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  The luxury of time to contrast her immediate instinct with her considered reaction was an advantage she would not give up easily. Devon’s three rings of protection kept the daily lives of the people intact, and the continuing expansion out at QT2 was large enough to put any attackers off.

  The wider issue was the supply chain. While the salvage from the Ooken sites was more than plentiful, it was potluck what they found each time. Jean had been specific about the requirements they had for maintaining the fleet and how they could fill those requirements without stripping everything Bethany Anne was protecting.

  She had a plan for that.

  Nothing moved fast enough for her liking, not even her. Time was the one fucking thing beyond her control. That, and her wonky GPS when it came to locating the fuck-sucking bitch-gobbets otherwise known as the Ooken.

  I have a theory about that.

  Bethany Anne snapped out of her reverie. Dammit, TOM. Can’t you knock first or something? I’m going to install firewalls in my mind soon if I don’t get five fucking minutes alone with my thoughts.

  I’ll take my solution elsewhere if you like, TOM grumped. It’s not like we’re verging on desperate for it.

  Bethany Anne sighed, giving up on the idea of solitude for the moment. Sorry. Go on, I’m listening.

  TOM drew the explanation out carefully. I’ve been doing some math, he began.

  >>You mean we did the math,<< ADAM cut in.

  That too, TOM amended. Whoever doesn’t matter. The result was that I found a way to recreate the mind map in the real world. I think.

  Bethany Anne’s fire cooled instantly. Show me how. Her eyes flickered briefly while TOM flashed the solution through her mind. You want to attempt to touch every location simultaneously?

  TOM made a sound of agreement. ADAM isn’t restricted on how far he can spread himself if you can power the windows. What do you think?

  Bethany Anne couldn’t see how she was meant to spread the energy it took to open one window to open…a hell of a lot of windows. I think you sound pretty pleased with yourself, considering the practical application of your theory is theoretically not possible. Unless you have a super-massive Etheric storm up your ass you’ve been hiding all this time?

  ADAM snickered. >>That would explain a couple of things.<<<br />
  Actually, TOM told them archly, we can find what we need in the Etheric. We just have to locate the place where the storms are created, which to my memory is…somewhere in the dimension. It shouldn’t be too difficult with the four of us working together.

  Are we basing this on a rumor you heard over a thousand years ago? Bethany Anne asked. Because it sounds like bullshit to me.

  TOM grunted in agreement. It could very well be. It was a long time ago, Bethany Anne.

  Given that, we’d better make a start on finding it. Bethany Anne should have been surprised that TOM had information she didn’t, but she was not. This wasn’t the first time he’d neglected to tell her something until it was useful, and she didn’t think it would be the last. Wait, the four of us? You mean three, right?

  Four is correct, TOM confirmed. You didn’t think I’d suggest we do this without backup? Michael is coming with us.

  High Tortuga, Space Fleet Base, Barnabas’ Office

  Barnabas wondered if the information he held in his hand would be better kept to himself. However, it wasn’t his to keep, and Tabitha had already arrived to take him over to Devon for Bethany Anne’s impromptu conclave.

  He put the tablet down and returned his attention to ensuring he wouldn’t be missed on High Tortuga for a short time. Unfortunately for Stephen and Jennifer, that meant a disruption to their marital bliss.

  That was how the cookie crumbled; some things could only be left to family. Especially since Shinigami was staying behind.

  The door opened, and Tabitha came in. “Hey, stranger!”

  Barnabas’ eyes crinkled in pleasure. “Hello, yourself. Did you get here without any issues?”

  Tabitha nodded. “Nobody suspected a thing. Achronyx isn’t too happy about the makeover, though.”

  Barnabas shook his head. “That AI is as vain as the night is long. I can’t imagine where he gets it from.”

  Tabitha winked. “I wouldn’t know.” She perched on the edge of the desk and glanced at the tablet. “Ooh, who’s the cutie?”

