Chapter 46

"Patrick! Wait!" I heard Megan's call dimly in my mind, but I ignored it. I had a job to do. I strode into the weapons room and picked up what I needed.

When I came back into the bedroom, it must have looked like I was prepared to invade Venezuela. I was armed to the teeth. Megan looked at me sadly, knowing full well what I was going to do, knowing she couldn't talk me out of it. I remembered something important as I rejoined the girls.

"Melinda? Are you all right"? I asked. There was no answer. "Melinda, talk to me."

"I can help you," Melissa said.

"Where's Melinda? Is she ok?" Cindi was staring at me, her big scared eyes mirroring the horrible thoughts bouncing around in her head of what had happened to the Computer-Girl.

"Yes ... and no."

"That's not very helpful, Melissa. A little more information would be greatly appreciated," I said curtly. I wasn't in the mood for games. Cindi was crying again.

"She'll be ok. She's ... sleeping, I guess is the best word for it. What she did took a lot out of her. She'll be fine once she recovers."

"We really appreciate what you two did for us back there," Megan said. "Tell her that."

"Yeah, Cameron did good," Julie added. I smiled grimly, my rage forgotten for a second. Melinda's performance lived up to the namesake Julie gave her very well.

"I'll tell her. You know, you're not fooling me a bit, Julie. You really love Melinda a lot. I'm not sure why you try to hide it, but you're not as successful as you think you are," Melissa replied softly.

I was surprised at the moistness in Julie's eyes.

"Don't tell her that, ok? Let her figure it out on her own. It'll mean more to her."

"No it won't, cause she'll never figure it out," Melissa predicted.

I started to leave the room. Melinda was ok; now it was time to take care of something I should have finished long time ago, before my little girls were hurt. I felt a lump in my throat as I thought of what Amy and Cindi had suffered. It would not happen again.

"Where are you going, Dad?" Cindi asked. Dad. She wasn't happy with me.

"None of your business, little girl," I snapped. "You take care of your sister."

"You're going after the Empress, aren't you?"

"I'm going to settle a score," I allowed.

"I'm going with you," Cindi said as she stood up. She looked like she was in pain.

"No you're not. You stay here and take care of your sister. You're her twin; you have the best chance of anyone to reach her. That's your job; do it and let me do mine. Besides, you can hardly stand by yourself."

She started to argue, then fell silent as Becky put a hand on her arm.

"I'm in fine shape and I'm not Amy's twin, so I'll go," the little blond stated. She was right, she was in fine shape.

"You're our mind expert, Becky. Stay here and try to reach Amy. She needs you." I saw Megan gearing up to state her piece.

"Don't even think about it, Megan. You're the best healer. Amy needs you here. I'll take care of this myself."

"But..." Sammi started.

"God damn it, no! What part of 'you're not going' do you girls not understand? None ... of ... you ... are ... going. I don't want to hear any more about it," I snarled.

The girls all recoiled from my outburst. I saw a lot of hurt faces. I really didn't give a damn right then. I didn't need a lot of argumentative teenagers ... I needed them to help Amy.

"Don't so this, Patrick," Megan pleaded.

"Don't do what? Don't make her accountable for what she did to Amy and Cindi? Bullshit! This fucking nonsense stops right now. I've put up with her tormenting my family members as long as I'm going to. It stops now. When I get back, there won't be a fucking war anymore. Don't mess with me, Megan," I warned.

"You'll put us right back into the cycles," Megan reminded me.

"So? Is that worse than this?" I spat, looking at Amy.

"Patrick..."

"I have to do this, Megan, you know that. Damn it, you know that ... don't you?" I pleaded with her.

"I know," she whispered sadly. "I know. I don't have to like it and I can still try to talk you out of it. I'm just trying to help, Patrick."

"You want to help, help Amy. Keep these girls here where they'll be safe. If I see any of you girls show up where I'm going I'll shoot you myself. Don't push me, girls. I mean it. Don't fuck with me on this," I threatened.

I didn't feel very proud of the look of fear I saw in their eyes. Not fear for themselves, but for me.

Christopher and Eric walked into the room. Katie jumped up and flung herself into her boyfriend's arms, tears running down her cheeks. Sammi was by Eric's side in a flash.

