Bhavacakra
Fourteen
(9/08/06 0230, Texas League)
One instant the parking lot was empty and in the next five people stood on the asphalt surface. Raven let Kerrik go as Morwen wriggled free of Misery’s grasp.
It’s nice to be home. Whisper stretched shamelessly and smiled when Kerrik’s eyes followed her body’s movement. She was starting to repeat the motion to see how interested he might be when a strange pokegirl popped around the corner of the building and stared at them.
Kerrik’s hand blurred for one of his pistols. Misery lunged at him and jerked his hand out of line as he fired. The round intended for the pokegirl went harmlessly into the darkness as the stranger threw herself under cover.
A frozen tableau ensued. Misery held his gun hand up in the air with both of hers and blinked at him with wide eyes over the top of his second pistol where it pressed into the soft flesh under her jaw. His ears were back and his eyes angry slits as he glared at her. His voice, however, was soft and almost completely uninflected. “You made me miss. Explain.”
Raven reached to touch him, but paused with her fingers hovering just above his skin. “I think Misery knows who the newcomer is.” She sounded worried. “Kerrik, you don’t want to shoot her, at least not there. She’ll die before I can pokeball her and breaking the delta bond will hurt you.”
Whisper was facing where the strange pokegirl had vanished and raised an eyebrow when an unknown voice called. “Is it safe to come out?”
Not for you.
Kerrik kept his eyes on Misery as he slowly holstered the pistol he’d threatened her with. “Please be more careful in the future. I could have killed you.”
The mini-top swallowed heavily and let his other hand go. “That was so hot.”
Kerrik looked confused. “What?”
Misery leaned forward and licked his lips. “I said that was so hot. You had my life in your hands. I’ve never been that helpless before. Nobody has ever caught me that off guard. The fact that it was you was just so hot.” She leaned forward again.
Raven smacked her on the back. “Stop that! We have a strange pokegirl here. Do you know her or should I kill her while you fuck him?”
Morwen was watching things with wide eyes. “You’re all insane.”
Kerrik’s eyes focused and he took a ragged breath. “You’re sexy as hell, Misery, but I shouldn’t be this easy to distract. I’ll investigate that later. Who is she?”
“Her name is Autumn.” The mini-top gave him a look that promised they’d continue what had been taking place sometime in the near future. Then she turned to look at the place where the subject of their discussion was hidden. “She’s one of my few friends, which is why I didn’t want you to shoot her out of hand. I don’t know why she’s here.”
“Find out.”
Misery strode forward and paused. “Autumn, how did you come to be here?”
“Can I come out?”
The mini-top looked back at Kerrik. “Can she?”
He slipped the other pistol into its holster. “She’s safe unless she attacks someone.”
She’s safe unless I think she’s going to attack someone. While I don’t know her by sight, I do know who Autumn is and I won’t give her the opportunity to add to her reputation. Whisper’s lips were drawn back in a snarl and a low growl filled the air.
Misery looked at Raven, who nodded. “Kerrik called it. She’ll be safe as long as she behaves.”
“Damn right I fucking called it.” He gave his maharani a halfhearted glare but his words were for Misery. “Someone is supposed to pretend to run this place and you three gave that job to me. Stop second guessing my decisions by going to her.”
Kerrik, something is wrong. Your emotions are all over the place and they’re affecting us through our bonds with you.
His lips thinned. “Oh, so the fact that you three are fucking loose cannons is my fault?”
Raven paled. “You don’t usually try to hurt us like those words just did. Are we going to have to fight each other next?”
Kerrik froze for a second and then closed his eyes. “Watch our visitor,” he muttered.
Whisper shivered. I am going to have to learn how he does that. He just locked me out without cutting the rest of our growing bond. She raised her head. Autumn, you are granted safe passage unless you initiate violence against us. Are you alone?
“I am.”
Raven glanced to her side. “Morwen, check on her.” When the vampire gave her a shocked look she smiled slightly. “If something isn’t right, I’d rather have to rescue your ass than expect you to rescue mine, since I actually know how to fight. I have no intention of letting anyone kill you.”
Morwen nodded and trotted forward. Misery grabbed her arm. “Stay in sight if you can. It’ll facilitate pickup.”
“I know, I know, until I’m delta bonded to Kerrik and you can use that to come get me anywhere, right?”
The mini-top blinked and let her go. “You understand what’s going on with us? Little sister, we’re going have to have a long talk later.”
The vampire was careful to remain where the harem could see her as she moved forward. She finally stopped and slowly looked around. “I can see one pokegirl. What does this Autumn look like?”
Misery cocked her head. “She’s an elfqueen with hair the color of leaves in the fall.
“Is she pregnant?”
The mini-top blinked. “I haven’t seen her in over a year. Is she?”
“Oh yes.” Morwen frowned. “Ok, I see one pokegirl that could well be an elfqueen. She’s tall and busty and has reddish colored hair, but I can’t see her ears. However, I should point out that if there are others in hiding, I wouldn’t see them, and if they’re dark types Whisper wouldn’t sense their presence.”
