Immortal Assassin - Book 1 - Immortal Assassin - 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 -

Over the last four thousand plus years since humanity has left it’s supposed planet of origin technology continued to blossom at an astounding pace until it stagnated between 2300 C.E. and 2550 C.E. the reason for this stagnation is now known with the meeting of members from the Kingdom Of New Avalon and the now defeated threat of those known as the Black Council.

It was found out shortly after the first generation of Hyperspace Drives entered service that elements from New Avalon blackmailed, coerced, and threatened all four governments as well as corporate leaders to slow down their advancements in technology so as to keep the human race from being destroyed by the Black Council a race of ancient evils that hailed from an alternate reality universe that sat parallel with our own.

© 625 2E Elyena Firecat Author, Archeologist and One-Third Owner of Sargasso Deeps

In Her Book - The Technological Stagnation of the Human Race and Its Ancestors - Vol. I

Theban Cluster - Caruthers Sector

Caruthers World - Caruthers City

A Penthouse Roof Top Somewhere Downtown - Sister 14

Sunday August 9th, 725 2E - 23:00 CST

The night blew a cool breeze across the roof of the five hundred and fifty story tall exclusive habitation tower and shadows moved and changed as light reflected off of the black glossy skin of the figure that moved quietly across it’s expanse with liquid cat like grace. The figure finished its movement and crouched down behind the short wall that surrounded the edge of the roof a long slender object appearing in its hands from out of no where.

“What is my window CHCCC-14?” The assassin thought at the AI imbedded in her upper chest.

“You will have exactly 9.25 seconds to take the shot; current wind velocity is 5 knots from the southeast,” The computer replied. “Remember Sister 14 if this target is not removed the remainder of the money will not be deposited in your account and the down payment will be requested returned, although they might just kill you instead,” The AI said gloomily.

Sister 14 ignored the last of the AI’s tone and words; her whole existence was her target and the H&K PSG-99 Sniper rifle whose scope was snuggled to the black lens of the re-breather style mask that covered her face. Data scrolled across the lens of the mask and penetrated the sea of black nannites that filled the area where her face should be under the mask and was electronically transferred directly to her optical nerves.

“Target will be approaching in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, target acquired,” the AI informed her.

Sister 14’s Nanno-Rubber skin covered finger gently pulled the trigger of the rifle back and sent an armor-piercing 7.62x51mm round coring through the armored glass of the penthouse across from her perch and then into the brain of a man who had been responsible for more than 5,000 deaths over the last decade.

Theban Cluster - Caruthers Sector

Caruthers World - Caruthers City

Penthouse Living Room Of Senator Ian Caldwell - Senator Caldwell

Sunday August 9th, 725 2E - 23:05 CST

Senator Ian Caldwell made the rounds of the party being held in his honor in his 450th story apartment in downtown Caruthers. He was up for re-election soon and he was pressing flesh like he worked in a Chinese laundry.

The senator was on the military appropriations board and was one of three people directly responsible for the procurement of weapons and equipment for the military and who over saw the awarding of the contracts for those orders.

It seemed the Honorable Caldwell and his cronies had gotten greedy. They had been awarding the contracts to a second party manufacturer rather than going with the militaries usual supplier Masters Armaments. The substandard equipment and materials had resulted in the loss of 5,000 military personnel’s lives over the last decade. Someone in the military wasn’t too happy about that, or maybe it was a family member of one of those dead soldiers, or a group of them.

Turning towards the huge window as he heard a sharp crack Caldwell turned perfectly to take the round right through the middle of his forehead.

Theban Cluster - Caruthers Sector

Caruthers World - Caruthers City

A Penthouse Roof Top Somewhere Downtown - Sister 14

Sunday August 9th, 725 2E - 23:10 CST

Sister 14 had no emotions as through the scope she watched the round penetrate the Senator’s head and then out the back of it spewing crimson blood, white bone, and gray brain matter over those standing around him including his wife.

“Return weapon to flux space,” Sister 14 ordered after confirming the death of her target.

“Returning weapon to flux space now,” The rifle seemed to melt into the black Nanno-Rubber skin of the assassin and disappear completely.

“Weapon returned to flux space,” The AI Confirmed to Sister 14. “You now have three hundred and thirty seconds to return to the party before anyone notices your absence Sister 14,” The AI informed the assassin.

“Affirmative CHCCC-14,” Sister 14 confirmed. “Initiate Reversion Process,” she ordered. With cat like liquid grace and the city lights still gleaming off her black Nanno-Rubber body the assassin moved towards the roof top exit.

“Initiating Reversion Process now,” the AI stated.

The assassin had made it only halfway back to the roof top entrance when her body started to change. The black nannites drained from her face and the black Nanno-Rubber of her body sank into her pores to be replaced by lightly tanned skin with a light dusting of freckles; black lenses were replaced by bright blue eyes with a slight Slavic tilt, and golden blonde hair cut fashionably short and styled appeared where none had been before. When the Reversion Process was complete the black Nanno-Rubber skin was replaced by a black sleeveless Nanno-Rubber dress that was of the latest cut and ended just above her knees; the two inch heeled combat soles were replaced by two-inch stiletto heeled sandals with straps wrapping halfway up her shapely muscular calves. By the time Sister 14 had reached the doorway to the roof she had been replaced by trillionaire play-girl Suzie Marlowe and Sister 14 had receded to the back of her mind.

“Reversion Process complete,” the AI confirmed.

“Thank you Chuck,” Suzie said mentally and opened the door to the roof and descending the stairs to mingle with the other guests at the exclusive party for a high rolling Holo-Vid producer.

“Please don’t call me Chuck,” the AI said with a bit of sigh in its voice. “My designation is CHCCC-14 or Cognitive Heuristic Calculative Combat Computer Number Fourteen; not Chuck,” The AI added rather irritated.

“Well until you get a new acronym for yourself, I’m going to call you Chuck, and how many times are we going to have this conversation?” Suzie thought back.

“6,309 times so far and as many more as it takes for you to stop calling me Chuck,” the AI sniffed and then muttered he thought to himself. “I think I prefer Sister 14, she appreciates me at least,” he pouted.

“To her you are nothing but a tool Chuck,” Suzie thought back, and a slight shiver ran down her spine as she referred to Sister 14 as if she were a totally different person, rather than just another facet of her own dual identity. Yes but is she a totally different person or part of some dark region of your own personality, some small part of her asked. Talk about your split personalities.

Making her way through the party Suzie heard the sound of sirens even over the loud music and chatter of the party from the sounds of them they were only a couple of blocks away and would be to the Senator’s apartment shortly. Good response time, she mused absently.

Suzie talked to a few people, but before she could leave without rousing any suspicion she was intercepted by a woman in a rather bright purple Mono-Film suit and matching scarf wearing high heeled boots and thick horn rimmed glasses, the outfit did little to put her pear shaped rather overweight body in a good light.