"Do something, Christopher!" Katie wailed. "He's going after the Empress alone and he's gonna get himself killed!"

Christopher kissed her, then held her close.

"Already done, my love," he murmured. Sammi looked at Eric.

"It's already taken care of, Lady Samantha," he verified. That's when I noticed the two boys were as well armed as I was.

"Come on, Dad. Time to go," Christopher said.

"Are you two going to argue with me too? I already had this discussion with your sisters. You're not going, and that's final."

Christopher laughed at me.

"Cut the crap, Dad. That 'me big he-man boss leader of the race White energy' shit works real well on the girls but it isn't going to work on us. We don't have sex with you and we really don't care if you get mad at us or not."

"He's right, I don't want to have sex with you," Eric confirmed.

I saw Katie cover her mouth with her hand, her eyes big as saucers. Was she laughing? Damn it, this wasn't a fucking joke!

"I'm glad we got that sex thing settled," she murmured. I saw the tenseness in her neck muscles and realized her attempt at humor was her way of preventing an explosion of fury.

"Chris..." I said warningly.

"Insulting me isn't going to help. You can't get me mad, not about this. Look, Dad, you have two choices. Eric and I go with you, or you sit your ass down and comfort your daughters. And before you try something stupid, I guarantee you can't take Eric and me, and all the girls will side with us." He gave me a nasty little grin. "So make up your mind ... time's a wastin', Pilgrim." He did a much better John Wayne imitation than Katie.

I sighed. I never thought I'd have trouble from my teenage boys. They'd always been the good ones. It looked like they had me, though.

The truth was, I wasn't involved with raising Eric or Christopher, so I didn't really know how much trouble they'd been. I wasn't that upset about them coming with me. It'd make things a lot easier. I expected them to try this anyway. A line had been crossed, a line that no Cornazan male would ever allow to be crossed without massive retribution. The Qerda were about to discover something they never suspected about Cornazan men. It would be a very unpleasant discovery for them.

"Fine, let's go. You make sure those stubborn sisters of yours don't follow, though. I meant what I said about what I'll do if I see them there." I walked out of the room.

"He wouldn't really shoot us, would he?" Katie asked, her eyes still huge.

"Don't bet on it, Little One. He might. He wouldn't kill you, but he might wound you to stop you from following him. This is a side of your Dad you've never seen before. Don't push him." Christopher turned to Sammi. "Lady Samantha, keep them here. They'll listen and obey their queen. I don't want them hurt. I mean it; don't let anyone follow us." Everyone looked a little startled at Christopher's tone of voice, his assumption of command. He also seemed to know a lot about this side of Patrick that few of the girls had seen before.

Sammi looked at Eric; he nodded his assent. The two boys walked out of the room.

"Melissa?" Megan called out.

"Yes?"

"Can Melinda speed up her recovery?"

"She can, but it would be painful."

"Tell her she better bite the bullet and get back as soon as possible ... like about ten minutes ago. We're going to need you both."

"What's going on? I ... haven't been paying attention; I've been helping Melinda. I had the danger sensors set to call me if anything happened."

"The men have gone after the Empress."

There was an audible gasp.

"The Cornazan men have gone after her?" the Computer-Girl asked.

"Yes."

"Oh crap! I'll get Melinda on line right away. She'll be pissed if she misses this."

"What does that mean?" Valerie asked.

Before she could answer, Megan had a furious blond in her face.

"God damn it, Megan, I cannot believe you just let him walk out of here like that! All our males are going to get killed and you did nothing about it? I thought you loved him!"

Megan closed her eyes and seemed to be counting to ten. When she opened them again, she took Cindi by the shoulders and pushed her down on the couch. Cindi glared and started to get up again, then shriveled under Megan's glare.

"Shut up and stay there," Megan spat. "Listen and maybe you'll learn something."

Megan closed her eyes and counted again. She was getting good at her numbers. Then she sighed and looked at the distraught blond.

"Have you ever tried talking your Dad out of something he really felt he needed to do? It can't be done. You saw how aggressive and abrasive he was. When's the last time you've heard him talk that rudely to the girls he loves? The Empress crossed a line that she should never have crossed. There was no way anyone could stop him."

"But..."