  Barnabas slid the tablet over to Tabitha, the decision made for him by his inaction. It was the right thing; Tabitha deserved to know. “Prepare yourself.”

  Tabitha frowned and took the tablet. “What is it?”

  “Just watch,” he told her gently.

  Tabitha pressed Play and watched the short message in silence. Then she watched again, and yet again. She was about to play it a fourth time when Barnabas eased the tablet from her hands. She looked up with tears tracking down her cheeks. “Does this mean…”

  Barnabas nodded. “Yes, Tabitha. She is beginning to heal.”

  Tabitha’s tears continued to flow, unheeded. “Sending Grim was the right thing. I knew it.”

  “It appears so.” Barnabas chose not to hear her whispered admission. He looked down to place the tablet in his desk drawer. “She’s on the right path.”

  “Nickie was never a bad person. Just angry.” Tabitha’s face worked through a series of emotions, settling on none of them. “Just. As if anger like that is a small thing. I want her home, Barnabas. I don’t want her out there without her family for a minute longer than she needs to be. I want to see her happy and whole. I want Todd to know her.”

  Barnabas didn’t know what to do to ease Tabitha’s heartache. “Her seven years are up. She can return whenever she’s ready.”

  Tabitha scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t want to accept that she might choose not to come home.”

  Barnabas reached out and took Tabitha’s hand. “Have you spoken to Bethany Anne about this?”

  Tabitha nodded. “Mmhmm. You were there, remember? Bethany Anne was frowning at Kael-ven about something, I asked for permission to send something to give her a nudge.” She pouted at Barnabas’ blank expression. “You were the one who said it was a good idea.”

  Barnabas raised an eyebrow, searching his memory for the event and coming up with nothing. “I remember interceding on your behalf shortly before Grim’zee mysteriously lost a few decades and showed up in her life.”

  Tabitha nodded, grinning in a way she hoped wasn’t too shifty. “Yeah, I sent her a friend, and maybe a few messages.”

  Barnabas resisted the temptation to sigh. “And Bethany Anne has no idea that you’ve been in communication with Nickie this whole time?

  Tabitha’s eyes widened in horror. “No! She better not find out, either. Besides, I’ve been really careful to make sure Nickie thinks my messages are old.”

  She did her best not to think about how she'd hacked Meredith, Nickie’s EI, before her niece was sent out into the unknown. She didn’t want to implicate Barnabas if Bethany Anne ever found out what she’d done.

  Barnabas chuckled dryly as he got up from his chair. “She won’t find out from me. Unless she asks.”

  Tabitha laughed aloud. “You’re the best.”

  9

  Devon, The Hexagon, Network Command Center

  Bethany Anne looked around the wide oval table, relaxed for the moment in the relative comfort of having almost everyone in the same place for a short time. There were some unavoidable absences, those who were on duty, or holding down the fort elsewhere.

  Michael, her rock, was by her side, at ease for once. Along the table to her left, Admiral Thomas and Jean were there via holoprojection. To the right was her father, also holocalling from his office on the Meredith Reynolds, then Tabitha, who had arrived with Barnabas from High Tortuga moments earlier.

  All of her Guards were present, John at the other end of the table with the rest of the Bitches around him. The other places were filled by Akio, Hirotoshi, Ryu, Tim, and Sabine.

  “Thank you al
l for being here.” Bethany Anne placed her hands flat on the table. “For those who haven’t caught up yet, why the fuck haven’t you caught up yet?” She paused a beat before continuing. “Moen was a massive time-suck. As of my departure, the planet is under a no-travel order for the foreseeable future. We’ll take care of that later. Right now the focus has to be on the bigger picture. We need to be on the same page, because the Ooken—the Collective, or whatever the fuck they’re called—have noticed we’re kicking over their nests. Staying ahead of them would be preferable.”

  Barnabas lifted a finger. “I suggest we keep calling the enemy ‘Ooken,’ since they have been altered by the Kurtherians from the original Collective species.”