The voice came again, this time laced with amusement. “Your friend is very good, Misery, but it’s obvious she’s not used to working with Whisper or she wouldn’t be speaking out loud where any friends of mine would be able to hear her, if there were any, which there are not. I am alone.”
Kerrik blinked and shook his head slowly as he opened his eyes. “She’s telling the truth. Bring her in, Morwen. Besides, she probably knows that if she had friends who attacked us, we’d kill her first.”
“You’d kill a pregnant pokegirl?” Raven’s eyes were wide.
“I’ll kill anyone to protect us,” he replied flatly. “Morwen?”
The vampire motioned. “Come on out, Autumn. We’ve got some tea.”
The pokegirl reappeared. “Please, no. I love tea, but right now I puke if I drink caffeine. It’s been a problem since I became pregnant.” She stood nearly seven feet tall and was curvy with an impressive bust and wide hips. Her shoulder length hair was stands of red interwoven with gold and overlaid with a hint of brown and gray. She was heavily pregnant and her belly strained the light green gown she wore. When she saw Kerrik she stopped moving and stared openly at him. “I didn’t believe the stories were anything more than rumor, but apparently they’re true. He did make males of our kind. Is that why you are all living together peacefully?” She frowned when Morwen giggled. “I said something amusing?” Her frown deepened. “What is your name?”
The vampire nodded. “I’m Morwen. Kerrik isn’t a male pokegirl. There won’t be any of those for at least three hundred years, and I should know. He’s just a man.”
“I don’t know about the just part,” Kerrik said irritably. “I’m not human at all. I’m kami, which means neither you nor Autumn can really know what I am.”
Raven put a hand on his shoulder and whispered to him. “Are you ok now?”
He twitched his lips into a ghost of a smile. “If she is an elfqueen, she can hear us and, yes, I’m better.” When she started to speak again, he shook his head. “We’ll discuss it when we’re alone.” He turned to Autumn and brought his ears up cheerfully. “I apologize for the rude greeting, Autumn. I’m Kerrik Wolf and this is Raven, my archmage and maharani. If you’d been in a harem, you’d call her my alpha, only she hates that word. You already know Misery and apparently you know something about Whisper. The vampire is Morwen and she’s the newest addition to my family. Considering that I almost killed you, it’s only proper that I extend to you the hospitality of my home. Can we offer you some refreshments?” He glanced at Raven and dropped his voice. “Clear the building.”
The archmage nodded firmly. “Misery, Whisper, if Autumn could get here to surprise us, so could others. Search for ferals or other unwanted guests. This is going to become a regular procedure any time all of us leave the place for more than half an hour. Morwen, you’re with us.”
Kerrik sighed. “Oh, and Misery?” When the mini-top looked at him curiously, he smiled apologetically. “You had a good reason for spoiling my shot. I’ll try not to be so trigger happy in the future.”
She grinned back. “Will you fuck me until I can’t walk to make up for it?”
Whisper hissed before he could respond. If I break both of your legs, wouldn’t that accomplish the same result? Now, before you start arguing with me, you might want to consider the fact that our esteemed maharani is starting to look at you with the same expression she had when she threatened my life right after you took Kerrik. I was a heartbeat away from being quite and verily dead, and by her hand.
Misery gave Raven a quick glance and blinked at what she saw. “Right. Patrol it is.”
Autumn watched them head off curiously. “I see it that the reports of you three living together blissfully were more than slightly exaggerated.”
Raven relaxed and smiled. “There does seem to be a certain amount of unavoidable friction. If it weren’t for our attachment to Kerrik, we wouldn’t be together at all. Should we head for the pool? There are some tables and chairs there.”
The swimming pool area held a collection of badly abused plastic chairs and tables. When they arrived at the lodge, the furniture had been pulled away from the privacy fence where the wind had blown it years ago and wiped down to remove the worst of the accumulated crud. The plan had been to use the area as an ad hoc meeting area until they could refurbish the interior. The swimming pool itself was halfway empty of water due to a crack in one of the concrete walls. The remaining water was covered with a nasty looking green scum that hadn’t prevented it from being a reservoir for clouds of mosquitoes. The insects had chased them all over the lodge complex until Raven had used an ice spell to freeze the top of the water and turned it into a layer of solid ice several inches thick. After waiting a day for the mosquito larvae to all die of asphyxiation, the pokegirls had chopped the ice up and removed it. They had then continued the process of freezing, chopping and removal until the pool was empty. The plan was that eventually it would be repaired and put back into service. Freezing the water solid would have expanded it enough to probably rupture the bottom of the pool, which was why it had been done in careful stages.
Kerrik pulled out a chair for Autumn, who shook her head. “If it’s all the same with you, I’ll stand. Right now, I don’t get a lot of warning when I have to pee and I really don’t like peeing on myself.”
“Suit yourself.” He turned the chair around and used it himself. “Can I ask who knows where we are?”
The elfqueen smiled gently. “There is a grapevine out there for pokegirls who know how to tap it. A lot of it is run by the celestials and some of it is run by pokegirls who don’t like company. The rest is coordinated by pokegirls like me, who merely want to know what’s going on. All three of your pokegirls were part of the network before they met you. That didn’t change when they joined your harem. Alice is part of it too, and she’s let the information about here out so as to bring hope to others like them. She also let everyone know that if they came here, all they’d find is death from the one who is now called Raven.”