"You want to waste sympathy on someone, waste it on the Qerda. You'll see your Dad and brothers again soon, alive and unharmed. You won't ever see the Qerda fleet again, and you may never see another Qerda again anywhere, ever."

"And that would be a bad thing? I'm not seeing the downside of this," Lori said nastily.

"It'll land us right back in the cycles. That's a bad thing, Lori, no matter how badly you hate the Qerda. In these circumstances, we may never come out of the cycles again."

"But... Dad? I mean, I understand Christopher's tough and nasty, but Dad and Eric? I mean, I love them to pieces, but they're not exactly Terminators," Cindi protested. "They'll get killed!"

"Cindi, who's the most potent fighting force in the universe?" Megan asked.

"Cornazan women. Amy, Becky, me ... maybe Sammi on a good day," she added, grinning at the future queen. Sammi stuck out her tongue. "Our men aren't even in the same league; everyone knows that. They're not supposed to be. We love them dearly, but they're not fighters."

"I'll let you handle this, Lisa," Megan said.

"Everyone knows that because that's exactly what the Historians have made sure everyone believed for centuries. It's always been our ace in the hole. The truth is, Cornazan women are only the second most powerful fighting force in the universe; Cornazan men are the most powerful killing force ever known. Make them mad enough and you'll have a very bad day. It'll also be your last day. Patrick is very mad."

"You're kidding ... right? Daddy's a teddy bear."

"To you he is, and there is no scenario I know of that would ever result in him hurting you, or even allowing you to see that side of him. That's because he loves you ... he loves all of you. No, I'm not kidding. Unless the Empress does exactly what Patrick tells her to do, the first time he asks, he will destroy her and the whole Qerda fleet as easily as you'd step on a bug. She won't get a second chance. It's a good bet he'll then destroy their home world.

"Cornazan men are sweet, lovable teddy bears, like you said ... until a line is crossed. Then they show no mercy, take no prisoners, and they don't stop, ever, until they are done. You said your Dad was not a Terminator? I assume you're referring to the movies and TV shows here on earth. The fact is, Cornazan men are the closest you'll ever see to that, except they're not cyborgs ... and they're not evil.

"The Empress deliberately, maliciously, cold-bloodedly hurt his Life-mate, his Help-mate, his babies. Acts of war are one thing; cold blooded viciousness is quite another. Even God can't stop what's about to happen.

"Patrick wouldn't let any of you go with him because he doesn't need you, and he didn't want to take the chance you'd get hurt. He also didn't want you to see what's going to happen, see a side of him you've never seen before. Eric and Christopher didn't go along because he needed their help; they went with him to try to talk him out of what he's going to do. They won't succeed, but they'll try. Failing that, they'll likely help him destroy the Qerda... all the Qerda ... everywhere."

Megan and Lisa watched the girls' faces turned pale as, one by one, the full realization of what was about to happen dawned on them.

"Mommy? What happens to our Daddy when this happens? He's giving up everything he's ever believed in, all the righteousness and fair play he's live by for ... well, forever. Will he survive this?" Sammi asked. The regal queen sounded like a scared little girl.

"I don't know, honey. I just don't know," Megan answered, her face haggard with worry. Sammi put her arm around her twin and hugged her.

"Julie? You always know ... is Daddy going to be ok?" Sammi begged her sister.

"I don't know this, Sammi. I think he will, but ... I just don't know. This is new territory."

"Sam'ee ... Da-da..."

" ... B ... O ... K..." The babies chirped together.

"B ... h'rt bad..."

" ... B't ... O ... K..."

"Y'u d'n't stop Love'n H'm..."

" ... he ... B ... O ... K..."

" ... we pr'mis!"

The babies promise didn't seem to stop any of the girls from worrying, except for Katie. The little genius looked excited.

"Melinda! Are you there?" she shouted.

"You don't have to shout; I was asleep, not dead," came the irritated response.

"Well, wake up and get yourself recharged. I have a way to save Daddy ... I think," the little blond shouted again.

"Can you save yourself? That's what you're gonna need if you shout once more," Melinda grumbled. She sounded exhausted.

"How fast can you do DNA typing?" Katie asked.

"That's pretty complicated. I could probably do it in three ... maybe four seconds."

"Then wake your butt up, girl, and get busy. Here's my plan..."

