Jen, can you
hear me
?"

"
Yeah, I can!
Without the comm even!
"

"
I think it's
because you're now like me. And there's something even
cooler
."

"
What's that,
baby
?"

"
I think
you're basically immortal now, just like I
am
."

"
Ooh, together
forever. I like the sound of that
."

The gorgeous dega/lycan/Primulus hybrid now
appeared even more beautiful than before, especially due to her new
eye color. This made Max wonder why his eyes hadn't changed color
when he got his ghanlo.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Max?"

"Why did Jennie's eye color change, but mine
didn't when I got my ghanlo?"

"The ghanlo plays no part in that, son. It is
merely that you were always a Primulus. Father has blue eyes in his
corporeal form, and I believe green was the result of their
combined DNA."

"Combined?" they both yelped at the same
time.

"Oh my god, am I part Draagh? Will it be
incest if we… we…"

"No, Jennie," Michael laughed, "it does not
work that way. You are not part of my father. His genome merely
modified yours. Well, yes, you retain part of him, but that does
not make you him in any way."

"Creepy," said Jennie.

"Not really, love. We're together, and now
it's forever, right Dad?"

"Do you mean to ask if Jennie is now
immortal? The answer would be yes, she is immortal."

"Oh, but Liliana! She will age and we
will…"

"Fret not, daughter. Liliana has many
centuries in which to live, and one never knows what shall come to
pass."

"Baby, let's play it by ear," said Max.

"Right. Hey, where's Gabriel?"

"He is accompanying Jessica, intent on
protecting her, even though it is unnecessary," said Michael.

"I think he's in love," responded Jennie.

"I believe you may be correct, daughter."

"And Dad, what about you and Mom? Any chance
of rekindling the flames of whatever?" asked Max.

Michael smiled and nodded his head. "Max, I
never stopped loving your mother. I can truly say that we shall be
together forever."

"Forever? But she's only a lycan," said
Jennie.

"As I stated regarding Liliana, my dear.
Things change, and there are many ways of working wonders. I plan
on spending the rest of eternity with Clarisa, but please - do not
reveal that bit of information to her."

"No problem, pops," said Max, smiling with
the knowledge that he had a chance to share his forever with many
of those he loved most.

"Very well. We must attack the Grigori soon.
Father's tracker enables me to ascertain their location, as well as
numbers in Gadreel's vicinity."

"Yeah, but the Brood Carrier. We need to
destroy that. Gadreel earlier said that shielding protects it. So
much for lobbing antimatter missiles at it," said Max.

"Son, do you not remember Gabriel's lesson
when you fought and defeated Guriel? I believed he referred to
geography, am I not correct?"

"Oh yeah! Slip some bombs inside and remotely
detonate them," said Jennie.

"Um, no. That ship is weird and works on a
whole different level. Due to its techno-organic nature, nothing
automated nor digital functions correctly inside. We'll need a
dead-man's switch, and it'll be a suicide mission. Unless someone
can slip in and out quickly," said Max.

"Max, a slip would not be fast enough to
enact a device and then escape. It would truly be a suicide
mission," said Michael. "We must find another solution."

"Okay, well, in any case, I'm going to
meet with Josh Mannheim. He's my go-to guy for anything
tech
. Jen, wanna come
along?"

"Max, you aren’t moving a millimeter without
me."

Max stood up, as Jennie slid off his lap and
clasped his hand with her. They walked out of Bagatelle's office
and went through a corridor, finding a massive blood stain still on
the floor where Krynos had killed the woman, albeit
temporarily.

"Wow, this is where I died," she said.

"And where you were reborn, love."

They stared at the discolored floor for a
moment, and then continued walking. Reaching the ship's lab, Max
and Jennie entered, causing everyone to pop up at attention.

"Officer on deck!" shouted Lt. Josh Mannheim,
as everyone followed suit.

Max gave him a quick returning salute, and
said, "As you were. Lieutenant, I have a project for you."

"Yes, sir. What would this project be?"

"Well, first, we'll need an antimatter bomb.
The biggest one we have."

"What are we to do with it, sir?"

"I'll need for you to do some retro tech - it
needs to be activated by hand. In essence, you need to make a
dead-man's switch."

Everyone in the room gasped. Suicide wasn't a
part of Azulian society, but all were aware of the lack of progress
against the Brood Carrier.

"But, whoever releases it will die!" Josh
exclaimed. "Who would volunteer for that?"

"Hmm, that would be me," said Max.

"Oh no, you don't! You're not going to do any
such thing, Max… erm, Captain! We need you here, alive," commanded
Jennie.

"Don't worry, Commander. I plan on doing it
from far away."

"But how's that?" she asked.

Max simply waved his finger around while
grinning.

"Oh… I see," she said with a smile.

"So, get to work, Lieutenant!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Max and Jennie walked up to the bridge
of the Revolution, finding Bagatelle looking over some star charts,
while Jessica was seated next to Pandy. The two were performing
tasks, with Gabriel standing close by. As a superior officer was
already present, no one stood up to salute, nor say the
otherwise-required
attention on
deck
.

"Captain, Commander - what are you both still
doing here?" demanded Bagatelle. "You should be on your own
ship."

"Admiral, I had to confer with my science
officer, Lt. Mannheim. He is preparing an antimatter bomb that
we'll slip inside the Brood Carrier once it appears again," said
Max.