“Damned right, they would. Let them find their own man.” Raven folded her arms and gave the elfqueen a flat look. “Are you here to die?”
“Hardly. I had a tamer until I left him. I just needed a place to rest for a day or two before heading farther south. I don’t want William to find me, so staying away from the towns is indicated.”
“You had an abusive tamer?”
Autumn shook her head. “No, for the most part he was good to me. He had a store in St. Louis and I worked there for him. I’d have rather been in the fields, but he hated farming. He did like my body though, and he liked it too much to trade me to a farmer.” Her eyes widened suddenly. “Gotta pee. Be right back.” She dashed into the bushes.
Kerrik drew a pistol. “Raven, please go and guard her. Morwen and I’ll scream if anything happens.”
The archmage nodded and took to the air. When she and Autumn returned, Kerrik was talking quietly with Morwen while she gingerly held one of his pistols. The elfqueen frowned and whispered to Raven. “Does he know that pokegirls aren’t supposed to carry firearms? The Indigo League has some silly rule about it.”
Kerrik didn’t look up. “I don’t care about other people’s rules. Everyone who wants to will get a chance to learn whatever they want.” His eyes flicked over them and back to the vampire. “This is also Texas, and not Indigo.”
“I’m impressed with your hearing. It’s much better than that of a normal human’s. What is Texas policy on pokegirls and guns?”
“As I said before, I’m not human. As for Texas’ policy on firearms and pokegirls, I don’t have a clue. I do intend to go to Austin soon and I figure I’ll find out then.” He held out his hand. “I think we’re done for now, Morwen. Later we’ll do some shooting.”
“Ok.” The vampire carefully gave him back the pistol. She looked up. “You were telling us about leaving William?”
“I was indeed, young lady. Like I said, William was good to me for the most part, but he was determined that I would give my children up to the league ranch system. I suspect he’d really have preferred it if I weren’t pregnant as all. I was determined that I was going to get to keep my daughters.” She picked at a scab on her arm. “He was going to win if I stayed, so I left him.”
Raven’s mouth twisted angrily. “St Louis, you said? What is his last name?”
“Did it occur to you that if I wanted him dead, he’d be dead?” She sighed. “I have been a fighter since before I was forced to evolve to elfqueen and was named Autumn by my troops. Trust me when I say I can kill when I have to.” Another sigh. “Leaving him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. For some reason I wanted to return to him, even though I knew he’d take my babies from me. I almost convinced myself that even if I couldn’t talk him out of it we could always have more kids later and I’d get to raise those.” She shivered suddenly and wrapped her hands around her stomach protectively. “And the whole time I knew those were insane thoughts. His mind was more than made up.”
Morwen nodded. “It’s the alpha bond. It makes you want to do what makes your tamer happy. In most pokegirls it makes them want what their tamer wants even over what they might want or in extreme cases even what might keep them alive. It’s why many pokegirls with one tamer will do horrible things and then when placed with another tamer won’t, because he won’t.”
“I’ve never heard of this alpha bond. How do you know these things?”
“Pokegirl studies is a mandatory class in school starting from the second year, even for people like me who didn’t intend to be tamers.”
“Pokegirls can’t be tamers.”
Morwen frowned. “I didn’t become a pokegirl until less than a month ago. I was born a human girl.”
Autumn’s eyes were wide enough to show the whites. “What is she babbling about?”
Raven glanced at Kerrik. “Autumn is part of that network too. How much is going to be allowed to become common knowledge?”
“Haven isn’t keeping a secret about where they came from. Texas will find out eventually. Why not the grape vine, too?”
The archmage nodded. “Very well. Autumn, do you remember the tales that Sukebe got his ideas about us from other dimensions?”
“They’re not tales. I saw one of his gates when I was summoned to headquarters to be evolved to elfqueen.”
Morwen’s eyes lit up. “Did you meet him?”
“You could say that. He stuck a needle in me and then followed up with his dick. The shot was something that would ensure I’d evolve for him. Becoming an elfqueen was my reward for a job well done.”
“You were tamed by Sukebe? That’s incredible!”
“He’s a man, Morwen. Granted he was my first man, but I’ve learned that he was just a man.”
Kerrik cocked his head. “A reward for what?”
“I was a lieutenant and my battalion command post got plastered with napalm during a staff meeting. Everybody senior to me was killed. I took command and managed to extricate over two thirds of the survivors from that ratfuck. Almost a thousand pokegirls got away and while doing so, I kept my command together and managed to inflict enough damage on the humans attacking us that we weren’t pursued while they licked their wounds.” Autumn grimaced. “I think I was rewarded for getting my command out mostly intact, but it could have been for mauling the human forces before we broke contact. I hope it was for the former.”
Kerrik’s ears flicked. “It always sucks when the wheels come off and you suddenly find yourself in a command slot. You were rewarded for getting your command out.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“It’s what I would have rewarded you for doing.”
“Oh?” She snorted derisively. “And what commands did you have?”