Two minutes later, Melinda wasn't tired anymore. The room was bustling with activity as everyone hurried to put Katie's plan into operation.

"I assume we're taking the shuttle?" Christopher asked when he couldn't stand the silence anymore. We were walking across the yard to where we'd last seen it. "Somehow, I doubt Sarah or Jessica are going to be eager to teleport you."

"Ya think?" Eric quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Probably not. It's better this way. If we're lucky, your computer friend can keep us from being detected," I said.

"Dad ... you know this isn't a good thing you're going to do, right?" Christopher said nervously.

"Don't start, you two. You're the ones that wanted to go with me. Go back if you're having second thoughts. No one does this to my Amy ... or my Cindi. I'd kill both of you if you did this, just like I'll kill the Empress."

Eric sighed.

"We know. We feel the same way. We had to try, though. There's some serious ramifications to what you're going to do."

"Well, you tried. Now, shut up about it. There's some even more serious ramifications to me if I don't do this. I could never face Amy or Cindi if I let the Empress get away with this."

That took care of any talking the boys had in mind until the shuttle suddenly appeared in front of us. Christopher touched his icon to the side and the door opened.

"What the hell is that thing, and what's this all about, you seeming to be an expert on Qerda ships and computers? That computer seems to know you."

"She does ... I told you I'm 1/4 Qerda," he answered.

"Hello, dear ... welcome home. How was your day at work?" the computer said, then giggled.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop on conversations, computer," Christopher scolded her.

"Oops. Sorry," she said. Why didn't I believe her?

"You didn't answer my question about how you know all those things," I reminded him.

"Sure I did. I'm 1/4 Qerda. That's the only answer you're getting right now. We have things to do. Now, if you want to give up this harebrained idea of yours and go back into the house, we can talk about it."

"I'll wait," I said dryly.

Christopher sat in the pilot's seat, Eric and I rode shotgun.

"Computer, you think you can get us to the Khora undetected?"

"Yes, sir. At least most of the way. I'll let you know if we're in danger of being detected. If I may ask, why are we going there, One-Called Christopher? One-Called-Patrick and One-Called-Eric seem very unhappy."

"Just get us there, computer," I snapped.

There was no answer.

"Computer, take us to the Khora. Keep us undetected for as long as possible," Christopher said.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm done with the DNA typing," Melinda said moments after Katie finished explaining her plan.

"That was pretty slow, Cammie," Julie said straight-faced.

"Eat me, Scribe," Melinda responded. Julie giggled, then blushed.

"Go ahead with the rest. Sarah and Jessica will help. Let me know when you're done, and we'll talk to Patrick, tell him our idea," Megan said.

"Good luck. Bet you a new dress he doesn't listen to you," Sammi quipped.

"Probably won't. That's when I turn it over to Melinda. It doesn't matter ... you don't wear dresses anyway."

"Well, I might if I had one ... maybe..."

"I'm reading your mind about turning him over to me, Megan. This is gonna be fun ... well, as fun as it can get when I'm going to royally piss off an already thoroughly irritated Patrick. He may never talk to me again," Melinda said. She didn't sound concerned.

"Irritated?" Sammi said incredulously. "Girl, you have a knack for understatement."

"Ok, we're done," Melinda said a few minutes later. "It's all up to Patrick now."

"Well, here goes nothing," Megan sighed.

"Probably," Becky whispered.

"Patrick, I need to talk to you," Megan said over the comm link.

I'd just about decided the girls had given up when the message came through from Megan.

"Patrick, I need to talk to you," she said.

"Not now, Megan," I brushed her off.

"Yes, now. Melinda has a way around this," Megan said brusquely.

"Honey, are you deaf? I said not now. I've discussed this all I'm going to. Leave me alone. I'm busy."

"God damn it, Patrick, you can't treat me that way. The least you can do is listen to me. I deserve that much." She sounded angry and hurt. "Either listen to Melinda or I'm going to teleport there and show the Empress exactly how to kick your ass!"

Whoa! Was Megan pissed or what? If I'd had any brains, I'd have shut up and listened to her. I'd already established the extent of my brains earlier.

"I love you, Megan. Now go away," I said, suddenly tired.

There was a pause.

"Well, I tried. He's all yours now, Melinda," Megan said in a calm voice. She didn't sound angry anymore. She sounded almost ... amused.