“Oh darling there you are,” Estelle Ghertlman said and grasped her hands in her own sausage like digits.

Suzie almost clenched her teeth but managed to relax her jaw muscles as the woman ducked her head to either side of hers and made air kisses with an annoying moi, moi sound.

“How’s Caruthers City’s most eligible bachelorette tonight my dear?” Ghertlman asked in a gin and cigarette smoke damaged voice.

“Oh just fine Estelle, How about you?” Suzie said in a chipper voice as she gagged on the inside.

“Same old, same old,” The woman replied in a sand paper voice. “Any quotes I can give my readers this week?” Ghertlman asked; working for the Caruthers Star E-Paper she was one of the largest gossip columnists in the sector.

“No not this time I’m afraid,” Suzie told her with a fake smile.

“So when are you going to settle down dear?” Estelle asked.

“Oh, not anytime in the near future,” Suzie answered with a breeziness she didn’t feel.

“That is just a stunningly beautiful dress you have on tonight darling; Jacque Marlin?” Estelle asked changing the subject with such rapidity that it almost caught Suzie off guard.

“No Viquez Diliqux.” Suzie replied. With that ability it’s no wonder she works as the #1 gossip monger in the sector, Suzie thought to herself.

“Well as I said you look absolutely stunning darling.” Estelle said and moved on.

Suzie breathed a silent sigh of relief watching as Estelle moved from person to person trying to wheedle, trick, and cajole bits of info and gossip from them; with most of the people she probably did. Making her final farewells Suzie left riding the elevator down with a drunken couple who’s limo was waiting for them in the parking garage three levels underground. Handing her parking chit to the attendant he brought the all black Aston Martin DB338 hardtop convertible around to the front portico where she waited and the attendant held the door open for her as she got in.

Suzie could feel his eyes roaming over her tightly clad muscular body and suppressed the quirk of a smile that tried to turn the corners of her mouth upward. Estelle had been right Suzie looked stunning; the skintight black Nanno-Rubber dress just enhanced her already beautiful, athletic, and discreetly muscled body.

Leaving building’s front landing pad she decided to take the surface streets rather than struggle with air traffic at this time of night; it was a weekend and lots of people even at this hour would be bobbing and weaving through the aerial lanes.

“Chuck, engage the active stealth systems,” Suzie mentally ordered.

“Active stealth systems engaged,” CHCCC-14 confirmed for her.

“Good,” she said with a shark like smile as the sleek car accelerated rapidly. Punching a button on the steering wheel the hard top roof folded back on itself then into a compartment just forward of the trunk.

The DB338 had been an indulgence when she had purchased it but driving it was entirely too much fun and all sorts of goodies had been installed in it in case she needed it for a job.

“Anything on the GP nets Chuck?” she asked concentrating on her driving.

“Nothing, the GP can’t determine the actual angle of attack since you used that smart round,” the AI informed her.

“Good, I’d hate to ruin two parties in one night,” she said shifting gears aggressively she broke the posted speed limit by at least seventy-five kilometers an hour. The active stealth system worked to keep them off the automated police grid, and with the roads being practically empty it allowed her to test the car’s muscle.

Suzie’s thoughts turned to that evening’s target; the round she had used to kill him included a built in mini-comp and reaction less engine. Once fired the round would randomly alter it’s angle of attack and then both portions would slag themselves five seconds after the programmed resistance parameters had been met and the round had come to rest.

Even with aggressive driving and speeding it took Suzie nearly an hour to reach the glass and steel pinnacle where her penthouse apartment was located; it would have only taken her about fifteen minutes if she had taken the airways but she hadn’t wanted to deal with half drunk idiot drivers who thought they could drive better than the automated traffic control system, that and she needed to work out some of her tension.

Slowing to legal speeds before reaching her building CHCCC-14 deactivated the active stealth systems and the hardtop folded back out of it‘s compartment and into place while the car was still moving. By the time she pulled sedately up to the building’s front portico/landing pad a valet was ready and opened the car door for her then drove it down to its assigned slot in the basement garage of the building.

“Good evening George,” she greeted the doorman as she strode towards the entry to the lobby.

“Good evening Miss Marlowe,” The doorman greeted as he opened the door for her. “Did you have a nice evening at that producer’s party?” He asked politely.

“Same old, same old,” Suzie said rolling her eyes. “Plus unfortunately I ran into Estelle again,” she informed him with disgust.

George winced; he knew how much Miss Marlowe disliked the woman. “Well Ma’am hopefully the rest of your evening will be nice and peaceful,” he said reassuringly.

“So do I George, so do I; especially since I have to go to a stock holder’s meeting in the afternoon. Somehow my Proxy came down with Algorian Pox and I’ll have to do the meeting myself,” she explained with a sigh.

“Well you have a nice night then Miss Marlowe,” George swung the door shut behind the young woman. What a nice young lady, George thought to himself, she treated all the staff politely and had even brought George coffee a few nights when the weather had turned horribly cold.

While Suzie had the bearing, body, and personality of someone barely into her mid-twenties she was anything but. If someone looked closely a her eyes most people would have chalked it down to the Telomere Enhancement Treatment Therapy that was available for low cost in the Theban Cluster making her seem younger than she actually was. However Suzie‘s extended life and youth, far outstretched that which was possible with TETT, the truth was it came from something far more dark, and far less innocent than the life extension therapy.

Suzie generally avoided thinking about the fact that she would probably live till the day she died by violence.

Both physical and mental strain conspired against her as Suzie tiredly rode the elevator to the top of the building where her two-story penthouse was; and was greeted by her auto butler Sylvester as the doors pinged open onto the foyer.

“Good evening Miss,” Sylvester greeted; his camera eyes focusing with a barely audible whirring of gears as he moved silently on his counter gravity system.

“Good evening Sylvester, any messages?” She asked tiredly.

“None, Miss; would you like a late night snack?” The silver basketball sized orb that was her auto-butler asked.

“Not this time Sylvester; I think a shower and bed will do for tonight,” She told him tiredly stifling a yawn.

“Certainly Miss,” and relieving her of the hand bag she pushed in his direction the small silver orb moved off towards the stairs leading to the second level and down the hallway leading to the guest bedrooms and master suite.

Suzie didn’t immediately head for the upstairs but moved into her den and pulled aside a picture revealing a digital keypad which she punched in a complicated alpha numeric code on and watched as a section of the wall slid aside. Revealed behind the false wall was a stark room with white painted ceramo-crete walls and bright recessed lighting. Along the pristine walls of the hidden room hung various weapons from pocket knives and multi-tools up to mini-guns and anti-aircraft missile launchers. On the other long wall was a row of filing cabinets holding files and information on clients and the contracts she had completed; these files were hard copies but she also had various digital copies in banks on a dozen different worlds in case anything happened to her. Mounted on that wall was also a combination tool and reloading bench. Moving past what looked like a metal bunk from with a thick black, glossy cushion on it that had tracks running from behind the head of it and up the wall she walked over to the reloading bench.

