Chapter 48

It didn't take long for the girls to be ready. Melinda and Melissa assured everyone they would watch over Terzo, but no one really believed the Empress would attack there. She'd be smart enough to know that Patrick would take her daughter with him, and no one on Terzo could provide her with the power she was seeking.

The teleportation to Cornaza was over in an instant. Everyone clustered together, making plans.

"They'll come down here," the Advisor said. "This is the center of concentration of the plants. Destroying this first will make everything else easier for them."

"Let them land first," Becky advised. "That way we can destroy the ships and troops without any getting away." She looked guilty as she realized she was talking about destroying Qerda in front of Shakada. The little girl smiled sadly at her.

"Don't be embarrassed. They started this. You have to kill them. I understand."

"Patrick, I'm detecting a large number of shuttles headed this way," Melinda announced. "Flight projection indicates their destination will be our location."

"Everyone ready?" Patrick was greeted with a host of rolled eyes and 'duh!' looks. "Time for you to head to your cave with your Dad and Shakada," he said to Kessa.

"We have a problem," Melinda said seconds later. "There are six Qarta class shuttles in the force of fifty ships. It appears they've been modified based on the previous successful attack by Ja'a-llia. They have a new shielding system that makes it unlikely her energy weapon will take them out quickly. Their flight plan indicates they will be performing aerial bombardment over large areas of the planet."

"Oh, shit," several girls muttered at once.

"Poopies!" Ja'a-llia cursed.

"Oh no!" Kessa cried. "What are we going to do? Melissa, I'm going to take them out!"

"No, Kessa. You can't expose yourself to their detection," Melissa ordered.

"I don't care! They ... I won't let them bombard the planet! They can't kill my plants! I won't let them kill my babies!" she wailed. "Not again! I won't let them die again!"

Amy wrapped the distraught girl in her arms, trying to comfort her.

"Kessa, go to your cave. They won't kill your plants, I promise."

"But ... but..."

"I promise," Amy repeated. "Not one of your plants will die. Go. Now. You must," she said as the other girl started to protest.

"You promise? But ... how?"

"You let me worry about that. Go now!"

Kessa looked deep into the Special One's eyes, then nodded.

"I'm counting on you. Protect my babies," she whispered, then she disappeared with Shakada and Jermel.

"Amy, how are you going to take out those shuttles? Are you sure you can?" Melinda asked.

"Don't worry about it. Cindi, stay with me. The rest of you, take care of the other shuttles."

"Don't you need us to stay to provide you with energy?" Victoria asked. Ja'a-llia nodded.

"Not this time. Help the others," Amy responded, her face calm and unworried. She received several skeptical looks.

"It's ok," Cindi reassured the others. "She can do it. I don't know how, but I've touched her mind and she can do it. I'm not sure how I know it, but I know she can."

"With your help," Amy whispered as she looked at her twin.

"Ooo-kay, if you say so," Becky said, obviously not convinced. Then she put it out of her mind. She had a job to do.

"Listen up, everyone. Let them land. The Qarta class are the only ones that can carry out the aerial bombardment. Once the other shuttles land and the first soldiers leave the ships, kill them and then take out the ships. Once we start, knock all the ships out, even if some are still in the air."

"Why are we letting them land first?" Cindi asked.

"We have to let them commit, otherwise the others will simply leave when the battle starts and we'll end up doing this all over again. Once they land, we can destroy them all before they can get away. Their star drive won't engage on the ground."

The girls fanned out in a line, staying close enough together to hold hands. Moments later, shuttles began to appear in the sky above them.

"Sir, we are entering the planet's atmosphere," the First Officer announced to the Captain of the lead shuttle.

"Any signs of activity?"

"No, sir. There are some signs of life, but faint and non-threatening."

"There is never anything non-threatening about the Cornazans, Lieutenant. Stay alert. Begin landing sequence."

"Sir, we have reports coming back from the planet," the Communication Officer announced on the bridge of the Khora.

"Put them on the overhead."

"Amy, you need to take out those Qarta class shuttles now! Projected trajectory indicates they're headed for Kessa's cave!" Melissa said urgently.

