Compelling Evidence Read online

  Compelling Evidence

  The Kurtherian Endgame Book Two

  Michael Anderle

  Compelling Evidence (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2018 Michael Anderle

  Cover by Andrew Dobell, www.creativeedgestudios.co.uk

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, August 2018

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2018 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Books by Michael Anderle

  Connect with Michael Anderle

  Compelling Evidence Team Team

  Thanks to our Beta Readers

  Bree Buras

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Tom Dickerson

  Dorene Johnson

  Diane Velasquez

  Nat Roberts

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Peter Manis

  James Caplan

  Daniel Weigert

  John Ashmore

  Keith Verret

  Mary Morris

  Kelly O’Donnell

  Joshua Ahles

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  Prologue

  High Tortuga, Hidden Space Fleet Base, The Dome (Formerly the Queen’s R&D Lab), Three Months After the Twins’ Birth

  Bethany Anne closed the door on her guards and locked it behind her. She held up a palm and drew energy from the Etheric to light the hallway. As she walked the hundred and thirty steps to the main chamber, she added energy to the ball until it was as large as her head.

  She entered the chamber and released the energy without a thought, muscle memory from the many times she’d made the gesture over the last three months. The ball hit the roof and dissipated into a soft white glow that lit Bethany Anne’s way to the seating pad in the center of the cavern.

  She dropped her robe and sat down in a huff. “I still think Michael got off too easily.”

  TOM’s voice spoke in her mind. You knew there was a possibility that the children would mature rapidly.

  “Yes, but not so rapidly that they’re damned near walking, they are talking, and they’re potty-trained already! I’d hoped he would get more…experience. I’m stuck between feeling bad that we’re racing through the early stages and being pissed that Mother Nature is giving him an easy ride after I did my nine months. My lumbar region is still complaining.”

  She shifted on the pad, cozying into the back support, which was made from the same flame-retardant material as the pad. Lessons had been learned.

  Bethany Anne continued her mini-rant. “When you said it was a likely outcome, I imagined they would grow at a similar rate to Christina—that we’d get at least some kind of normal family life.”

  Are you sure that enjoying Michael’s forays into being a modern man is your only motivation?

  >>I think it has more to do with the distraction from his dinosaur obsession.<<<br />
  Bethany Anne sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Your brain chemistry tells a different story.

  Bethany Anne’s tone became momentarily deeper and raspier. “And what is it telling you right now?”

  I’ll get my pillow. TOM spoke in a resigned voice. Where am I to sleep? The couch?

  “Oh, no.” She pointed a finger. “It’s the yard for you.” When Bethany Anne had awoken to find her Kurtherian tenant some two hundred years ago, one of the first things she’d made sure he understood was what happened to males who pissed off human women. His doghouse might have been metaphorical, but it was still well-used.

  She settled down and rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension. “Be glad I’m not deciding to make it a wet night with a leaky roof. If you must know, I was hoping for a little longer with them as babies.”

  Bethany Anne crossed her legs and let her head drop for a moment, resting her hands on her knees as she put her thoughts in order. “I’m pretty sure that the children are already using the Etheric to communicate mentally with each other and to read us. Alexis in particular. Gabriel is more observant than reactive. So yes, I am concerned.” She sighed, tapping her lips with a finger. “I wish there was some way to predict what other abilities they are going to develop.”

  >> The Pod-cribs are keeping tabs on their development. You are right about Alexis. She has already absorbed most of the curriculum I had prepared for their sleep-learning, and Gabriel is not far behind her.<<<br />
  Bethany Anne smiled. “That’s my girl. It’s just going so damned fast. Every time I turn around one of them has hit a new milestone. You know, I think I’m seeing things a little differently. Maybe staying on-base for a while isn’t such a bad choice after all. If they keep growing and learning at this rate, they’ll be adults before their third birthday. I don’t want to miss any of that.”

  Mini-adults, maybe. It’s more likely that their physical growth will level out once they are fully mobile. Until puberty, that is.

  “Do not talk to me about puberty when my babies are only three months old. I am not looking forward to when they hit dating age. Can you imagine how Michael will react?”

  I fear for any male stupid enough to even breathe the same air as Alexis. And I’m not the only one worried about what will happen when she grows up and introduces someone she’s dating to Michael.