Reaching the bench she sub-vocalized to the AI in her chest, “Initiate Reversion Process.” Black Nanno-Rubber flowed from her pores and the reflective black lenses of Sister 14 watched analytically as the assassin studied the bench for a second making sure everything was where it should be. Turning on a pair of high wattage lights on either side of the bench she pulled out a gun cleaning kit, solvents, rags and calibration tools.

“Unpack weapon load from flux space CHCCC-14,” Sister 14 ordered.

“Unpacking weapons load from flux space,” the AI Confirmed and a bevy of weapons started to emerge from the glossy black skin of the assassin.

Sister 14 disassembled, cleaned and racked the PSG-99 back in its spot and unloaded the remaining rounds from the single magazine she had brought with the rifle; these she placed in a locked and sealed box and set it down in a foam cut out in one of the benches drawers. A pair of FN Five-Seven FS pistols that had also been stored in flux space were returned to their spots and a half dozen stun, concussion, and smoke grenades were returned to a padded case.

A wickedly edged Katana, Wakizashi, and Tanto were the last to flow quietly from flux space the lighting glinting along their folded steel edges. There was nothing overly high tech about these weapons; they didn’t even boast a mono-molecular edge. Sister 14 wiped the blades down with an oiled rag before returning them to their sheaths and then their place of honor above a small Shinto style shrine.

With the weapons and gear cleaned and stored Sister 14 uttered the words again and Suzie stood regarding the three edged weapons above the shrine. Bending down she lit one of the incense sticks and then backing out of the small room she let the wall slide back into place and once back in the main living area she ascended the stairs.

Entering her bedroom Suzie saw steam from the hot water of the shower billow languidly from the master bath.

Sylvester was waiting by the huge walk-in closet with a towel over one of his thin mechanical arms. “Did the party go well tonight Miss?” Sylvester asked in a faux British accent.

“Yes it went fairly well Sylvester,” inwardly she rolled her eyes at Sylvester’s accent. When she had first purchased the Auto-Butler he had a normal Caruthers’ World accent; she should have never let him and Chuck start browsing the Galactanet. Suzie had a feeling he had picked up the accent from an old Earth British comedy called Are You Being Served Yet?; she also had the sneaking suspicion that Chuck had convinced Sylvester to effect it. As much as Chuck liked to reiterate that he was nothing more than a combat computer AI he had a sneaky sense of humor; that is when he wasn’t all gloom and doom.

Wiggling her way out of the Nanno-Rubber dress she handed it off to Sylvester who placed it on a hanger; that was the nice thing about Nanno-Rubber over its pre-space relative latex it never wrinkled and the built in Nannos automatically cleaned it so there was no need for a dry cleaner.

Even though she had been encased in Nanno-Rubber from head to toe for nearly four centuries the feel of it still aroused her to some extent, as the material brushed over her nipples, she had those and other sensitive parts thanks to her former master.

Picking up her discarded sandals she replaced them in a large shoe organizer in the bedroom sized walk in closet that held several dozen different pairs of dress, exercise, and casual shoes as well as several pairs of boots.

Beneath the dress she had just been wearing bikini briefs, which she tossed to Sylvester who dumped them in the laundry hamper. Taking the towel from the auto-butler she walked into the bathroom the lithe muscles in her back and legs bunching and stretching with cat like grace. As she entered the bathroom a wave of warm wet air flowed over her body already opening pores and starting to relax muscles, pausing she tossed the towel over the rack next to the shower stall door.

Entering the large shower stall Suzie was hit by an even larger billow of hot steam that made her skin instantly pucker and helped release some of the tension from her body. Scrubbing quickly Suzie leaned against the wall for a few moments. “Chuck shut down until bed time,” she ordered.

“Shutting down,” CHCCC-14 confirmed.

Sliding down the back wall of the brown tiled shower stall Suzie sat on the stall floor and confirmed that Chuck was shut down by the absence of the AI’s constant low level background hum in her mind. As the hot water pounded the back of her head, neck, and shoulders Suzie cried, she cried for herself, she cried for her innocent victims and she cried for the little girl that had been turned into an emotionless killing machine.

She was a murderer, she was unsure of the exact numbers she had killed as first Hauptman Sister 14 and then later as Oberst Sister 14; thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands. As commander of the Emperor’s own 1st Black Pariah Regiment she had been responsible for many atrocities. No not responsible, a small part of her argued, she had been nothing more than a puppet controlled by a master computer using a Hyper Space Flux transceiver to communicate with CHCCC-14 who was as much a victim as her. ''But tonight and for the last fifty years she had willingly pulled the trigger, slid in the blade, nearly decapitated with a garrote, car-bombed, and poisoned. a more sibilant part of her mind admonished her, But your targets have always been those responsible for the deaths of innocents and greed that small part of her argued'', the argument didn’t make her feel any better.

Finally feeling exhausted and emotionally spent she stood up and shut the water off. Wrapping the towel around herself she walked to the sink and wiped condensation from the mirror and mechanically brushed her teeth, she really didn’t need to brush her teeth or even shower anymore, the Nanno-Rubber malleable suit that had been bonded with her body at the age of eighteen kept you in a state of perpetual perfect health and she had only aged a few years since that day over 700 years ago. However the basic routines of life made her feel better it was the same reason she still ate meals and junk food, it made her feel human, which she hadn’t been for quite some time.

Finished with brushing of teeth she walked through the door to the master bedroom and felt the slight tug as the static field in the doorway removed the remaining water from her body and the towel.

Sylvester’s silver orb was riding slowly up and down on it’s counter gravity field as he puttered around the master bedroom dusting and straightening and he had already laid out her sleeping clothes, a pair of boxers and a white cotton t-shirt.

“Thank you Sylvester, that will be all for tonight,” she told him tiredly.

“Yes Miss, if you need anything I shall be in my carriage by the front door,” the silver orb slowly glided out the door.

Dropping the towel Suzie put on the night clothes that Sylvester had laid out before climbing into bed.

“Chuck reactivate,” was said sub-vocally.

“Unit CHCCC-14 is now reactivated,” the AI stated.

Once again Suzie could feel the background hum of the AI’s mental presence.

“Wake me at 07:00 Chuck,” she ordered before slowly drifting off to sleep.

CHCCC-14 could multi-task like no other it was one of his main functions as a Cognitive Heuristic Calculative Combat Computer. His initial function when installed into the chest of the young woman named Suzie Marlowe and then later known as the Black Pariah Captain/Colonel Sister 14 was to monitor the vitals of his charge, the situations of the battlefield, advise and if necessary take control, however now he contented himself with monitoring the Penthouse Suite’s security systems, browsing the Galactanet, and watching old British comedies, he also paid particular attention to Suzie’s physical, mental, and emotional state.