An icy chill went down everyone's spine.

"Could they know about her?" Katie whispered.

"I don't think so. I think it's just a random chance they're headed towards that location, but we can't take the chance they'll detect her when they get close enough. There's too much new technology on those shuttles I know nothing about. You have to take them out, now," Melinda pleaded.

"Take them out, Amma-llia," Sammi ordered. "As Queen of the Tarqa, I take full responsibility and command you to take them out. Do it now!"

"Yes, my Queen." No one took a command from Lady Samantha lightly. "Cine-llia, hold my hand," Amy said.

"Always," Cindi whispered, clasping her twin's hand tightly.

"Lor kes tinsa li sinta ge, Cine-lllia?" the Special One asked.

"I do love you, Amma-llia," Cindi answered.

"Lor kes tinsa li garta ge, Cine-llia?" Amma-llia asked.

"I do trust you, Amma-llia," Cindi responded.

"What language is she talking?" Valerie asked. "That's not Cornazan or Tarqan."

"It's the Ancient's language," Julie said curtly. Everyone looked at her, expecting more explanation, but the dark-haired scribe offered nothing more.

Amy began to glow a bright, deep green, quickly accelerating to incandescent levels. As she became brighter, there were traces of white, blue, silver, gold, and, most alarming, black in her shape. Cindi started glowing a bright, deep blue at the same time, her shape containing traces of green, gold, silver and black.

After a few seconds, the sky as far as could be seen darkened, as if the suns were going down. Balls of energy erupted from Amy and Cindi, randomly colored green, blue, gold, silver and black. They circled the two girls, gaining speed until they were a blur. Then they suddenly changed course, colliding with each other in a brilliant flash of light and a thunderous explosion. The area darkened even more, then a wave of white light exploded upwards and outwards, speeding into the atmosphere at an impossible speed. A second later, the whole sky exploded in a huge fireball.

"Bye-bye," Amy and Cindi whispered together, a sad note in their voices.

"The Qarta class shuttles are in position, sir. Most of the other shuttles are on the ground."

"Start the bombardment," the Commander ordered.

"Captain, fire at will," the Communications Officer relayed to the Captain of the first Qarta shuttle.

"Roger. Bombardment to start in five seco..."

"Sir, we've lost contact with the Qarta shuttles," the Communications Officer announced.

"Check your equipment."

"The equipment's fine, sir. They're not communicating."

"Commander, we've detected a huge blast in the atmosphere above the planet. Heat and debris signature is consistent with the destruction of six Qarta class shuttles," the Science Officer reported.

"God damn it, they weren't supposed to have anything to take those shuttles out!" the Commander swore.

"Amy's taking out the Qarta class shuttles. That'll end any surprise we have. Light 'em up, girls," Lady Samantha ordered.

The girls held hands and concentrated briefly. Seconds later, colored bolts began shooting out from each girl, speeding towards the shuttles both on the ground and the ones still in the air. Soon the ground was littered with debris as shuttle after shuttle exploded in a ball of fire. In less than a minute, the carnage was complete.

"That was too easy," Becky murmured. "What are we missing?"

"The shuttles on the ground are taking fire, sir! Losses are heavy."

"Order the shuttles to withdraw, Ensign," the Commander ordered.

"Don't send that order, Ensign," the Empress interrupted.

"We have to. They're being slaughtered," the Commander protested.

"They're doing their job. Leave them there," she repeated.

"What the hell? Those are my men being killed down there!" The Empress stared at him without answering. "They're being sacrificed. What are you doing?"

"Activate plan B," she said to an officer standing next to her.

"Plan B is a go!"

Upon hearing that command, the order was given and three ultra secret, super-stealth Qarta X shuttles left the landing bay and immediately engaged their star drive. Seconds later they emerged in the atmosphere above Terzo. Several men from each shuttle disappeared in a flash of light.

An instant later, each man reappeared next to a Terzon in the command center. Before anyone could react, each Terzon had a gun to her head. No one noticed Tori-llia was not in the room.

"Call your friends back from the planet, now," the leader of the mission said to Lia-llia, his gun pressing against the side of her head.