Melinda's voice didn't come over the comm unit. It came from everywhere ... and nowhere.

"Computer, my authorization code is 00011001100010110110. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged. Response code 00101101001111001010," the computer answered.

"Computer, stop the engines. Bring the shuttle to a complete stop," Melinda ordered.

"Yes, One-Called Melinda. It is done."

We were dead in space.

"Christopher..." I began.

"Forget it, Dad. He's on our side. Christopher, in case you are considering overriding my command, don't. I'd hate to see the shock your ego would take when your computer obeys me instead of you," Melinda informed him.

"It still doesn't make me listen to you," I said. Bad mistake. Note to self: don't ever piss Melinda off. She's a computer. She isn't swayed by emotions when she's being a computer.

"Computer, activate program 13. Activation code is 'Archangel'. Cancel activation on my command only. Delay time, two minutes."

"Activation code 'Archangel' acknowledged. Program 13 running..."

"Danger! Warning! Autodestruct sequence activated! Autodestruct in 115 seconds! Danger! Warning! You have 60 seconds to reach a safe distance!"

What the fuck?

"Melinda?" Megan's voice was trembling. "That's not exactly what I had in mind!"

"Too bad. He's stubborn. I've run this scenario 411 times now, and this is the only thing he's going to respond to. So, Patrick, are you going to orphan all your little girls? Are you going to make Megan a widow? She'll self-terminate after you die, you know. So will Cindi. Who's going to look after Amy? Is it really worth all this just because you won't give in to a request from a woman that loves you more than life itself to listen to her plan? Are you really that selfish, stubborn and stupid? Oh, and if you are, the Empress wins," Melinda said.

"Danger! Warning! Autodestruct in 105 seconds! Danger! Warning! You have 50 seconds to reach a safe distance!"

It didn't take me long to realize Melinda was serious ... either that, or she was a brilliant poker player. Either way, I lose.

"You win, Melinda. I'll listen."

"What? I didn't hear you," she said.

"Danger! Warning! Autodestruct in 95 seconds! Danger! Warning! You have 40 seconds to reach a safe distance!"

"Mel..."

"Melinda, cancel the order!" Megan yelled.

"Patrick, remember what Lori told the Empress? 'Don't fuck with me, Empress. I promise you, you go back on your word and I'll destroy every one of your ships. If I start blowing up ships again, I won't stop until your fleet is gone.' I don't use bad words like that, but don't mess with me. You decide after I cancel this order to go back on your word and I won't cancel it again. What happens will not be an illusion, either."

"Jesus, Melinda, are you fucking crazy? Cancel that order right now!" Megan screamed.

"Danger! Warning! Autodestruct in 80 seconds! Danger! Warning! You have 30 seconds to reach a safe distance!"

"Patrick... ?" Melinda asked patiently.

"Cancel the order, Mel. I'll listen," I said quietly. The poker game was over; I wasn't even in the same league as the Computer-Girl.

"As you wish. Hmmm ... let's see ... what was that cancellation code again? I know I have it around here somewhere ... Melissa, do you remember where I put it?"

"Melinda!" Megan hissed.

"Oh yeah ... here it is. Computer, cancel program 13."

"Cancellation denied. Proper authorization code not relayed."

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Um ... oh yeah, authorization code 'Legnahcra'," Melinda said.

"Program 13 terminated."

"Now, let's hear this plan of yours, Melinda, so I can get about my business," I said testily. "Oh, and nice bluff, but we both know you wouldn't have blown up this shuttle."

"You're right, sir ... I wouldn't have. The computer would have. The autodestruct sequence only allows cancellation up to a specific time. After that time, it can't be cancelled."

"Little risky, don't you think?" I asked. I was more shaken than I let on.

"Not really. If you'd continued on your mission without listening to this plan, you'd be dead in a day or two anyway. Dead is dead ... doesn't really matter how you get there. Besides, the plan was that you wouldn't be stupid enough to call my bluff. I was almost wrong there."

Did she just call me stupid?

"Thanks a lot. So, what's your plan?"

"It's actually Katie's plan. You'll love it."

Melinda proceeded to outline the plan. She was right; I loved it.

"You do know the Empress isn't going to cooperate, don't you?" I replied after she was finished speaking.