“I’ve commanded everything from squads on independent ops up to armies and fleets. I’ve also been the guy giving the orders to the generals and then turning them loose to do my will.”
She stepped forward and peered into his eyes. “You feel the pain.” It wasn’t a question.
His ears flicked. “I feel it for each and every one of them that I couldn’t send back to whoever loved them.”
Autumn started to respond but stopped when Misery and Whisper came through the gate. “The site has been cleared. We didn’t find any signs of anyone else besides Autumn.” The mini-top yawned hugely. “It’s a good thing that we’re alone. We’ve all been up for nearly twenty four hours and I’m beat.” Her ears smacked softly against the backs of her legs as she stretched. “Autumn, if you don’t snore, you can bunk with me.” She turned to Kerrik. “That is, if she can stay. Can she?”
He exchanged a look with Raven and then shrugged. His ears flicked. “I’m not bedding her.”
Autumn snorted. “I’m sure that, just like every pokegirl’s tamer, you’re fantastic in bed, but I haven’t wanted sex for over a month. If I need something, Misery can help me out.” She looked at him. “I hope you’re not insulted.”
Kerrik managed to keep the relief from his voice. “Not at all. Goodnight ladies. Misery, since you volunteered, Autumn is in your care.” He headed into the kitchen in search of a snack.
His ears started to go back when he realized that Raven was following him. “Do I really need a guard here?” He turned on a small battery powered lantern they kept in the kitchen. In the morning he’d put it outside so the solar film could recharge it.
“I don’t know much about Autumn, so yes. Besides, I wanted to talk to you.”
“If it’s about elves, I don’t see where we have anything to discuss. You’ve always said that I needed to get over my dislike of them and I never agreed with you.”
She folded her arms as he pulled out a block of cheese and a knife. “You don’t have a choice anymore, and you brought it on yourself.”
His eyebrows rose while his ears flattened. “Oh?”
“Don’t take that tone with me. You did bring it on yourself when you offered her hospitality. That’s a term with a very specific meaning in Tirsuli society.”
Kerrik’s head came up and he promptly stabbed himself in the hand with the knife. “Shit.” He wasn’t cursing at the injury and they both knew it.
He sucked on the wound and glared at her as she smirked. “You offered her anything she needs and we both know that for a pokegirl, taming is a need.”
He looked at the wound. “She said she didn’t want sex from me.”
“After your preemptive ‘I’m not bedding her’, what else could she say? ‘Please, Master Kerrik, please stick your mighty cock in me?’” She made a face at him when he growled at her. “Oh, stop that. What is your problem right now?”
“When I broke the circle, I somehow grounded the magic that made up the circle through my body. It did something to me. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I do know that all the control I’ve been working to build was swept away like it never existed.”
“So you’ll have to start over?” She sighed when he nodded. “That’s just fucking wonderful. How about you try really hard not to have us fight to the death again or shoot anyone while you work on it?”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to hurt any of you and I hope you know that.”
She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. “I know, Kerrik. We’ll work through this together.” She made a contented noise when he put the knife down and put his arms around her. “Can I ask what you have against elves?”
“I was hurt really badly by some elves once. Not physically, where it could heal, but inside, where it has always ached.” She could almost feel the thoughts seething in his head and felt the sudden quiet when he made a decision. “I was born an elf. Not an elf like the ones Sukebe created, but a true elf, whatever that means. When I became what I am now, I went home seeking help and hoping for some solace. I was terrified and really needed to see my family. Instead I was reviled and driven away. My own mother told me that she never wanted to see me again.”
Raven’s arms tightened around him. “How long did that last?”
He snorted. “I have never been back. After that, I never had any relationships with elves. I haven’t even had sex with one since that day.”
The archmage pulled away from him to peer into his eyes. “Did you make an oath about it?”
He frowned. “No, I didn’t. Why?”
“I was thinking that maybe Autumn could stay here. If she does, eventually she’ll want you to tame her.” When his frown deepened, she smiled at him. “She’s an elfqueen and therefore she’s a magical plant type. She can learn the earth mother technique so we can have children when we’re ready.”
“We might want to find an elf to bring here and let her adapt to us. We’re not really all that normal.”
“I want Autumn.” She hit him lightly when he smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Not like that. I don’t want to fuck her. I want her because while she may be just an elfqueen, but she’s a lot like we are.”
“I thought you didn’t know her?”
“Misery does and Whisper has heard of her and we’ve been discussing her through our twees since she showed up.”
For an instant, he looked jealous. Then it was gone. “What did you find out about her?”
“She’s been a combat pokegirl since she was decanted. Her name was given to her by her troops for her accomplishments. The human forces called her General Death, and her forces did horrible things to any human units that they faced.”
Kerrik’s ears flicked and he cocked his head. “I’ll bite. What kind of name is Autumn for a fierce pokegirl?”
“Apparently it was the one she’d accept from them. Autumn is the time for the reaping, and she was very good at reaping human lives. She was the last of the great military leaders and if she’d become a general earlier in the war, it might have turned out very differently.”
“What is she doing running a store in St. Louis?” His ears rotated. “Or would it be easier just to ask that question of you directly, Autumn?”