  Bethany Anne waved a hand. “Suits me, as long as history records us as the winner in this. I don’t give two shits what name gets listed afterward as long as it doesn’t take a century to remove them. I want this over, with minimal cost to my people and minimal impact on my planets.”

  Jean’s not-so-measured breath cut the silence that followed. “It’s just not possible this time, BA. We’re pushing the limits, and it’s going to show when I start shutting the shipyards down. You know there’s no damn way I’m sending out anything that isn’t up to standard, and that means ship maintenance comes first.”

  “We do still have the advantage at this time,” Michael countered. “The salvaged materials from the sites we’ve taken so far has to be making some difference?”

  “It’s giving us months,” Jean clarified. “Not anything to get excited about. I’ve made the projections available to the room.”

  “I’m with Michael on this,” John argued, filling the silence left as everyone else checked. “I’ve been over all the numbers with Jean, and we’ve done more with less, comparatively. If we need to, we can hold them back for a few months while we strip the empty systems in the buffer zones.”

  Bethany Anne’s fingers beat a rapid staccato on the wood. “Not practical without the infrastructure to process it in place.” She turned to Lance. “What we need is a supplier large enough to meet our needs, but there is the small issue of my ‘exile’ in the way. I need your help, Dad.”

  Lance’s hologram flickered, his face set in serious lines. “I’m here to do whatever I can, you know that. The last thing the Federation needs is a war on this scale.”

  Bethany Anne flashed a rueful grin. “That’s why I’m here—to be the barrier that keeps the Federation safe, whether they want it or not.”

  Lance nodded abruptly, his pride too large to speak around for a second. “That’s my girl. I’m sure you already have a plan that leaves everyone’s behind covered.”

  Bethany Anne's grin grew a touch wider. “Funny you should say that, Dad. How would the Federation feel about trade relations with an independent planet?”

  Lance raised an eyebrow. “What, Devon?”

  Bethany Anne shook her head. “No. High Tortuga. I want it under another layer of protection until this war is over. Federation protection. There’s no saying we can’t use a trade agreement to make that happen without anyone getting suspicious, and nobody has to know exactly who is pulling the strings on this end.”

  Lance grinned. “Sounds like we’re about to get into something of a gray area.”

  Bethany Anne shrugged. “I could play fair and do this out in the open. How would the Federation leaders react to my sudden reappearance? It would be a hell of a lot easier than pandering to their fears.”

  Lance’s eyes widened momentarily. “Poorly, as you know. A trade agreement with an independent power looks to me to be the best option here.”

  Barnabas cut in, “How is that going to work with the Interdiction? We spent all of this time hiding High Tortuga, and now you plan to hand it over to the Federation?”

  Bethany Anne turned her attention to him. “That was always the plan. It will still be hidden, just in plain sight, with the strength of a thousand worlds in the background. Permitted ships will have right of passage, using specified routes that will be monitored by you and my father.”

  Jean slumped, dropping her head to the backrest of her chair. “Right, so how soon can we get these shipments started?”

  Lance looked down for a moment, and his hologram shifted around as he worked out what was feasible. “I don’t know. I can get the ball rolling pretty much right away, but we’ll need all the backstops in place before High Tortuga applies for trade status. How many hidden stashes do you have left, Bethany Anne?”

  “I haven’t touched a single one yet,” Bethany Anne confirmed. “And I don’t intend to. Those are for rainy days, and there’s barely a cloud on the horizon to justify tapping them as a resource. ADAM will take care of the backstops so everything will look above board in the application.”

  Lance nodded. “Then I will do what I can to expedite the process.”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “I sincerely hope that means you’re going to light a fire under whoever gets the application on their desk. We have no fucking time for bureaucracy. We need ships.”

  Admiral Thomas sighed. “How did I know that was coming? And what impossible feat would my Queen like me to pull out of my ass this time?”

  Bethany Anne tilted her head at the Admiral. “I could always arrange for you to take extended leave if you’re not happy with your work. How are those beautiful children of yours? Growing fast? Twins are such a joy, right?”

