THE VROL TRILOGY (98 page)

"Ok, everyone - ready?" asked Max, as he
pulled his katana out of its sheath and pointed it to the soft
earth. His sword vibrated slightly as it emitted a beautiful, blue
glow. Then the typical 4D slip sphere of influence developed and
grew out one hundred meters on either end, and in a concussive
flash the entire group was gone, minus Socrates, who was monitoring
their trip.

Everyone stood in place, at the ready,
looking around, but all they heard was the chirping of birds. They
were in an overgrowth of jungle foliage, and as Draagh waved his
hand, a very run-down, dilapidated space transport appeared to
their north - The Machu Picchu.

"Oh wow, it's even more of a piece of garbage
than I remembered," said Jennie sarcastically.

"Hey, it did its job, Love. Got me here,
where we met."

"And you nearly killed him," added
Bagatelle.

"Papi, I really do like your spacecraft. Will
we go for a ride in it one day?" asked Liliana sweetly.

"So Max, this is your space ship?" asked
Jessica, looking the craft over with the utmost in curiosity, "I
think it looks pretty cool, well, considering I've never seen a
space ship before. Does it have a toilet? I really didn't have time
to go before we left."

Max pulled a key fob out of his pocket, and
pointed it at the cargo bay door on the back of his craft. The door
silently lowered as the lycan commander walked toward it.

"Jess, up through the cargo bay, left
side. Sign on the second door says
Head
. And yes, Lili, we will one day soon, but
first you need to meet your grandmother," Max instructed
her.

"Success, my son! Excellent work! Now, from
here, we split into groups," Draagh blurted out with great
enthusiasm.

"Hey Pops, why are we splitting up? Max did
such a great job getting us here already," stated Jennie.

"We are actually going to two different
locations," said Draagh, "because Max is retrieving his mother but
Bagatelle is taking a group to Vera, being as he knows the moon
better than anyone else."

"But how will we stay in communication? Our
comms won't work across million of miles - Vera doesn't orbit
Azul," exclaimed Max.

"Oh but they shall, my dear boy. Yes they
shall. I have enhanced our comms, enabling Socrates to function as
a communications relay from the Hub as you greet your mother and we
search for a proper base of operations on Vera. I would sincerely
love to see the look on your mother's face when you show up, but I
can only imagine her shock at seeing such a motely crew at her
doorstep. Yes, I believe this way is best."

Max looked at his father, figuring he
probably looked exactly the same as he did the last day he and
Max's mother had seen each other.

"Michael, will my mother remember you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Like, no chance at all?"

"No. None at all."

"Then would you like to come with us to Azul,
or go with Draagh and everyone else to Vera?"

"I am going to Vera," the archangel said
flatly.

"What are you afraid of, then?"

"I fear nothing, Max."

"Max, my dear boy, it is fine. Michael shall
be a great help on Vera," said Draagh, placing a hand on the
shoulder of the newly-minted lycan/archangel hybrid, "and you
should concentrate on not shocking your mother. You will need to
ease her into your new existence. Have you considered how you are
going to do this?"

"No, not really. I was just going to
basically knock on… her door?"

"Really? Max? Really? That was your plan?
We're going to meet your mother and you can't come up with
something better than that?" asked his wife, with a good deal of
incredulity in her voice.

"Jennie, that might be the best course of
action, as I am relatively certain we are all wanted by the federal
authorities," said Bagatelle with a touch of concern. "They very
well could have all of us on holo-verts throughout the
continents."

"Actually, that's what I was thinking. I
wanted to maintain a partial invisibility cantus around us so
anyone opening the door of the family home would see us, but no one
else outside that area would."

"That would be an excellent idea, my son,"
responded Draagh, pleased with Max's idea.

Jennie stood there, looking like she had a
lollipop taken away from her. She loved Max and was happier than
anyone he was back, but she still maintained her competitive nature
and it always seemed like he came out on top.

"Mami, I believe that Papi has a very sound
idea. I shall guard the perimeter when we arrive at grandmother's
home," Liliana said while drawing her smaller version of a katana,
looking a lot like a small ninja from centuries past.

"That's ok, Lili. I think we'll be just fine.
Plus, I really want my mom…erm… your grandmother - to meet you
without a sword in your hand. She comes from an academic background
and was never very comfortable with weapons."

"I am perfectly fine with that, Papi,"
responded the young lycan resoundingly, putting her sword back into
its scabbard.

"Very well, then. Are we all ready?" asked
Draagh, looking around at the assembled team.

"Jennie, Liliana, come with me please," said
Max, as he walked out of the protective canopy of vegetation.

Bagatelle, Krynos, Gabriel, Jessica and
Michael and walked out also, but split off in the opposite
directions as they prepared to go to the other side of the galaxy.
Socrates appeared in order to assist Max, as Draagh could easily
navigate within the same time-sphere on his own (in fact, he could
have done it in his sleep, after smoking copious amounts of
herb).

"Excellent navigational efforts, Master Max,"
said the computerized assistant. "Query: Would you permit me to
guide you to your home world?"

"Absolutely, Socrates, absolutely," said Max,
displaying a bit of relief in his voice. He was sure that he was
going to use Socrates for virtually every slip he would make for
the next few months.

Max put his hand on Liliana's shoulder as
Jennie wrapped her arms around his waist. Socrates already had
precise coordinates prepared, leading the group to the very
doorstep of his childhood home, so when Max pulled out his katana
and pointed it downwards it was a matter of seconds before their
scenery changed.

Chapter 26 - Hi, Mrs. Wong

Vera

Draagh's team, comprising of not only
the seraphim, but also his sons, the two most powerful archangels
in the universe - Michael and Gabriel, as well as Luigi Bagatelle,
Jessica - a lycan from an alternate Earth - and Krynos, the king of
the Rhönen Dominion in the 43
^rd
century, arrived in a remote location on Vera.