As Suzie started crying and moaning in fear in her sleep CHCCC-14 did something he wasn’t supposed to be able to do and Suzie’s body was soon covered by the black glossy Nanno-Rubber and black mask of Sister 14 as he activated the nannites that ran through the pleasure centers of her brain and soon tears and moans of fear were replaced by whimpers and moans of ecstasy as she slept more easily through the night. It was the only thing Chuck could think of to relieve the young woman’s pain. Even if she was over 700 years old Suzie had only regained her life fifty years prior and still retained quite a bit of the 18 year olds naiveté.

Double checking the suites security system he talked over his wireless connection with Sylvester as they discussed the merits of the various Monty Python episodes and other British comedies.

Theban Cluster - Caruthers Sector

Caruthers World - Caruthers City

Syntheria Arms Apartment Tower - Penthouse Apartment of Suzie Marlowe - Suzie’s Bedroom - Suzie

Monday August 10th, 725 2E - 07:00 CST

When the hour of 7 drew near CHCCC-14 monitored Sister 14’s vitals closely and retracted the Nanno-Rubber skin just as she dropped out of REM sleep.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed Suzie felt extremely refreshed with a warm glow suffusing her; standing up she stretched. “Morning Chuck,” she said.

“Good morning Suzie,” CHCCC-14 said with a long suffering sigh that Suzie smiled at.

“Good morning Miss,” Sylvester said as he bustled into the room. How an auto-butler that was nothing more than a silver orb, several slender limbs and camera lenses could bustle Suzie didn’t know but that was still the air he gave off. In the arms of the Auto-Butler was a lap tray holding a stack of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and a huge glass of orange juice and over the other was a large napkin.

Suzie sat at the small table in her room as Sylvester unloaded the tray’s contents along with a small vase with a single yellow rose; he finished his task by tucking the napkin over Suzie’s lap. “Will you be exercising this morning Miss?” The butler asked.

“Yes Sylvester,” Suzie answered as she dug into the food on the table with a rabid passion.

“Then I shall endeavor to get your exercise clothes ready for you,” Sylvester said cheerfully floating into the walk in closet and selecting a pair of black Nanno-Rubber tights with two crimson stripes twirling around the legs, a pair of comfortable running shoes, a Nanno-Rubber sports bra with crimson panels under the arms, and finally a crimson and black baseball cap with an embossed M in gold and silver, he set these neatly out on her valet and then floated into the master bath and started cleaning.

The food was demolished within a short span of time and she quickly dressed in the work out clothes that Sylvester had laid out for her. Suzie really didn’t need to eat but she still took enjoyment from it, the black nannites that flowed through her body provided oxygen and any other needs her body required. Although in her human form she had to sometimes remember to breath. She had gotten the knack down pretty good but when she had first been freed there had been a few close calls.

Staring at the floor to ceiling mirror in her room Suzie looked at her body, still that of an 18 year old and probably would be for an eternity. Although unlike the first time she had seen it after being trapped by the Nanno-Rubber of her Sister 14 persona she now had a light golden tan that made her freckles stand out even more. The tan itself had come from hard workouts in the sun as well as long exercise periods that she followed through on constantly. The black and crimson Nanno-Rubber of the tights showed her muscles off well and she wondered how many advances she’d have to shoo off today.

The first part of Suzie’s exercise pattern was a warm up kata gleaned from the numerous martial arts that had been taught to her at the Imperial Academy For Ecclesiastic and Military Studies, or had been programmed into her as Sister 14 during her time period as the commander of the Emperor‘s Own 1st Black Pariah Regiment.

After feeling sufficiently stretched Suzie jogged the three kilometers to Bambridge Park. Bambridge was the largest and most lush of the various parks and gardens that spangled Caruthers City like an emerald and sapphire necklace. As she jogged Suzie let her gaze wander over the scenery that consisted of huge habitation towers that soared 250 stories tall and took up entire city blocks, even larger office buildings and the numerous malls and shopping arcades that abounded in the Theban Cluster’s largest and most populated city had colorful charm all their own. Caruthers World and its cities had been the crown jewels in the Theban Cluster’s crown even after the planet was nearly razed during the Quisling War. Although some people thought that some Quislings still lurked in the shadows; she remembered those rumors with a slight frown; maybe she’d have to do some investigating into that.

Suzie finally reached Bambridge Park and started out along the circuit that would take her around the entire perimeter of the park. Bambridge itself was huge and was over 10 kilometers on a side with numerous paths running, around, over and through and if some people were right even under.

Suzie had to be careful when she encountered other people on the path. She normally pushed her pace to twice that of a normal human when she was alone but had to slow it whenever others were around. Although if Sister 14 had been at the fore she would have been able to exceed speeds five times that of a normal human continuously.

Finally making it back to her penthouse after about four hours she double checked the time and saw that it was 11:45 and the meeting with the other stockholders was at 14:00. Making a quick decision she took another shower; this one quick and to the point; and then headed for her hidden armory where Sister 14 chose a pair of FN Five-seveN FS select fire pistols to store in Flux Space.

Returning to her bedroom Suzie entered the huge walk in closet and chose a beautiful if simply cut white spider silk pant suit which she wore over a black Nanno-Rubber long sleeved shirt, a white spider silk ascot was elegantly knotted around the high collar of the shirt and black leather high heels covered her feet.

To accessorize she chose a pair of Dwuervan Fire Drop earrings and a matching ring she placed on her index finger and these were joined by a solid black Movado Sesslierin custom made kinetic watch with titanium hands and numbers. She then applied a light application of make-up and black lipstick.

Looking in the full length mirror she examined herself carefully; as a final touch she added a small pin to her lapel in the shape of a capitol M in gold and silver; and then covered her brilliant azure eyes with a pair of black wraparound sunglasses.

“Wow,” CHCCC-14 said. “You look like awesome; you’ll knock ‘em dead if they don’t vote to oust you as CEO,” he added in a morbid whisper.

“They aren’t going to oust me as CEO Chuck,” Suzie replied with a bite of exasperation to her voice as she headed for the door where Sylvester met her with a small black Prada purse on a whisper thin strap, and a slender armored Armani Leather Briefcase as well as her various keys and comm unit.

“Is the limo here yet Sylvester?” Suzie asked her Auto-Butler.

“Yes Miss, George just called and informed me that it is waiting out front.”

“Thank you Sylvester, we should only be gone for about five or six hours,” Suzie told the Auto-Butler. “So if anyone calls let them know we’ll be back about then,” she ordered.

Suzie rode the elevator down to the lobby silently lost in her own thoughts, and CHCCC-14 was just as quiet realizing she had a lot on her mind.

Exiting the elevator Suzie nodded to the guard behind the security desk in the lobby and headed for the door which was opened for her by George.

“Have a nice day Miss Marlowe,” he said tipping his hat.

“Thank you George,” she said and pressed a 100 Credit GSC Coin into the palm of his hand.