Raven’s head whipped around. Autumn and Misery were just entering the doorway. The mini-top’s teeth shined as she grinned. “She wanted something to eat.”
The elfqueen sniffed the air. “Is that cheese? I love cheese. I haven’t seen any in years.”
Kerrik picked up the knife and cut a chunk, which he handed to her. “Here you go.”
She sighed happily and began nibbling on it. “Thank you.” She moaned happily. “This is so good. I learned about making cheese because I hoped to make some for myself. Where did you get the rennet so you could make it?”
Kerrik cut off another small piece for himself. “We didn’t make the cheese, we brought it with us. Why was a former general of pokegirl armies tending a store?”
“I don’t fight anymore, except in self defense. I never really enjoyed killing, it’s just that I was very good at it.” She held out a hand theatrically and wriggled her fingers. “There’s so much blood on these that it’s a wonder the earth doesn’t reject my power. Besides, if the Indigo League knew who I was, they’d have executed me for war crimes against humanity. I’ve seen some of their executions and they were pretty nasty. Needless to say, I didn’t feel any need to let my tamer know about my past.” She gave him a curious look. “It doesn’t seem to bother you. Does it?”
“No. We’re all killers here. Well, except for Morwen, and she’ll be one someday.”
“You sound like it’s a forgone conclusion.” Autumn looked saddened by the thought.
“She’s a vampire, she’s already very competitive and she’s surrounded by people who easily kill.”
“I see. You have a several good points.” The elfqueen popped the last piece of cheese into her mouth. “Thank you for the cheese.”
“You are our guest and you are quite welcome.” Raven turned to Misery. “Now why don’t you put your friend to bed? We’ll go ahead and sleep in this morning.”
The mini-top nodded. “That sounds great. Come on, Autumn.”
Raven turned to him as they left. “I figure that you’re going to stay up.”
“I am. I’ve got some stuff I need to find in my pack. Some spell books for you and some other gear for training.”
She grinned tiredly. “Spell books? Excellent.” She kissed him gently. “Good night, Kerrik.”
“Night, Raven.”
(9/08/06 0800, Texas League)
Kerrik didn’t pause in his reps as his pokedex played a brief bit of martial music. He finished up the set of two hundred bench presses before putting the weights into their holder and sitting up. As a regenerating creature, he’d learned long ago that his body healed from weightlifting in minutes and he was using that knowledge to push himself to the limit. He did two hundred reps of the most weight he could lift with the free weights and while his chest and arms healed he did two hundred reps with the leg press. It wasn’t anything close to what he’d call fun, but since almost everyone on the planet was stronger than he was, he planned to do this every day, along with martial arts to keep his muscles long and supple.
He pulled his pokedex from his belt and activated it. “You rang, Virtue?”
“Commander, do you have a minute?”
He reached for the towel and wiped his face off. “Of course I do. What is it?”
“I was preparing the shipment of cleaning supplies and other stuff you ordered and I wanted to get your permission to send you some new equipment as well.”
His ears flicked. “What kind of equipment?”
“During the years that we were monitoring Vallation I have developed a new variant of pokeball technology from the Ruby League. It is loosely based on the MBM that the Ruby League was using. May I show you?”
“Go ahead.”
The holographic display lit up and showed a cube. Kerrik could see a lens similar to the one on a pokeball on the front. “This is the storage ball. It is four inches on a side and weighs eight ounces.”
“It’s not a ball.”
“I know, sir, but the original design was round. I made it square for stacking, and haven’t come up with a new name for it yet.”
“I see. Well, tell me about it and we’ll find a name for it.”
“Yes sir.” The screen changed to show a shapeless mesh bag that sealed with a zipper. “The cubes store non-living matter in up to two thousand pound lots with dimensions limited only by whatever will fit within the containment sack. This sack is actually a cube that is seven feet on a side, for a volume of three hundred and forty three cubic feet. Once the sack is filled with whatever you want to store, you seal it and then it can be recalled into the storage cube. The sack is necessary to prevent the cube from accidentally collecting the surface that the cargo rests on and overloading the cube. Living matter larger than a rat will cause the cube to abort the recall process. Creatures which are smaller than a rat will be killed during the conversion process. This means it will function to sterilize vermin in cargo.” The screen changed once more to show a square container with swing out doors. “This is the rigid version of the bag and makes storage of things that can be stacked much easier.” The screen changed again. This time it showed a metal framework. “I have also designed this, which is a backpack frame that holds two layers of cubes stacked on top of each other. It will allow one individual to carry up to forty eight of the cubes.”
“Are you telling me that this is based off of pokeball technology and will let a single person carry forty eight tons of supplies if they want? And that they would only weigh twenty four pounds.”
“Yes, sir, that is correct, although the framework weighs another three pounds. When full, the cubes cannot be stored inside a pokepack or on a pokegirl inside a pokeball. They simply weigh so much that the storage attempt will overload the ball or the pokepack and nothing will happen. Therefore, a different means of carrying them was called for.”
“What is the shelf life of a filled cube?”