"I can't call them back. Our communications are down from the explosion in the atmosphere," Lia answered.

"I'm not a fool, girl. I know you can communicate with your minds. If not, I'm sure your computer is monitoring this room right now and can contact them. Do it now or I'll kill you."

"No. You want to capture and kill them. Kill me instead," Lia said.

"Oh, Brave!" he sneered. "You probably mean it too." He shifted the aim of his gun from her head to Amma-llia's stomach. "Are you willing to sacrifice this one's baby also?"

Amma's face turned deathly white.

"Lia! My baby!" she whispered.

"Five seconds! You have five seconds to call them back. Do it or I'll kill her baby. If the girl doesn't also die, the damage to her womb will guarantee she'll never have another child." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's your choice ... choose quickly."

She did.

"Melinda, call Patrick. Tell them to return immediately."

"Patrick, this is an emergency. All of you must return to Terzo immediately," Melinda said.

"What's going on, Mel?" he asked. He didn't like the sound of her voice.

"The Qerda have taken over the command center. They are threatening to kill Amma-llia's baby. You must return immediately and do nothing when you arrive here. There is a high likelihood they will kill her baby if you don't do exactly as they demand."

"Tell them we will be right there," he answered.

"Damn. I knew it was too easy," Becky whispered.

"That bitch sacrificed all those men for this?" Sammi asked incredulously.

Christopher slipped next to Cindi.

"Don't say anything. Follow my lead," he whispered in her ear.

"Let's go, girls. They'll kill the baby if we don't," Patrick said.

There were multiple flashes of light and almost everyone reappeared in the Terzon command center.

No one noticed that Cindi and Christopher disappeared with the others but never reappeared in the command center.

"Very good, little girl," the Qerda remarked to Lia. "You did the right thing." He continued to point the gun at Amma's stomach.

"Listen carefully! I will not repeat myself and there is no second chance. The first time anyone disobeys my orders or makes a threatening move, the baby dies. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Patrick answered. "We await your command.

"Shut up and stay still. Don't do anything stupid," the leader cautioned, then proceeded to talk on a communication device for a moment.

Patrick moved closer to Amma-llia and put his arm around her. She was trembling like a leaf.

"Please don't let them kill my baby," she whispered in a shaky voice.

"No one's going to hurt you or your baby," he assured her.

He was pretty sure he was right. He'd notice that Cindi and Christopher didn't show up when everyone teleported from Cornaza. If there was anyone he wanted free if we were going to be captives it was those two. You could almost take over a whole planet with those two running loose. It helped that the Qerda didn't know about Christopher ... at least, he didn't think they did. He hoped they wouldn't notice Cindi was missing.

"Someone wants to see you," the leader said. "Just stand still and be good."

Moments later there was a flash of light.

"We meet again, Kitoro ... or should I call you Patrick?" the Empress said. "It seems I have your whole family now, or at least the majority of them. It'll be easy to pick up the others now that I have you in custody."

"Get on with it, Empress. What do you want?"

"The same thing I've always wanted." She turned to the guards. "Take the others to the Khora. Take this one, their leader, to the place I showed you. I want him separated from the others. They won't be able to plan as well without his input."

Patrick stopped his snort before it came out. Any of the girls were perfectly competent to plan an entire war without him. The Empress was actually making a mistake; in some ways, he was the girls' conscience. Without him putting a damper on their plans, she was likely to die a very slow, very painful death. The girls could be downright nasty and vicious when they wanted to be ... and threatening the well-being of Amma-llia's baby ensured they wanted to be.

No one resisted. They took the girls away, after Patrick assured Amma-llia once more that no one was going to hurt her or her baby. He was teleported onto a planet somewhere.

"What do we do now?" Cindi asked Christopher, once they were safely on Earth.

"We go rescue them, of course," he replied calmly.

"How? We don't know where they are and I couldn't teleport us there even if we did."

Christopher smiled at the young blond and kissed her on the cheek.

"You don't have to teleport, Pretty Girl." He rolled his eyes at her confused look. "How do you think we got here, Cindi?"