  The Admiral’s eyes widened. “Of course they’re a joy—for the short bursts when they’re asleep. Giselle and I have decided that parenthood is a war of wills against tiny little terrorists. Why didn’t any of you tell me toddlers have an inherent death wish? They seem determined to stick their fingers into whatever is the most dangerous thing in the room. Or eat it.”

  Snickers erupted from the parents in the room.

  “My fleet, Bart,” Bethany Anne reminded him.

  “Indeed,” the Admiral replied, gathering himself. “Once the issues with materials are smoothed over, there should be no problem with continuing growth.”

  “Good.” All amusement dropped from Bethany Anne’s expression. “I expect you will have no problems replicating the success you’ve had with the Helena’s shipyard over at Devon.”

  Admiral Thomas looked relieved. “I thought you had a challenge for me.”

  Bethany Anne lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know about a challenge, but I want an identical setup at High Tortuga, attached to the platform. And Bart? I want it done—”

  “Yesterday?” he finished.

  Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes at the Admiral’s hologram. “I was going to give you six months, but if after all these years you finally worked out how to manipulate time and provide me with what I asked for when I wanted it, then where the fuck are my shipyards?”

  Admiral Thomas huffed, knowing when he was out-snarked. “Barnabas and I will get with Lance to make arrangements.”

  “That’s the kind of attitude that gets us places.” Bethany Anne winked at him and moved on to the next item on her agenda. “The Ooken. Or more precisely, progress with the nanocyte substance.”

  “That’s a whole new lot of sweet fuck-all,” Jean grumbled. “I can tell you that we’ve gotten everything we’re going to get from the nanocytes in the suspension you found out at the staging post. We will need fresh, uncontaminated samples to make any further headway on reverse-engineering the advances the Kurtherians who made them had over a thousand years to figure out.”

  Bethany Anne pressed her lips together. “It’s a good thing you’re up to the task. We have a possible lead on your samples since we found out the Moen have access to the suspension.”

  Jean’s demeanor brightened. “Yeah? Where are my samples, then?”

  Bethany Anne snickered. “You’ll have them soon enough.”

  Tim shifted in his seat, feeling like a kid at the adults’ table. “Sooner. I got with Peter, and there are four teams with boots on Moen as we speak. They’ll be back with those samples before
the fleet has finished extracting the rest of our Guardian Marines post-cleanup.”

  Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “You keep impressing me, Tim.”

  Sabine flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. “He’s an impressive guy. We have vid crews with the fleet, and the footage they’re sending back could be used in wider circulation if you have no issues with it being shared to a wider audience.”

  Tim nodded. “I like that. There’s always a small trickle from the Federation coming into our military, but we need to open the floodgates a crack.”

  Bethany Anne shook her head. “The only problem with opening the gates a crack is convincing the water not to drown you. I do not want the majority of the Federation turning up on the doorstep of the planet my children are living on.”

  Michael flourished a hand. “It would hardly be an issue if you settled on somewhere to settle. I would, however, suggest we find somewhere that has the room for a more suitable base of operations than the kids’ place of business soon.”

  Sabine narrowed her eyes at Michael. “Who are you calling kids? Then again…” She flashed a crooked grin at him, and he returned a stern look. “Oh, lighten up.” She chuckled as she turned to look at Bethany Anne. “Do you want our help finding somewhere to live? I can get Mark on it as soon as we’re done here.”

  Bethany Anne lifted her hands. “Well, I don’t want to keep living on the Izanami forever. But…” She lifted a finger. “But I don’t have time to build right now, and I don’t want to be confined to any one planet. Barnabas, will High Tortuga fall apart without us?”

  Barnabas gave that serene smile of his. “I already spoke with Stephen and Jennifer about taking on a more active role again, and I am well prepared to put the logistics network into place with Lance’s assistance. You can rest assured that everything on High Tortuga will remain under control, Bethany Anne. Phase Five can begin whenever you are ready.”