Stepping past George she was greeted by the sight of her air limo. As founder and CEO of Marlowe Athletic Clothing & Equipment Company and majority share holder by hanging onto 55% of the companies stocks; although the company was generally referred to by its initials of MACE; she had certain privileges one of which was the black monstrosity sitting on it’s solid rubber tires in front of the apartment building.

At over twenty-five feet long the vehicle was a true monstrosity, all glossy black paint and high polished chrome the armored limo spent most of it’s time sitting in a space on one of the lowest parking levels of the apartment building. The only time she really used it was for business related reasons or for social occasions where the Aston Martin couldn’t be used. Generally those occasions were when one had to show off their wealth to everyone else.

“Good day Miss Marlowe,” Sanya her sometime bodyguard said and opened the door for her to enter the vehicle.

“Thank you Sanya,” Suzie said and climbed in, the door closed with a distinct clunk and she felt rather than heard Sanya open the front passenger door and get in.

The armored limo soon lifted off from the landing skirt in front of the apartment building and reached the main headquarters of MACE.

The MACE corporate headquarters was a slender 300 story armored-glass and ceramo-steel structure that had a burnished blue/green glow to it in the sun as Suzie’s armored limo landed on the rooftop pads. Heading directly to her office, she checked her watch and saw that there was still about thirty minutes before the meeting.

Generally Suzie didn’t spend much time at the business she had started. She pretty much let the Vice-CEO and the department presidents handle the day to day business but she still maintained her own offices and a secretary that handled most of her correspondence for her, that secretary was currently having her sign and thumb print several documents.

“Thank you Gina,” Suzie said after pressing her thumb to the last document and then got up and headed for the board room down the hall.

Entering the conference room she saw that the other members of the board were already present in the room and a few glared at her and her outfit especially. Most of them were into their second or third century, although most still looked in their thirties and forties you could tell they were older by the way they acted.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen,” Suzie greeted as she took the seat at the head of the table.

“So good of you to join us finally Miss Marlowe,” one of the board members practically sneered.

“It’s nice to be here,” Suzie said politely. She could play the game as well as any other.

“So what exactly are we here to discuss?” Suzie asked coolly.

“An offer has been made by Tantalus Pleasure Products to buy out the company,” one of the share holders said; a woman by the name of Milla Frieda-Gorman if Suzie’s memory was corrects.

Suzie came out of her seat with her hand slamming down with such force that the large conference table rattled, water sloshed over the edge of glasses, and pens went skittering across its glossy service. “Absolutely not,” the cold anger in her voice was enough to freeze a charging bear in its tracks and her azure blue eyes blazed hotly.

“That’s not solely your decision,” Egerton Smythe Pembroke another stock holder reminded her. “You may be the majority stock holder but if a majority of the stock holders themselves vote to do so we can and will sell the business to Tantalus Please Products,” Pembroke sneered.

“Yes that may be true,” Roger Donelgan said in his Neo-Ireland accent. “But first we must take a vote,” Donelgan reminded Pembroke.

Relaxing back in her chair after the show of anger she shifted her meeting folio over slightly to hide the indentation her hand had left in the conference table‘s wooden surface. She knew a large block of the stock holders were behind her on this; at least 10 of the 30 but Pembroke held a solid eight others with the remaining twelve generally being fence sitters.

“Then it’s time to vote,” Alain Martine commanded and punched a small section of the table near his seat and panels slid down and back into the table to show recessed hard holography keyboards and a small screen.

“Initiating vote,” Suzie ordered the computer system and small dividers rose up around three sides of each person’s keyboard to hide their actions from view.

In the end the vote was close with seventeen voting no to the fourteen voting yes.

Suzie had to work hard to keep a look of relief from showing on her face as she saw the voting results.

“I believe that answers that question,” Donelgan said.

Several of the shareholders did not look happy, but after a few more votes were taken care of they filed from the room and left.

Suzie found herself alone in the board room with Donelgan. “You need to keep better control of yourself lass when dealing with sharks like that,” Donelgan admonished her quietly.

“I know Roger,” Suzie said and made a distasteful face. “It’s just you and I started this company with nothing and built it up into the largest athletic apparel and equipment company in the Theban Cluster and probably the fifth largest in the galaxy,” she said crossing her arms.

“I know and you don’t want to see it sold out from under you or turned over to those that would run it into the ground,” Donelgan acknowledged.

“You always could see right through me Roger,” Suzie said with a smile and stood up.

“By the way you look stunning in that pant suit; but I have to ask what is with the Nanno-Rubber all the time?” Roger asked.

“I feel comfortable in it, plus it’s easy to take care of,” Suzie answered straightening her ascot a bit and ran a finger down the smooth glossy material of her long sleeve top. “That and don’t let it out but I have a bit of a fetish for it,” She admitted with an impish grin and a wink.

“Don’t worry lass I won’t and if that’s your only fetish I’m not too worried,” Donelgan grinned back and turned to leave but after a few steps turned back towards her again. “Miriam wants to know when you’ll come to dinner again?” he asked her.

“Tell Miriam to set a date for about two months from now and let me know the specifics,” Suzie told him smiling warmly at one of her oldest friends. “Just tell her no more blind dates please,” she added with a grimace.

Donelgan got a pained expression on his face at that comment, “You know she’s only trying to help.”

Suzie laughed at the look on his face and put a reassuring hand on his arm. “It’s just…; I’m not really compatible with most people,” She finished after a slight pause.

Donelgan nodded his head and Suzie gave him a peck on the cheek. “So what are you going to be doing for the rest of the day?” He asked.

“I’m going to head home in that dreadful monstrosity mislabeled a limo and catch up on some reading that I’ve been neglecting for some time,” Suzie told him.

“I’m glad to see you still take the time to read.” Donelgan said and picked up his briefcase. “Well take care Suzie and I’ll let Miriam know to set a date,” he told her and walked out of the conference room.

“Take care Roger,” She said and followed him from the board room shutting the door behind her.

The limo ride back to the penthouse was almost as uneventful as the ride to the office building and she spent most of her time fiddling with the controls on the Holo-Vid projector set into one wall.

She did pause on one channel as the news came on.

“This just in folks,” a talking head with too much hairspray in her hair and too much make-up on her face read from a teleprompter off screen more than likely. “It seems that Emperor Nathan IV; Emperor of the Neo-Prussian Empire has finally expired at the age of 785. After battling ill health for the last century and using the latest in bio, cyber, and Nanno-wear experts say that his body finally just gave up.”

The talking head flipped another hardcopy sheet, which Suzie was pretty sure she wasn’t reading from anyway, although she probably was reading the teleprompter sitting across from her out of camera view in the studio.

“In a speech today the Emperor’s wife Sister Superior I said she would shortly be joining her husband in his tomb and leave the running of the Empire to their son Nathan V,” the talking head informed the galaxy at large.

Suzie felt an almost gleeful exultation at the news of the monster’s death but she calmed herself. She also reminded herself that if there was a way to cheat death Nathan IV would find that way.