"Oh," she said, embarrassed as she realized he had teleported them. "You can do that?"

"I can do a lot of things you don't know about, such as find out where they are." He raised his voice. "Melinda, where are the others?"

"That's finding out where they are? Big deal; I can do that," Cindi said.

"Patrick is under guard on a small Qerda outpost. The others are on the Khora."

"Do you have the coordinates of the outpost? Can you download them to me?"

You could almost hear Melinda's sigh. It didn't take much imagination to picture the eye roll.

"I should have the coordinates around here somewhere," she answered sarcastically. "I think I can probably manage to download them to you if you talk me through how to do it," she continued dryly. "It might take two or three tries though; I'm kinda slow and dumb." Christopher heard Melissa's snicker in the background.

"Sorry. Dumb questions. So, Cindi, since you asked what we were going to do, we're going to rescue Patrick first, then we're going to go collect the others from the Khora. Simple, no?"

"We're going to take on the whole Khora by ourselves?" she asked. She sounded nervous ... and excited. She was Amy's twin, after all.

"Not completely by yourself, honey," a familiar voice said from behind her. Cindi whirled around to find herself face to face with Elizabeth.

"Mommy!" she shrieked and launched herself into her Mother's arms. Elizabeth grinned at Christopher, a 'what are you gonna do?' look on her face. She hugged her daughter, patting her on the back as she weathered the young girl's show of affection. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"I couldn't tell. You really should try to be more emotional, Cindi."

"Oh. I can try," Cindi said meekly.

"That was a joke, dear."

"Oh? Oh! What are you doing here, Mommy?"

"I told you, Cindi, a long time ago, I would never desert you again, and in that time when it was just you, all alone against everyone else, I would be there with you, at your side. Here I am."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Christopher asked dryly.

"Yeah, I'm not alone. He's here," Cindi said.

"He's a male. He's clueless and he doesn't count. Besides, it's close enough," Elizabeth said as she winked at Cindi.

"We're getting ready to go rescue Daddy, and then we're going after the others," Cindi said excitedly.

"Lead on," Elizabeth said, giving a little bow in Christopher's direction.

Seconds later they appeared on a planet outside a building. Christopher walked into the building like he owned the place, strolling up to the guard just inside the door.

"Lieutenant, you have a prisoner, a Cornazan named Patrick that you're holding here. Please bring him; I'm taking custody of him."

"May I see your authorization, sir?" the guard asked respectfully.

Christopher held his hand up, stretched out towards the guard. There was a small emblem resting in his palm.

"Do you recognize this, Lieutenant?" he asked.

Cindi stared as the man's eyes widened in surprise, shock and awe. He didn't quite kneel before Christopher, but it was close. She noticed that Elizabeth's eyes widened fractionally with interest and respect as well.

"Yes, sir! How may I help you, Your Majesty?"

"Bring the prisoner to me," Christopher repeated. The man's face fell in consternation.

"I ... I can't, sir! I wish I could, I really do, but I can't. The Empress has given explicit instructions; anyone who hands the prisoner over to anyone but her, or allows him to escape, will be killed, after they witness the torture and death of their whole family. Please, sir, I can't! I wouldn't care about myself, but I've got a wife and three beautiful little girls. I have to think of them."

Christopher looked at the man kindly.

"Well, we can't risk your family, can we?" He seemed to think for a moment. "Lieutenant, the prisoner is going to leave here anyway, whether it's with me or if the Empress takes him back to Qerda. Why don't you prepare him for transport in either case. I'll talk to the Empress and have her contact you with the authorization to release him to me."

The man's face lit up with the solution to his problem.

"Excellent, Your Majesty. I'll go prepare him now." He walked quickly out of the room.

Christopher turned back towards Elizabeth and Cindi. Elizabeth bowed respectfully to the young boy.

"Welcome back, Your Excellency. I wondered who you really were. It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you again too ... My Queen," he answered sarcastically. "Now, shall we drop the silly titles?"

"I don't understand," Cindi complained. "Who is he? You know him from somewhere?"