"Ah, very well. But wait! Didn't Gadreel say
that technology wouldn't work on the Vrol ship?"

"True, but I'll use some skill to remotely
detonate it. I think it'll work," said Max.

"Okay. Look, I'm no scientist, nor a mage,
but if no technology works on a Vrol ship, then how does the
antimatter bomb work?" asked Bagatelle.

"Oh, the internals are mechanical. The bomb
has a small quantity of antimatter - roughly twenty grams,
surrounded by 500 kilograms of matter. It's a simple, yet elegant
catch mechanism inside. The antimatter is released into the matter,
resulting in the explosion. This particular bomb is called a
moon-killer," answered Max.

Bagatelle walked up and put a hand on
Jennie's shoulder, asking, "And how are you, Commander? I must say
you're looking well."

"Jennie Gunnarsson 2.0," she whispered, while
Max took her by the hand and led her to a corridor where they could
slip out without the rest of the crew seeing their method of
departure.

Max and Jennie appeared in a hallway of the
Regan, not aware that a crewmember was walking by. The woman - a
lieutenant junior grade, gasped and almost fell down when she
suddenly saw the two.

"Captain! Where did you come from… sir?"

"Um, from this room, Lieutenant. As you
were."

The woman scurried off, not knowing if she
was hallucinating or just not paying attention to her surroundings.
The two then made their way to the bridge, where they found Cpt.
Logan Stor in command. He immediately stood up and said, "Attention
on deck!" deferring to his superior officer. Although Max and Stor
were of the same rank, Max was the captain of the vessel, and Logan
was his second in command.

"As you were, Captain. I need a status
update, please."

"The Brood Carrier is still out of sight, and
off our scanners. We're maintaining orbit, waiting and ready for
anything. Draeders are ready for launch also."

"Excellent. Well, I'll be in my quarters,"
said Max, as he turned to leave, Jennie following him.

"
Commander, is
everything alright? You look a bit… different. I don't know what it
is
," Stor asked Jennie over the comm.

"
Hmm, let's
just say I've had a transformative experience. Max can give you the
details later
."

"
Very well,
Commander. It's good to see you both
."

The Gunnarssons entered into Max's (really
their mutual) quarters, and Jennie immediately pounced on her
husband, not previously having had the opportunity to be alone with
him since she had been resurrected by Draagh. Straddling his lap,
she put her delicate, copper-colored hands on his face and
concentrated. She could feel she could do something, and she was
correct. A mild, golden glow emanated from her arms, down into his
body, creating a sensation neither could describe. It was better
than sex. It was as if they were joining their souls. Overwhelmed
by the sensation, Max pulled her hands away and smiled, looking at
her wedding ring.

"You know, you don't have to worry about
certain things anymore, baby."

"Like what, Max?"

"Like this."

He took her left hand and touched the wedding
ring given to her by his mother, and using a simple cantus,
transmuted the white gold of the ring into rhodium - a substance
deadly to lycans.

"Feel anything, Jen?"

"Um no, why?"

I just made your ring into rhodium. If you
weren't a Primulus you'd be screaming right now."

"Max! That was a risk!"

"No, not really. You really are just like me.
This is so awesome."

Jennie gazed into her husband's hazel eyes
and smiled, before leaning forward and enveloping his mouth with
hers, their tongues intertwining in a sensuous dance of desire and
sweet breath.

###

"Greetings, King Krynos. I bring good
tidings," said Michael, as he walked into Krynos' private chambers
unannounced.

In most situations, the king would have
reprimanded the interloper, but aside from the fact that Michael
was the most powerful archangel in existence, Krynos felt
completely subordinate to any of the team, having killed Jennie,
which in turn caused Draagh's disappearance from the universe
at-large.

"Greetings, Archangel. Of which tidings do
you speak? Naught can be good, as I have committed acts most
vile."

"Krynos, please do not blame yourself for
what happened. I truly believe it was part of Father's plan. There
may yet be a way to defeat the Grigori, as well as the Vrol."

"But I am a risk factor; that much is
certain."

"Not anymore. Not anymore."

"How so, Michael?"

"We have developed a cantus to protect
everyone in our vicinity from being controlled. We are all
perfectly safe."

"Does this mean I may return to assist in
battle? I shall throw myself upon my own sword if I am not able to
fight in the defense of the noble Jennie Gunnarsson and her good
husband Max."

"You may, and please, do not do any sword
throwing just yet," laughed Michael, as he held his hand out to the
king.

###

The following day, Max and Jennie decided to
check in on Liliana and Clarisa in the Rhönen Dominion. Jennie
hadn't seen her daughter since her transformation, and needed to
come up with an excuse for her new eye color, being as the child
was immensely perceptive.

Jennie was lying in bed, her perfect figure
curled up against her husband (who wasn't too shabby either). As
she gently traced a finger down his taught torso, she asked, "Max,
what are we going to tell Liliana?"

"About what, sweetie?"

"My green eyes. They're
super-noticeable."

"Oh yeah. Um, how about you got a gen-mod. It
can be done at the ophthalmologist anyway. The technology's been
around for years."

"Okay. Good idea. Let's get dressed and go
see her."

###

"Abuelita, are we to have dinner
together?" asked Liliana, who was completely covered in mud from a
recent session of training with the
Youth
Brigade
.

"Just as soon as you've cleaned up, sweetie.
Go take a shower and put on some fresh clothes."

"May my friends Janie and Tommy join us?"