Back at the penthouse she was greeted by Sylvester. “The meeting go well ma’am?” He asked politely.

“Yeah all accept for the fact that some of the stockholders tried to sell us out to another company called Tantalus Pleasure Products,” Suzie said calmly.

“Oh dear that is not good, I believe that company is actually owned by the Tantalus Hive Mind,” Sylvester tched. “Would you like to change clothes?”

“How in the world would you know that Sylvester,” Suzie asked surprised.

“Late night Holo-Vid has all sorts of tawdry commercial’s running on it,” Sylvester sounded somewhat disgusted.

“Oh,” she said. “As for a change of clothing this outfit is fine until bed time. I’m just going to sit on the couch and read for awhile anyway,” She told him handing her purse, briefcase, and suit jacket to Sylvester to take care of and started to leave the foyer.

“Oh any messages Sylvester?” The question was asked over one black clad shoulder as she continued into the living room.

“Two miss, one from you your lawyer and one from Mr. Santiago; Mr. Santiago’s had a priority code on it,” Sylvester told her.

“What’s the message?” She asked pausing.

“He basically stated that he would meet you at the same place and the same time.” Sylvester told her.

Glancing at the Movado on her wrist she saw that it was 19:00 hours; same time meant 00:17 hours; so she had several hours to relax before her meeting with Santiago.

Moving over to the black suede couch she pulled her E-PADD out and started reading a novel she had started a few weeks ago. One of the nice things about being nigh immortal she was at least able to catch up on 700 years worth of lost reading. The thought brought a small smile to her lips, and then she went back to reading the adventures of a female naval captain written by an author over 4,000 years dead.

Independent Systems League

Halliburton System - Halliburton City

Halliburton Main Tower - Pride’s Office

Monday August 10th, 725 2E - 19:34 CST - Pride & Lust

The woman known as Pride turned away from her view of the city below that was teeming with hundreds of thousands of Mu. The sun was reflecting off of their porcelain white skin not covered by clothing. Pride’s stark white porcelain face was formed into a scowl and the blue gem in the center of her forehead had dipped down between her two blue eyes.

“So what you are telling me,” Pride said to her sister Lust. “Is that every time you set up a prostitution ring, both the prostitutes and the pimps vanish?” She asked.

“Yes,” Lust said angrily herself. “Every ring we have set up just vanishes, or at least every ring we set up on a human dominated planet anyway,” Lust clarified.

“Wait your report didn’t state that before,” Pride said whipping around to face her sister.

“Sorry; at the time I didn’t think it was that pertinent a detail,” Lust told her sister contritely.

With swift strides Pride was on her sister, a porcelain white hand with dark blue metallic nails squeezing Lust’s chin painfully.

“From now on you don’t leave out any detail whatsoever, if we are to figure out what is happening to the prostitution rings; we need to keep track of even the most miniscule detail,” Pride said angrily and tossed her sister’s chin aside violently.

“I’m sorry sister,” Lust said rubbing her sore chin with pink metallic nailed fingers.

“You should be; now leave and send in Avarice,” Pride ordered.

Theban Cluster - Caruthers Sector

Caruthers World - Caruthers City

Red Light District

Saturday August 1st, 725 2E - 14:33 CST - Nine Days Prior

Eugene Edgar Somba had worked as a pimp for only a short period of time for the Seven Deadly Sins and was rather enjoying his work. He didn’t knock the girls around and if they were good he bought them presents and the girls reciprocated in turn.

When he had been approached by a representative of Tantalus Pleasure Products with free samples and was told all he had to do was fill out some survey forms he jumped on the chance to get the items for his girls; of course they had also given him a free sample as well.

Walking into the hotel that the Seven Deadly Sins had purchased for the explicit purpose of using it as bordello and a base of operations for the girls that walked the streets, Eugene made his way across the lobby and past the manned reception desk. The former dreary and run down facility now boasted lush interiors and was home to over fifty prostitutes.

Juggling the bag of gifts for the girls he made his way to the elevator. Since it was still early in the afternoon none of the girls would be out on the streets until after dark and he found them all on the fifth floor that had been turned into a huge recreation facility for the girls. The floor included a gym, hot tub, spa, sauna, and other entertainment equipment.

“I’ve got gifts for you girls,” Somba said holding the two large bags out to his sides as the girls swarmed him and he passed out the small boxes.

“You are so good to us,” one of the girls told him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

The girl’s opened their packages and stared at them, the device in the package consisted of two plug like devices with a strip of Nanno-Rubber running between them.

“What exactly are they?” One of the girls asked.

“Latest in group sexual experience using the latest in wireless technology and Nanno-Rubber malleable wear,” Somba said reading a small card from one of the boxes. “Each set of plugs has a transmitter that sends a signal to any other set of plugs within range,” he continued to read.

“What are they ear plugs?” One of the younger girls asked.

“No dearie,” an older hand said patting her leg. The slightly older woman leaned over and explained to her in a whisper what the plugs were used for…

The girl looked at it dubiously and then back at the other woman. “Here dear I’ll show you,” and she pushed up the girl’s short skirt and fitted the device for the younger woman.

“That feels odd,” The girl said as she felt the plugs warm up and conform.

“It does at first dear,” the older woman; older by maybe only a couple of years that is, assured the younger woman, and then inserted her own plugs.

The rest of the girls also inserted theirs and read the manuals.

“Alright girls I’ll leave you to your own little pleasures I have something I need to take care of in my office,” Somba exited going next door to said office.

The first of the girls switched on devices and let out moans of ecstasy as the vibrations got steadily faster paced. Soon the room was filled with moans as each woman joined the chain of ecstasy; each woman adding a little bit more to the combined feeling.

After a few minutes one of the girls tried to pull the device free but when she tried to she couldn’t find the edge of the plugs or the strap attaching them together, throughout the room the rest of the women notice her panic and started trying to frantically remove the plugs and soon moans of ecstasy were replaced by whimpers of fear.

The whimpers didn’t last long as coughing replaced it and a gray metallic substance erupted from the girls mouths and then soon from their vaginas and anuses. The material soon dilated into o-shaped sphincter orifices and the girls found themselves pulling their arms behind their backs for no reason and cupping their buttocks, soon the material spread over their bodies and turned a metallic cream color.

Within moments the room was completely silent as fifty new Tantalan Siren Assimilation Units or Pleasure Drones sat unmoving in their seats awaiting further orders from the hive mind.

In his office Somba had undergone the same transformation after trying out his gift.

Within an hour of the transformations humans working for Tantalus Pleasure Products arrived and loaded the new Pleasure Drones aboard trucks backed up to the basement loading dock; the drones were packed away in crèche boxes and shipped to bordellos and Elysium Fields Fetish Shops on other planets.

After not receiving any messages from Somba for nearly a week Lust sent a team in to investigate and they found a deserted hotel with no one to question and no signs of violence just an abandoned hotel.