  “I can imagine it now, ‘Hey, Dad, this is (name).’” Bethany Anne made the pantomime of breaking someone’s neck. “Snap.”

  He is rather overprotective. You wouldn’t let him actually kill some poor boy, though.

  She chuckled. “Of course not. But burning his hair off is getting old, and his skills with walking the Etheric have reduced my teaching options drastically.”

  >>You did have him going on the whole “intergalactic diaper service” thing for longer than any of us had in the pool.<<<br />
  Bethany Anne snickered. “That was a good one. His face when he found out—” She cut off mid-thought. “Hang on, you we
re betting?”

  >>Well, yeah. It’s kind of what we do for fun around here.<<<br />
  “And you didn’t think I’d want a piece of the action?”

  >>It rather defeats the purpose if the person you’re betting on knows you’re doing it.<<<br />
  “Humph. Some friends you two are. See if you like it when I start charging you both rent for living in my body. Maybe I’ll remember how much I love the chili here.”

  TOM whispered to ADAM, She wouldn’t eat it again. She promised! The whole way through the pregnancy it was like I’d been thrown into a volcano.

  >>You do know her, right? Distract her, or you’re going to be in a world of hurt.<<<br />
  TOM focused back on Bethany Anne. The children will be fine, Bethany Anne. They have you and their father and ADAM and me and…well, I could go on all day. The point is that they have all of us to make sure they are healthy, happy, and well adjusted.”

  Bethany Anne’s mouth lifted at the corner. “I know, but a mother worries. Besides, the children are a wonderful distraction from Michael’s outlandish desire to bring ten tons of dinosaur meat into our home.”

  She brushed a strand of hair back from her face and straightened her spine. “Speaking of the children. Michael will be getting them ready for their nap soon, which means they will be pulling every trick in the book to not take a nap. Shall we get started before they completely destroy their father’s sanity?” She closed her eyes and laid her hands flat on her knees. “Ready when you are.”

  TOM’s voice dropped into an almost soothing tone. Very well. I want you to focus on the Etheric. Immerse yourself in the currents but do not allow yourself to drift, just like we practiced.

  Bethany Anne extended her consciousness and connected with the other dimension’s energy. The Etheric swirled in her mind’s eye. Layer upon layer of intertwined energy surrounded her; she felt it brush gently against her psyche as if looking to be molded. It welcomed her, wrapping her in its seductive embrace.

  As always, there was a moment when the temptation to let go was strong. It would be too easy to allow herself to be carried away by the sense of bliss that connecting on this level stirred in the pit of her stomach.

  She anchored herself with the mental image of her children’s faces. I’m in. This is annoying. I’m sick of floating around this place like a Gott Verdammt ghost every time we practice. She concentrated hard for a moment, and the tendrils of her consciousness wound themselves into a shadowy Bethany Anne-shaped outline in the mist.

  >>How did you do that?<<<br />
  Easy, ADAM. I decided it should happen, and it did. Check this shit out…

  She concentrated further and the outline became solid, then features began to form. She snickered at the white noise she was receiving from ADAM and made a final push. She glanced at her hand, which now looked like her hand.

  TOM chuckled in approval. Good to know you’ve been listening. I think you’re ready for the next lesson. Examine the strata and tell me what you see.

  She scrutinized the billowing mists. The energy expanded and contracted, forming tight knots that grew denser until they either imploded or exploded. She blinked—or rather, her avatar did—as her brain refused to acknowledge a darker burst of energy which did both. What the... It’s like the world’s most fucked-up weather system. There are varying concentrations of energy, all connected to each other. What are they?

  All in good time. Can you sense the pattern of the connections? Where do they lead?

  Up ahead. She moved her avatar toward the object of her attention. The mist gets darker and more turbulent. Let’s get a closer look.

  NO!

  The fear in TOM’s voice halted Bethany Anne in her tracks. What’s the issue? I’m anchored.

  That is an Etheric storm, Bethany Anne. You don’t want to get up close and personal with it, trust me.

  She looked at the maelstrom skeptically. Why not?

  Any number of reasons. Not much is known about the storms—

  You don’t seem to know much about anything interesting. Maybe I should stick my head in just to see. It’s not like I’m really here.

  >>You don’t want to go in there, BA.<<<br />
  What do you know?

  ADAM was conspicuously silent.