"I know. We're not doing this for her." Megan's voice broke slightly. "I ... we're worried about you, Patrick. It does us no good to destroy the Empress and the Qerda if it destroys your soul at the same time."

I thought for a moment.

"Ok, I'll try it. I want it clear though; if the Empress doesn't cooperate, all bets are off. I follow whatever plan seems right to me after that."

"Agreed. At least you'll have tried. That may save you ... maybe." Megan didn't sound as sure as I'd have liked.

"You have a deal. Computer, start the engines and get us out of here," I ordered.

Nothing happened. I gave Christopher a disgusted look and motioned for him to do his thing.

"Computer, continue on our intended course," he said.

"Yes, sir. On our way. We'll be there in four minutes."

"Megan, I'm sorry," I said. I wasn't, but I made it sound sincere.

"I know. I am too," she replied. She could have sounded a little more convincing.

"Think it'll work?" Sammi asked hopefully.

"Not a chance," Melinda stated emphatically. "The Empress will never go for it. Patrick won't mess with her. She still has one chance. He's doing this for us; he doesn't really care if it works or not. He'd rather continue with his original plan; if she gives him the slightest excuse, he'll go back to it. He'll give this a fair shot, however, because he loves us."

"And because he's afraid you'll blow him up," Lori giggled. Megan glared at her. "Hey, it was pretty good, don't you think?"

"He knew I wouldn't do it. He was already regretting the way he talked to Megan. I just gave him a face-saving way out."

"You really think he did? Regret it, I mean?" Megan asked. Everyone felt sorry for her. Patrick's inconsiderate words had set her confidence level way back.

"He loves you, Megan. There's no doubt about that. He's not himself right now. That's a much bigger concern than how he talked to you," Melinda said gently.

"So it won't work?" Katie asked anxiously.

"Nope," Julie agreed. "That's why we need to get plan B rolling."

I was surprised that we made it all the way to the Khora's emergency docking port without being discovered. The computer thought it was because they were busy trying to decide what happened to the Karasa and its computer. It was also likely that their threat matrix wasn't programmed to pick up their own shuttles, piloted by their own computer.

In moments, we were aboard one of the outer compartments of the huge flagship. The shuttle backed off and vanished. The computer said it would wait for us near the emergency docking port. The port closed.

Christopher approached the wall, ready to do his icon thing again. I stopped him.

"No, Son. Not this time."

"You realize as soon as we step outside this door we'll have company."

"I know. I don't really care. Let them come. The more we kill, the happier I'll be. You know they're all gonna die anyway, right?"

"We kinda figured that was the plan. I was hoping you'd changed your mind," Eric said.

"Not hardly. That's up to the Empress, anyway. What do you think the chances are she's going to agree with Katie's plan?" I asked.

"Oh, I'd say somewhere between ... none and nonexistent."

"Right. Like I said, they're all going to die anyway." I shrugged my shoulders. "The more we kill on the way, the less we have to worry about on the bridge."

Eric and Christopher grinned at me.

"Let's go have fun," Eric said.

Before we left, Christopher touched the wall and a screen appeared. He showed us the fastest route to the bridge. I wanted the fast route because I didn't want the Empress to leave when she learned we were coming. I thought the chances of that happening were slim, knowing her ego, but you never knew. He typed in another set of numbers, then closed the screen. He grinned at me.

"I prefer it dark, don't you? Thirty seconds." We left the room.

'Tarnaki Qu! Tarnaki Qu! Intruder alert! Intruder alert!' the computer announced balefully. Christopher, Eric and I looked at each other and grinned. There was always a chance we wouldn't survive this, but damn, it was gonna be fun!

"How's it going, Melinda?" Julie asked anxiously. It usually didn't take the computer-girl this long to do anything.

"It's slow going. It's worse than finding a needle in a haystack. I'm trying to find one person among 35 ships, over 100,000 people, and I know very little about them. No complete DNA signature, nothing. It's going to take a while."

"We don't have much time. They're headed for the bridge. Hurry Melinda ... I promised."

"I know. I'm doing my best."

"I promised," Julie whispered, her face a mask of worry. "I promised."

We knew we'd run into the initial wave of Qerda around the first corner. It's where I would be waiting if I were them. I gave some preliminary hand signals and everyone nodded.