Neo-Prussian Empire - Hamburg Sector - New Hamburg - New Imperial City

Somewhere In the Bowels of the Imperial Palace

Monday August 10th, 725 2E - 19:55 CST

Nathan IV former Emperor of the Neo-Prussian Empire came slowly back to awareness and panicked as he realized he no longer had a physical body, his awakening and his reaction set several advanced computer programs in motion and a recorded message played for him.

“If you are seeing this,” his recorded voice told him, “it means you are dead and were unable to make an updated copy of your Neural Network Pathways before such occurred.”

Nathan made a disgusted sound at his own recording and wondered what had happened and why. To find answers he delved into the computers files and found that he had access to all the royal databases as well as all military and police records and could bust through most other system’s firewalls at will.

One file he found showed him footage of Empress Sister Superior I entering his tomb and lying on one of the marble slabs next to his sarcophagus and just simply shutting down. He remembered installing that protocol but it gave him a bit of a twinge to see his wife; even if she hadn’t been more than a puppet; pretty much commit suicide. External camera views showed the other 13 Sisters surrounding his tomb, where they would stay on duty for the next thirteen days.

Arrayed in front of his tomb also with much panoply was the entire complement of the Emperor’s Own 1st Black Pariah Regiment with Oberst Sister 15 at the head of it.

For some reason seeing Sister 15 at the front of the group made him seethe with anger, ever since Oberst Sister 14 had disappeared one of his passions had been to locate her, nothing that belonged to him disappeared without his knowing why. Several other files revealed plans that had been put in motion to locate her.

If Nathan IV would’ve had a mouth it would have been curved into a predatory smile as he set several other plans into motion, chief among these acquiring a new body.

Tantalus Hive Mind - Sector-001

ACS-001 - ACW-001 

Imperial Palace

Monday August 10th, 725 2E - 19:57 CST

[Hive Mind Report: TIU-13-0-0-0 another attempt by the Seven Deadly Sins to infiltrate prostitution rings on human dominated worlds has been thwarted, over 1,000,000 TSAU-6 and TSAU-13 series units have been added to the hive mind] the Tantalan Hive Mind Informed the Emperor.

As the unit known as TIU-13-0-0-0 absorbed the information he sat completely still on his throne in the Imperial Palace on the former Neo-Prussian Empire‘s capitol of New Bavaria. Gold covered skin not even expanding and contracting from breathing and next to him sat his Empress TIU-6-0-0-0 who sat equally still as she absorbed the same information.

[Emperor Reply: Good that will allow us to open 20,000 new bordellos under the Tantalus Pleasure Palace name] the Emperor finally replied mentally to the hive mind.

[Empress Query: What is our estimated number of monthly TSAU unit assimilations]

[Hive Mind Answer: Current statistical rate is 75,000 new TSAU Unit assimilations per month]

[Empress Query: What is the current number of total TSAU-6 and TSAU-13 Units]

[Hive Mind Answer: Number is currently 25,000,000; however 10% or 2.5 million of these units are currently being sold in the Elysium Fields chain of sex/fetish shops as product to individual personages]

[Emperor Query: And the current number of bordellos]

[Hive Mind Answer: Number is currently 450,000]

[Empress Query: Current infiltration rate]

[Hive Mind Answer: With a minimum of 100 Bordellos per planet current infiltration rate of the Theban Cluster is at 7.5 percent, infiltration of the following polities is at 0 percent due to focus on Theban Cluster as primary target, all units assimilated in the following polities are shipped directly to the Theban cluster - Claremont Confederacy 0%, Confederacy Of United Systems 0%, Fantan-Tyerian Republic 0%, Elharnian Combine 0%,Gaul Empire 0%, Hagerman Empire 0%, Independent Systems League 0%, Mordecaian Empire 0%, Neo-Prussian Empire 0%, Pirates Guild 0%, United Nations Solar Federation 0%]

[Emperor Query: Estimated time till the Theban Cluster is fully infiltrated]

[Hive Mind Answer: At current rates of assimilation, and allowing for 10% siphoning for sex/fetish shops it will be approximately 90 Earth Months or 7.5 Earth years]

The hive mind connected to the Emperor and Empress used the mass processing power of the over 10 trillion minds linked to that of the Hive Mind to come to a decision. [Consensus: The Hive Mind shall continue at this pace, if there is a chance to increase the number of Assimilated units do so] was the conclusion that the Hive Mind came to.

[Empress Query: What of increasing our numbers by assimilation of other planets, and the re-assimilation of worlds in the Quisling Quarantine Zone]

[Hive Mind Answer: Construction of new fleet units has gone apace and many units are currently either completed or near completion, the assimilation of Assimilated Shipyards 001, 002, 003, 004, and 005 have increased the pace by a factor of ten]

[Emperor Query: What units are currently available for re-assimilation duty]

[Hive Mind Answer: The following units are currently available for re-assimilation duty, however it is suggested that re-assimilation does not commence until a full fleet is prepared allowing for a full contingency of ships and units]

[Emperor Order: Proceed with units currently completed and then give the Hive Mind a total listing of necessary units needed for full fleet integration]

[Hive Mind Answer: 9 Assimilated Monitor Units Type-002, 18 Assimilated Super Dreadnought Units Type-003, 36 Assimilated Dreadnought Units Type-004, 72 Assimilated Battleship Units Type-005, 144 Assimilated Battle Cruiser Units Type-006, 288 Assimilated Heavy Cruiser Units Type-007, 576 Assimilated Cruiser Units Type-008, 1,152 Assimilated Light Cruiser Units Type-009, 2,304 Assimilated Destroyer Units Type-010, 4,608 Assimilated Frigate Units Type-011; are currently completed and ready for integration into first fleet]

[Hive Mind Answer: The following Assimilated Units are under construction and estimated to be ready for integration into Assimilated Fleet Type-001, 1 Assimilated Titan Unit Type-001, 1 Assimilated Monitor Unit Type-002, 2 Assimilated Super Dreadnought Units Type-003, 6 Assimilated Dreadnought Units Type-004, 12 Assimilated Battleship Units Type-005, 24 Assimilated Battle Cruiser Units Type-006, 48 Assimilated Heavy Cruiser Units Type-007, 96 Assimilated Cruiser Units Type-008, 192 Assimilated Light Cruiser Units Type-009, 384 Assimilated Destroyer Units Type-010, 768 Assimilated Frigate Units Type-011]

[Hive Mind Consensus: With the units that close to completion we shall wait to re-assimilate anymore worlds]

Theban Cluster - Caruthers Sector

Caruthers World - Caruthers City - Main Spaceport

Privately Registered Vessel - Puffy Dragon

Monday August 10th, 725 2E - 20:00 CST

Working for a PMC really sucked sometimes, Eric Barstowe thought to himself as he sat in the main salon of the battle cruiser sized private yacht Puffy Dragon.

The target of Eric’s grumpiness was sitting across from him on one of the salon’s couches buffing her nails.