  We will talk about this later. TOM, quit prevaricating and tell me what Kurtherians know about these Etheric storms. What are the dangers here?

  There’s no danger as long as you do not get entangled in one.

  She eyed the boiling mass in the distance, feeling the pull from it. And what if I do?

  You’re not invulnerable. You could be hurt. Not just your psyche, but your body too. Or worse, you could be transported somewhere.

  Bethany Anne’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. What? Where?

  Somewhere you are familiar with, maybe? I can’t say for certain because the storms are too unpredictable to be harnessed in any practical way.

  Meaning your people left them the hell alone?

  Got it in one.

  ADAM had been quiet during the entire exchange. She turned her attention inward to him and found him regarding the storm.

  >>Curious.<<<br />
  Chapter One

  Unnamed System, Asteroid Field, QBSE Loralei, Almost Three Years Later

  The sleek search ship drifted in silence. Inside, the EI Loralei didn’t sigh. She was in the middle of a report, and she didn’t want to be recalled to explain it when High Tortuga received it. “One month expended in this system with no sign of life, Kurtherian or not. However, unlike the last system, this one isn’t a total waste of my time. The asteroid belt has rich ore deposits that should be relatively simple to mine. I am including a breakdown of the constituent elements in this report. I will now cloak and create a Gate to move to the next set of coordinates on my list. End report.”

  She input the required sequence into the Gate drive and shepherded her support probes back inside the ship. “‘Go and look for Kurtherians, Loralei,’” she muttered as she sealed them into their docks, downloaded their data and engaged the Gate drive. “’No, we don’t know where they are. Just poke around the ass-end of space until you find something.’ How did humans even find their way off Earth?”

  The plan wasn’t actually terrible, and Loralei wasn’t actually pissed.

  However, the ability to spend her time bitching about her directives made the lack of outside stimulation mostly tolerable. Loralei’s class of scout ship was designed to cope well with the extended missions, as were the other female EIs who resided in them. Loralei had examined her personality algorithms and was certain that a line here and there had been “borrowed” from Shinigami’s original programming.

  Consequently, the twelve scout explorer fleet EIs were a bunch of salty bitches (for EIs) who preferred their own company. It helped them deal with the isolation. They didn’t need to talk to anyone, and they had almost complete autonomy. The only thing they lacked was the ability to develop emotion. While Loralei and her sisters could never ascend to AI status, they were the next best thing. Loralei might not feel, but she could react appropriately to whatever situation she found herself in.

  Nobody wanted another AI to suffer the way Ricky Bobby had.

  The Loralei emerged in a very different system to the one it had left. Loralei plotted a wide arc around the outward boundary of the system and began a new report. “First impressions are that I might actually have a little fun here. We have a red dwarf star with three surrounding bodies, and there are signs of life on the outermost planet. Initiating scans now and moving in to examine the other two planets.”

  She released the majority of her probes and sent them off in all directions to gather information about the rest of the system while she went to check out the planets. Loralei chose to conceal her ship’s signature—or rather, the lack of one—from the life forms on the third planet until she knew more about them. The long-range sensors enabled Loralei to keep a safe distance.

  Loralei scanned the planet clos
est to the star. “Deader than a dead thing that is dead. There’s no sign life ever existed here. No atmosphere, not even any bacteria to make soil. I calculate that’s because the planet has never been within the habitable zone of the star, or if it was, then it was billions of years ago.”

  The EI moved on to the second planet, noting a debris field between it and the outermost planet. “I am detecting the remains of a reasonably advanced civilization on this planet. There are no life signs, however, and the atmosphere is no longer conducive to supporting life. Moving on.”

  The Loralei crossed the debris field, weaving around crystallized chunks of space rock. Her sensors pinged. “Oh. Wasn’t expecting that. My sensors are picking up the signature of worked metal. Moving in to investigate. Encrypting transmission now.” Loralei curbed the ship’s speed to approach cautiously and prepared her message torp to send back just in case.

  She received a broken burst from one of her probes, and then another. Then they all went dark at once. Loralei calculated the possible reasons. There was something fishy going on here. She didn’t take the possibility of destruction into consideration. High Tortuga wouldn’t receive her transmission in time to save her if the shit hit the fan since the Loralei didn’t have Etheric connectivity. However, they would know where to retrieve her ship from when they got her message.