“I performed an energy profile and the stasis field should not show any noticeable degradation for three thousand Earth years. I have placed ten thousand charged balls in a vault orbiting Vallation and so far the energy curve from them matches the profile almost exactly. I intend to keep them as a control group until they fail. If the field becomes unstable, it will eject the contents as a safety feature. The cube is not designed for use with pokepower systems.”
“That’s fine. I have no intention of ever introducing that abortion to this world.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Have you designed a liquid container for this system?”
“I have not, but it would be an easy modification. Should I produce some prototype liquid containers and send them along with the shipment? They would only hold a hundred and twenty five cubic feet and would be easy to manufacture. It would be a container five feet on a side.”
“Yes, but the ability to cart around a ton of water would increase the versatility of the system dramatically.” A smile flitted across his face. “I think you and the others have just made this trip profitable. This cube system will sell well on worlds with pokeball technology, including Prime.”
“How many should I send you? I’ll also pack the charging equipment and other ancillaries, sir.”
“Fill up the rest of the space in the container with them.” He grimaced. “I wish I’d had them during the move. You do realize that you just made the containerized system Shikarou is using for transporting his supplies almost completely obsolete, right?”
“I’m sure he’ll adapt, sir. It just means he can ship a lot more cargo in a single container, since a single container would hold 69,000 cubes.”
Kerrik chuckled. “Sixty nine thousand tons does represent a significant upgrade. If I sell them here, it’ll make shipping a lot easier. Smuggling, too. Can a loaded pokepack be placed inside a cube?”
“No, sir. The two stasis fields form an interference pattern that won’t allow an active pokepack to be placed inside a cube.”
“What about transport through a pokeball transporter? Can that be done?”
“The hardware will work identically on the storage cubes, but the software is vastly different. I have designed the software, but it hasn’t been tested yet as I didn’t have permission to set up two pokeball transporters at Vallation for experimental purposes.”
“You do now. While you’re at it, crunch the numbers to see if a pokeball or cube transport from Vallation can be safely delivered to a specific location on Earth.”
“I hadn’t considered that aspect, sir. I will get started immediately. Your shipment of supplies will arrive this evening around 1900 hours.”
“Thank you, Virtue.” Kerrik shut down the pokedex and moved to the leg press.
(9/08/06 1000, Texas League)
Kerrik was in his office when Morwen appeared in the doorway. “Good morning.”
The vampire smiled. “Good morning to you.” She hesitated. “I was wondering if I could still get breakfast. Raven wants to start my training today and I suspect I’m not going to get another chance to feed for a while.”
He pushed away from his desk. “Of course you can.” When she approached he held up his arm. “Here you go.”
Morwen took it gently and met his gaze. Her voice was soft. “Was last night a one time thing?”
His ears canted sideways. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
She frowned. “I’m not sure, but I think so. Raven and Whisper say you’re going to make me wait the whole six months before we are together, but Misery thinks I might be able to talk you into it early.”
“Which are you hoping for?”
“I’m not sure of that, either. I want and I’m terrified because I do. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, it does. You’ve had a lot of changes in your life in a very short time. You also know that they’re not over yet, not by a long shot. I’d be nervous too. Should I stand?”
“Raven feeds in your lap, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Is it a common thing for blood drinking pokegirls?”
Kerrik looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “I think it is. Elizabeth does it.”
“What about the whole feeding during taming? Is that common, too? I know Raven likes that.” She gingerly settled into his lap.
“Well, the truth is the feeding usually happens before sex, although Raven likes to bite during, too. If she were actually feeding when she orgasmed, she’d probably tear my throat out.”
“I was kind of wondering about that.” Morwen frowned. “How do I do this while in your lap?”
“I can show you, but I want you to think about it first. It’s a lot like sitting in someone’s lap and kissing them.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Just how much experience with that do you think I have? I’m not a slut, jiggly or otherwise.”
“I never thought you were. The easiest way is probably if you straddle my waist. Do you think you’ll be comfortable doing that?” When she turned pink and shook her head, he smiled. “Ok, then we’ll do it this way.” She squeaked when he wrapped his arms around her and shifted her in his lap.
“What was that for?”
“If you sit wrong in someone’s lap, you can pinch things that are pretty painful.”
“Oh.” Her eyes filled with comprehension. “Oh. Sorry.”
“It happens.” He carefully guided her mouth to his neck. “There, now you can feed.”
She sank her fangs into his throat and he hissed. She immediately pulled her teeth from his neck, but kept her lips sealed around the bite. She drank until the wound closed. “What did I do,” she whispered against his neck. “You’re not hard anymore.”
Kerrik stroked her hair. “You bit into a nerve. Move up a little and try again.”
“Maybe I should just do the wrist.”
His arms went around her and tightened. “Try again. You’ll need to master this in any case.”
She nodded against his skin and shifted up a bit. “This spot feels right.” She bit.
Kerrik hummed contentedly. “That place is much better. Well done.” He draped his arms around her as she fed.
When she was done, Morwen sighed and curled up against his chest. “You’re going to make me wait the whole six months, aren’t you?”
“That’s the plan.”
“What if I don’t want to wait?”
“Then we may have a problem. I want to wait.”
“Is it you don’t want me?”