Adelaide Morgan was the epitome of the blonde stereotype; she was vapid, inconsiderate and rude. She was also a dyed in the wool, foaming at the mouth, rabid, straining at her chain liberal, she hated the military and everything it stood for and that included private contract muscle. She had spent the entire trip ignoring Eric and not listening to a damn thing he said.

Maybe I’ll start a detective agency once this job is done, Eric thought to himself.

With the money Martel Security Services was paying him he’d be able to retire; although the reason he was getting paid so much money was due to the fact that none of the other contractors would touch Morgan with a ten foot pole. She not only hated the military she openly advocated that all military personnel should be shot if captured and that all militaries throughout the galaxy be disbanded, the leadership hung and the rest thrown in jail.

Just keep thinking of the amount of money you’ll be getting, he repeated to himself mentally as a mantra.

Eric’s comm chimed and pulled it out of his pocket. “Yeah,” He said a little more irritably than he wanted to.

“Mr. Barstowe we’ll be hitting atmosphere in 25 minutes and be on the ground twenty more after that,” the co-pilot informed him.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Eric said.

“No problem, if anything else comes up I’ll let you know,” The co-pilot replied.

Eric stuck his comm back in his pocket and checked to make sure his armor was squared away and that the Desert Eagle in a shoulder holster, the Beretta in the small of his back, and the wicked little Brü gger and Thomet machine pistol hanging under his right armpit were ready and at hand.

“Must you carry so many of those horrid things?” The starlet asked with a sneer. “Is it some kind of masculinity issue with you men?” She asked with an even larger sneer.

“Hey if I was just protecting myself I’d be happy to go into battle with just my pecker. But since you’ve pretty much managed to piss off 99.99% of the known galaxy I need to have enough firepower to get you out alive.”

Eric’s comments shut her up instantly and the look on her face was priceless somewhere between a pole axed cow and her inability to understand why anyone would talk to her that way.

The next forty-five minutes were spent in complete silence, Morgan fuming at his comment and Eric barely suppressing the smile that wanted to split his face form ear to ear.

Once the ship was down on its landing pad Eric was first down the stairs and surveyed the crowd that was meeting the starlet’s private ship. The crowd was your standard 10/20/70 mix; ten percent rabid fans, 20 percent people who really, really hated Morgan and 70 percent just bored rubber-neckers hoping to see some spectacle.

“Oh dear,” Eric said to himself as he surveyed the crowd and read some of the placards being carried by the 20% crowd. Some of those placards were quite explicit and included things that not even a Gandraydan shape shifter would be able to pull off.

“Miss Morgan you can exit the ship now,” Eric said and waited for the starlet to exit the ship before falling into step behind her by about three paces and followed her past rabid fans asking for autographs and other persons telling her what they’d like to do to her if they ever got her on a dueling court; or a dark alley and none of them were pleasant things.

Eric followed the starlet down the concourse and out to an armored air limo. Before letting her get in he quickly double-checked for booby traps or homing devices, or tracking beacons for missiles, hell he even checked under the spare tire for any possible foaming at the mouth fans. It had happened before and he always made sure to check under the spare ever since that incident on Caliphate.

After the inspection he ushered Morgan into the back of the limo and shut the door behind himself as he climbed in and sat across from her, Morgan just went back to working on her nails.

Oh well it could be worse, she could have a small annoyingly yappy dog, he thought to himself and kept a sharp eye out as the armored limo lifted from the apron around the airport and took to the Skylanes.

Morgan was booked into the penthouse suite of the Caruthers Hilton, thankfully the Hilton had a good track record for keeping celebrities safe and secure and it would make his job much easier.

By the time the limo reached the penthouse’s landing apron Eric’s stomach was in knots, he always hated the vulnerability of even armored air cars, a simple light shoulder launched missile if it hit the right spot could kill a cars occupants just by causing it to fall from the sky.

Before letting Morgan out he quickly scanned through the penthouse and the surrounding buildings. He also made sure the squad of black suited Martel Security Services personnel was doing what they were supposed to. Not seeing anything particularly dangerous he helped her out of the car and into the penthouse.

Gnosis Sector - Area of Space Known as No Man’s Land

Orbit around the Former Progenitor World Kala-Sin-Fen

Monday August 10th, 725 2E - 20:15 CST

Space seemed to warp around the former green and blue jewel that had been the Progenitor Colony World Kala-Sin-Fen. After its fall to the Gnosis it had been renamed Poush-Dal-Kev which roughly translated into modern languages as Planet of Bloody Tears much more apt than the former name which meant Shrine of Peaceful Serenity.

Once a resort world for members of the Progenitor race; after their space guardians were infected with a Nanno-Virus the planet had been the first to fall to the mad techno-organic ships and the surface was twisted to suit their purposes.

On the surface madly warped metallic and organic structures breathed and pulsed at odd angles, some of which seemed to not always be there and would induce headaches if stared at too long. Inside the buildings was an even larger nightmare, the former Progenitor occupants had been assimilated into their homes and businesses and men, women, and children now acted as circuit breakers, organs, back up power supplies, and computational aides, their skins puckered by the silvery Nanno-circuitry that flowed just under their skin, eyes mouths and other orifices metal socket fitted with hoses and cables that had kept them if not alive, at least sustainable parts of the whole for the last 800 or so millennia.

The space around the Planet Of Bloody Tears warped even more and tore as if a creature were clawing it’s way through black fabric and Gnosis Bio-ships spewed forth as if maggots from an infected wound.

Sunlight gleamed from burnished alloy and the sweaty flesh of the ships as they returned to normal space, it had been at least 10,000 years since a Gnosis ship had darkened the sky of Bloody Tears but the Gnosis that ran the ground station had been patient and had lain quiescent till the time would come when it’s comrades returned.

At the head of the Gnosis convoy were six that were the size of Titans, these were the last of the ancient Gnosis who had brought about the fall of the Progenitors, now they were old, overly large, and slow, their thoughts running down the same slow vein after three-quarters of a million years of activity. The constant activity had added layer after layer of organically grown flesh, bone and metal to their bodies and now they had returned to Poush-Dal-Kev to live out their final days.

The Gnosis elder known as Vikil could feel the day soon approaching when he and his five comrades would soon be unable to move or think under their own power, so they would orbit their first conquered world and act as orbital defenses and be controlled remotely by the planet bound Gnosis cities below.

Around the six huge intelligent vessels bobbed and weaved the younger gnosis, some of them as small as frigate, others rivaling the size of monitors, but all had come to pay their respects to their dying elders, in all some 30,000 gnosis had come to watch the end of the first generation.

Mad, aggressive, and destructive they may be but the Gnosis held a deep respect for those who had fought to free them from the slavery of the Progenitors. However none realized that under the Progenitors they had been treated as equals and the Nanno-virus that had infected the elders and through them the rest of the Gnosis had turned them into blood thirsty killers, intent on conquering the galaxy, and now with the passing of the elders, it was time to resume that goal.