One of the four moons moon orbiting
Vesuvius - a gas giant in Azul's binary system - Vera was a rocky,
cold world. It held a breathable atmosphere - not good enough for
running marathons by any means, but enough to walk around without
respiratory assistance. Miners, who comprised the majority of the
moon's population, wore rebreathers while working, especially when
performing duties underground. A rebreather was a device that
captured good atmosphere from exhaled breath and made it available
to the wearer of the device. Extreme skiers generally wore
oxygen-assist units while flying down snow-covered slopes at
dangerous velocities. Vera was a desired destination for skiers not
only because it had numerous snow-covered peaks, but also due to
the fact that its gravity was slightly higher than Azul standard
(1.125
g
), which in itself
facilitated higher velocities. Max's world had a higher base
gravity than Old-Earth, resulting in the higher strength of
Azulians, as well as their slightly shorter stature (Max being
taller than average height on his world, at 180
centimeters).

The group stood in the middle of a heavily
populated mining operation, looking in all directions, with the
three humans (Bagatelle, Jessica and Krynos) initially unaware that
they were invisible to everyone around them. Jessica grabbed
Gabriel's arm and looked at him with a slightly panicked
expression, but he responded via the comms that all of the team
possessed.

"
Do not worry,
young one. We are unseen by the locals here. My father has made
sure of that
."

"It's obvious no one sees us, but we need to
get into that mine over there," Bagatelle audibly whispered,
"because it's the only location that will let us get to the
military access corridor."

"Then let us navigate there, my good
Bagatelle. You are leader of this expedition now," Draagh said
jovially, causing a miner to look around for a voice that seemingly
came out of nowhere.

"Ah, the good Bagaduchi shall show us his
superior leadership skills, and take us into the formidable depths
of this desolate moon?" inquired Krynos, while making a feeble
attempt at keeping his volume low. He had great knowledge in
leading a kingdom, but was accustomed to being heard. Recon was not
his strong suit.

"
I'll show you
were we can start. From there it's up to you guys with your digging
skills or whatever it is that you do
," said Bagatelle
via the comm.

"
Ah! But
lycans are excellent tunnelers!
" Krynos exclaimed over
the comm, and he was correct. Lycans could dig like no one's
business. In fact, three phase 2 lycans working together could
excavate a tunnel two meters high by two wide and one hundred
meters in length in a matter of minutes.

"
There will be
no need for that, old friend
," Draagh said to his
friend of centuries. "
My sons and I shall
use a bit of nature to hasten the process of creating a base of
operations.
"

Bagatelle nodded in the direction of the mine
entrance, and the entire group followed him. He felt good. He was
finally in command of something again, able to lead a group, and
was sure of the outcome. He would take his motley crew of
travellers down into the caverns and let them perform the heavy
lifting - he was in charge - on a world where he was probably known
as a traitor.

They all followed the former rear admiral
down into a tunnel, taking care not to bump into any of the workers
who were completely unaware of their presence.

Córdoba, Nueva Argentina

"Papi, is this where you grew up?" asked
Liliana, as she looked around at the modest ranch style home on a
decently large patch of lush, green land.

"Yeah, Lili. This is the place. Look over
there, at that tree. I fell out of it when I was about your age and
broke my arm."

He pointed to a large, indigenous tree that
resembled the walnut, but had a deep, orange hue to its bark. It
possessed expansive branches that created a lot of shade, and
reminded Liliana of a tree that she liked back at her own home.

Max looked back at the house -
particularly at the front door. He forged ahead towards it; unsure
of his mother's potential reaction, but certain she would be
pleased to see him. Going to knock on the door, which was still a
custom in the 29
^th
century, he
hesitated momentarily and looked back, silently beckoning his wife
and daughter to stand by his side. Then, with a bit of trepidation,
he rapped lightly on the portal three times. Relieved after having
knocked on the door, he looked over to Jennie and Liliana and
smiled - until someone who was most definitely not his mother
answered.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Wong. Where is my mother?"
asked Max, seeming completely normal to his wife and daughter.

"Master Max. It is good to see you! We
have been worried for the past months. Please, come in," the
elderly china (
chee-na
) said
as she opened the door wide.

"Master Max, I believe I should tell you
that-"

"Mrs. Wong," Max said excitedly, " I would
like for you to meet my wife Jennie, and our daughter Liliana."

Mrs. Wong looked at the two with a visage of
combined pleasure and dismay. She was the Gunnarssons' longtime
caretaker, had practically raised Max since his birth, and had
probably been as worried about him as anyone else since his
disappearance. Max gazed at her lovingly, noting she hadn't changed
throughout the years, even the year he had been offworld. She still
had the same short bob haircut, her black hair framing her round
face. Those of Asian descent were not very numerous on Azul, as no
Asian corporations participated in the exodus that occurred
centuries prior. However, they were represented via their
population percentages in the countries that did participate.

"Young ladies, it is my pleasure. Master Max,
where have you been? The last your mother told me you were going
off to conduct an experiment," she said, as she directed them to
sit on the plush leather couches in the reception room.

"Mrs. Wong, I have plenty of time to tell you
my story, but first - where's my mom?" Max said with tons of haste
in his voice.

"She was taken away nearly six months ago and
has yet to return."

"What? Who did that?" demanded Max, his blood
pressure rising.

"They were high government officials - in
military uniforms. Master Max, things have become really scary
here. They've totally changed - for the worse."

Mrs. Wong had massive stress in her voice,
and Max could smell it, being as he had retained his full symphony
of lycan abilities. He was concerned, but as he had encountered so
many stressful situations over the last few months he was better
able to address it.