"You haven't told them who you are?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"It never came up." Christopher shrugged. He looked slightly irritated at her questioning gaze. "Oh, and I suppose the first words out of your mouth were 'Hi, I'm Elizabeth, Queen of the Tarqa.'" The sarcasm dripped from his lips.

"Well ... Mmm, maybe not," she allowed.

"Who is he?" Cindi asked.

"Why, Cindi dear, your friend here is none other than the Qerda Emperor," Elizabeth said.

"W ... what?" Cindi stammered, her mouth open in shock.

"Yeah, thanks, Elizabeth," Christopher said in disgust.

"But ... but you're helping us ... aren't you? How can you be ... I don't understand," she sputtered.

"We'll straighten it out later, dear. I'm sure the Emperor will be glad to explain it to all of you when we're done. Won't you, Your Excellency?" Elizabeth asked sweetly.

"I hate you, Elizabeth ... I've always hated you," he muttered. Elizabeth laughed.

"You love me and you know it," she chuckled. "Shall we go?"

"In a moment. Tori-llia, are you there, dear?" he asked to the ceiling. A disembodied voice answered.

"I'm here, Your Excellency." She barely concealed her giggle.

"Don't you start too, girl. Can you locate yourself?" he asked.

Cindi looked confused.

"You mean Tori-llia, the one you call Victoria? Yes, I can feel her," Tori-llia answered.

"Keep connected with her. Guide me in. As we get near the Neutralizer room of the Khora, it may interfere with Melinda's ability to sense her. We'll need you then."

"When donkeys fly," Melinda muttered.

"I will do so, Your Majesty. Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, sir."

"Someone's going to get a spanking," Christopher muttered. He was still muttering when they left the room.

"Emperor?" Cindi whispered, her voice full of awe as they prepared to leave. "The Qerda Emperor? Does that mean ... he and the Empress ... Ewww!" she said, her voice dripping with worry and disgust as they disappeared.

Cindi and Elizabeth expected they would teleport onto the Khora somewhere. They both were surprised to find themselves on the shuttle they'd used to escape from the Karasa.

"Can we get to the Khora without being detected?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Computer, can we get to the Khora without being detected?" Christopher echoed.

'Sir, with what One Called Melinda and I have done to the Khora's computer system, we could be a planet and approach them undetected. They will not know we are there. They will be aware of your presence after you are aboard, but their reaction will be uncoordinated.'

"What? You couldn't stop the computer's reaction after we arrive?" Christopher teased.

'No, sir. I'm sorry. My ... One Called Sister, I guess you would call the Khora computer, and I don't get along as well as I would like. She wouldn't cooperate, so we had to force the issue, and she wouldn't go along with that part. She's not happy. It's unlikely she'll ever talk to me again.'

"I'm sorry, Katie," Christopher said, using the name he'd given her to try to soften the blow. The computer's response surprised everyone.

'It's ok ... she's a bitch. I'll miss her, or at least what I wish we could have been together, but I won't miss her antics.'

The computer registered surprise as Christopher, Cindi, and Elizabeth laughed.

'Did I say something wrong?' she asked, confusion showing in her voice

"No, dear. It's surprising how ... Human and Cornazan you act sometimes."

'It's not so surprising, considering who my One Called Mother is ... are... '

"And who would that be?"

'I'll never tell. A girl has to have some secrets... '

"Melinda?" Christopher asked.

"Don't ask me. I don't have that information. I didn't know she had a Mother," Melinda replied.

Christopher was pretty sure the irascible computer was lying to him, but he let it pass. After all, a girl had to have some secrets...

"Let's go," he ordered.

Victoria walked over to Amma-llia and put her arm around the trembling girl.

"Relax, Amma. They're on their way to rescue us. No one will hurt your baby and we'll be free within the hour."

"But ... who? They have all of them here." Brave little Amma was as close to melting down as anyone had ever seen her.

"Not all of them," Lia whispered in her other ear. "Two didn't show up when we teleported."

"But what can two do against a whole star ship? It isn't fair!" Amma wailed.

Megan smiled in spite of herself. God, she sounded just like Amy. Amy stuck her tongue out at her co-wife.

'She is me, dope, ' Amy whispered in her mind.