He chuckled. “No, that’s not the problem at all. I want you a lot. However, while six months sounds like forever, it’s not. It’ll give you time to get used to being a vampire. That way you won’t rip my arm off because you’re really enjoying what I happen to be doing at the time.”
“Don’t you have restraints?”
He nodded. “I do. Don’t you think you’re worth not using them if we don’t have to?” Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him. “I don’t want you to just lie there and that’s what happens with restraints. I want your active participation in what we’ll be doing.”
She blinked and turned bright red. “Oh.”
“Yeah, and getting that is worth waiting until you have that much control.”
“I’ll have to really work hard at it, won’t I?”
“I know you can do it. I don’t have a doubt about that. You just have to want it as much as you want me right now. You know, Whisper is far stronger than you are, and she’s got that much control. So do Misery and Raven.”
Morwen’s eyes narrowed. “Then I will do it, too.” She slipped off his lap. “Would you watch me train? It’ll help to remind me what my ultimate goal is.”
“You want me to stare at your hot little body while you’re getting all sweaty?” He grinned when her fading blush returned. “I guess I can do that for you.”
He followed her to the door and watched as she put her cloak on before heading outside. Raven was waiting at the edge of the parking lot. “Where were you?”
“I wanted breakfast before you started beating me up.”
The archmage glanced at Kerrik and smiled as she returned her attention to Morwen. “Oh, you won’t be training with me for a while yet. Misery’s fetching Elizabeth so she can teach you about being a vampire. I want you to master that before you start combat training with us.”
Morwen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Thank you, um, maharani.”
“You did talk to Elizabeth before you sent Misery after her, didn’t you?”
Raven grinned. “Would I do that? Oh, right, I would. Yes, I talked to her at the ceremony last night and she agreed to start teaching Morwen today. I think she’s planning to use this as experience for when Melanie is older.”
Misery appeared with Elizabeth in the center of the parking lot and let the older vampire go. “This is our home.”
Elizabeth whistled softly as she looked around. “It’s a nice looking hotel and should make an outstanding place to live. I can see why you’re so proud of it.” She noticed the group and headed their way. “Hi Morwen!” She hugged Kerrik first. “How are you today?”
“I’m fine.” He watched as she moved on to hug Raven and Morwen. “How’s Jamie?”
“He’s adapting. Ginevra is the unhappy one. She wants to be kami so badly she’s ready to burst with frustration.”
He smiled serenely. “I can’t really say I feel sorry for her.” Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Misery mutter something to Raven before vanishing.
“I’m not surprised. So, Morwen, are you ready to learn what it means to be a vampire?” Elizabeth broke off suddenly and peered interestedly past Kerrik. “You’ve never mentioned her.”
Kerrik turned to look. “That’s Autumn and she showed up this morning. Autumn, this is Elizabeth Wolf, my daughter in law from Haven.” Autumn waved.
Elizabeth shook her head. “I happen to be one of his many daughters in law from Haven. Do I need to bring Candace here to see her?”
He shrugged. “Autumn, do you feel like you need a medical exam from a medically inclined pokegirl?”
The elfqueen settled onto a rock and stretched out her legs. “No, I don’t. Everything that can be healed has been. The rest is scar tissue and memories. As for my pregnancy, it’s fine.”
“You can’t know that for sure without an exam.”
“Elizabeth?” When she turned to him, he shook his head. “It’s her choice and you are not going to play Candace and try to make a different one for her. We can keep an eye on her while she’s here.”
She sighed. “Ok, but you know Candace is going to want to examine her.”
“There is a solution.” He smiled when she looked at him curiously. “Don’t tell her about Autumn. That’ll keep her from being angry at me for not letting her force Autumn into an examination and it’ll keep me from being annoyed at you for having to listen to her after I thwart her will.”
“You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea and now I can use that as a defense when she finds out and wants to know why I didn’t tell her about your newest harem member.”
Autumn burst out laughing. “I’m not in his harem. I’m just passing through.”
“Why not? Kerrik’s a fine tamer.” Her mouth set when Autumn just shrugged. “Where are you going?”
The elfqueen shrugged again. “I’ll know when I get there.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth but Raven interrupted her. “Stop pestering our guest, Elizabeth, and start teaching Morwen.”
Elizabeth eyed Autumn once more before nodding. “Ok, Morwen, let’s start with what you already know.”
She kept talking to her new student as Kerrik looked at Raven. “What about you and the others?”
“Whisper is mapping the area for us and looking for good places for ferals to den up. Misery is helping her. The plan is to know the surrounding area well enough to deal with intruders as well as so we can hunt the inevitable ferals that’ll arrive when we start letting out our livestock.” She smiled at him. “I’d be out there too, but you need watched.”
He shook his head. “All right.” His ears flicked when Autumn waved at him and then gestured for him to come over. “Excuse me, but our guest wants me.” Raven snickered and he ignored her.
Autumn was rubbing a foot when he came up. “Problems?”
She shrugged. “My feet are swelling again and they hurt, but that’s not important. I’ve got some questions if you don’t mind.”
He settled down cross-legged in front of her. “I don’t mind. Give me your feet.”