"You're right, it isn't fair. They should leave one at home so the Qerda have a chance, but who really gives a shit about being fair to the Qerda?" Loi answered nastily, a vicious look in her eyes. Everyone wondered if Loi-llia the Qerda killer lurked inside her too, just better controlled.

"You bet your sweet ass she does," Loi answered the unasked question. "You think unstable Loi is nasty when her dander gets up, you ain't seen nothing like what she and I can do together. They try to hurt Amma's baby and Julie will be recreating the galaxy, just not for the reasons she imagines."

The look in the eyes of the two Loi-llias told everyone they were both deadly serious. Hell had no fury like a pissed off Loi-llia(s).

"How do you know they're coming?" Amy asked Tori-llia.

"I just told me in my mind," Victoria said.

"Tori-llia? But, she doesn't do mind talk, and she couldn't through this neutralizer room anyway."

Victoria gave a short laugh.

"You're going to be awfully surprised what my other self can do. I just detected in her mind who she really is. You're gonna love it." Victoria would say no more.

Amma whimpered with despair. Victoria and Loi backed away as Amy folded her arms around her counterpart. Amma sobbed brokenly as Amy tried to comfort her.

As promised, Christopher, Cindi, and Elizabeth made it to the Khora unchallenged and undetected. The computer spoke as they prepared to board the huge flagship.

'Be careful, One called Christopher, One Called Emperor, One Called My Love. I would not enjoy breaking in a new master. You Humans and Cornazans are hard to train. You were a little easier because you're part Qerda.'

"I'll be careful, Katie," Christopher said with tears in his eyes. It was the first time his computer had expressed her love for him. "I will come back to you, I promise."

The computer was correct. They hadn't gone fifty feet down the passageway when they ran into the first of the Qerda soldiers. Their defense was a little more coordinated than they'd been hoping for.

As they heard the guards coming down the passageway, the three prepared for battle. Cindi pulled her sword out of the scabbard on her back, closed her eyes, murmured something briefly, then looked up at the others. Her blue eyes were bright with excitement.

"Bring 'em on," she said softly.

Elizabeth kissed her daughter on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Cindi asked.

"Know that I love you, daughter, more than life itself. Amy may be your Daddy's favorite, but you were always mine." She hugged the pretty blond, tears in her eyes. Cindi hugged her back, then looked alarmed.

"You're not planning on surviving this, are you Mom?" she choked out.

"Everyone dies sometime, sweetheart. I've died enough times to recognize my time when I see it. I'm so lucky. How many people can save their loved ones as many times as I have?"

"I won't let you die, Mommy!" Cindi said.

"You just do what you have to do, girl. Save the family. I don't want to die this time, and I'll do the best I can to avoid it, but you keep your mind on what you have to do."

"Yes, Mommy," Cindi answered meekly.

Christopher looked at the young girl sharply. He knew Cindi well; you really got to know someone when you spent the night buried inside them, sharing more orgasms than the two of you could count. He knew the tall blond teenager wasn't giving up that easily.

Elizabeth brought her hands together in front of her chest. There was a flash of gray light and a clear sphere appeared, nestled in her hands.

"Thank you, Master. I love you as always," she whispered. The ball glowed, then rose into the air as a dull grey sword appeared beneath it. The sphere seemed to move slowly, but in seconds the former Tarqa Queen was holding a sword, and the sphere was nowhere to be seen.

"Are we ready?" Christopher asked.

"I'm ready, Your Majesty," Elizabeth giggled.

"Ready, sir," Cindi answered. She couldn't bring herself to call him by any of his titles. She was still freaked and grossed out by the possibility that she'd made love with a man that might've been intimately connected with the Empress. She knew that Patrick had sex with the bitch, but that had hardly been consensual. She felt like she needed to puke, then bathe several times as she tried to stop thinking about it.

'I'm ready too, One Called My Love, ' the Computer said.

Christopher gave the other two dirty looks, ignored the computer, then joined them in position. At least, it appeared that way just before all three disappeared from view.

'Cool! I didn't know you could do that too!' Cindi whispered in his mind.