Autumn raised an eyebrow and slowly extended her legs to lay her feet in his lap. She blinked when he took one and began massaging it. “Oh, that feels good.” She lay back and propped her head on her arms to watch him work. When she realized she couldn’t look over her stomach, she made a grumpy sound and twisted slightly so she could look down the side of her body to see him. “Morwen.”
“She’s my vampire pokekit.”
The elfqueen frowned. “I know that. I want to know what she was talking about and what Raven was going to say about her when the subject got changed.” Kerrik kept massaging her feet as he suddenly looked thoughtful. Autumn sighed. “If you’re going to lie to me then don’t bother answering.”
Kerrik’s hands stilled and his ears went flat. “You don’t know this, so I’m trying very hard not to take offense at your words, but I can’t lie. Please don’t insinuate that I’m going to again.”
Autumn snorted. “Everybody lies. You’re no exception.”
“I thought you were smart, Autumn.” Raven tapped the elfqueen on her forehead with her staff. Autumn froze. “That’s right. You’re insulting my man while I am easily in close combat range.”
“Raven? She doesn’t know.”
The archmage sighed. “I know, I know, she is under our protection. I still don’t like her insulting you like that.”
“Last night you were upset that I’d consider killing a pregnant pokegirl, and yet here you are threatening her now.”
“I never said I was consistent. I love children, but she’s not a child and she needs to think about her actions.” She grounded her staff firmly. “Which she was not doing.”
His brow furrowed. “Considering our discussion last night, I’d think you’d be happy that she was relaxed enough around us not to see you as an immediate threat.”
Raven looked surprised. “Oh. You’re willing to give up your antipathy towards elves so quickly?”
Autumn blinked. “He doesn’t like elves?”
Kerrik ignored her question. “You’re right when you said I offered her hospitality in the truest sense of the word. I’m trying to keep in mind that she’s not really an elf.”
The elfqueen struggled to sit upright and gave him a glare. “What does that crack mean?”
His ears canted. “Perhaps I should have instead said that I’m trying to keep in mind that you’re not from a particular place and so I shouldn’t try to hold you responsible for the actions of the elves from there.”
Autumn nodded. “That’s better.” She settled down again, huffing as she did so. “I’m far stronger than a human, and the quads still wipe me out.”
“Quints.” When Autumn gave him a sharp look he shrugged. “You’re having quintuplets.”
“What makes you say that?”
He turned to Raven. “Considering how badly you want children, one of the powers I did keep was the ability to know the health and general well being of a pregnant woman. I can tell how many children she is carrying and how they’re faring. I can also tell if a particular male is the sire or not. All I have to do is touch the pregnant woman to know most of that.” His ears flicked. “I also have to touch the potential sire in order to check paternity.”
He turned back to Autumn. “What I was thinking about wasn’t how to lie to you. Instead I was considering what you may already know and how to frame my explanation in a way that you comprehend without me either sounding patronizing or having to repeat myself several times until you understand me. It’s difficult to determine what you may or may not know since decanted pokegirls never receive what’s considered a standardized education by any measure. Are you literate?”
She nodded. “A little. I learned some during the war and the rest working at William’s shop. I learned to do arithmetic at the shop well enough to keep his daybooks.”
He cocked his head. “That doesn’t help me, but it is good to know. You know that there are alternate dimensions from which Sukebe got his materials for his assaults on humanity here. What you may not know is that he went pretty far, as dimensional distances go, to get these materials. He did this because the dimensions close to this one are a lot like this one, usually with only minor differences. In fact, the closer you get the more minor the differences become. In most of these dimensions there were Sukebes who also created pokegirls and the Bloody Flu. Most of these Sukebes were later defeated by the humans, or so the humans that faced them believe.”
“Morwen and most of the people on Haven are from one of these close dimensions. However they are from three hundred years in that dimension’s future.”
Autumn clasped her hands over her stomach. “You didn’t include yourself in that, did you?”
Autumn clasped her hands over her stomach. “You didn’t include yourself in that, did you?”
He smiled. “No, I didn’t. I’m from yet another dimension. I am, however, the reason they are here. You see, they got in a spot of trouble in their homeland and I went looking for a new home for them, and for me. This place turned out to be the best available, so I opened a temporal-dimensional portal to bring them here.” His smile grew. “Now that you know all of that, I can explain Morwen a little more easily.”
Autumn’s mouth dropped. “There’s more?”
He nodded and went back to massaging her feet. “As I said, Morwen and the others came from a little more than three hundred years in the future, at least compared to this dimension’s timeline. There, humans and pokegirls have been breeding the whole time, and certain issues have cropped up. It turns out that pokegirls eventually become pokewomen. At that point they can have one of three kinds of offspring, most of which are single births. They can have a pokekit, a human girl and a human boy. For all of them, they need a man’s sperm.”
“Single births, you say?” Autumn stroked her stomach. “That’s something to look forward to.”
“Perhaps, but as an elf you have longevity and so you won’t become a pokewoman for three hundred years.”
“Crap.”
“Anyway, the issues for boys are that they can show certain physical and metaphysical traits called blood traits. Some of them are pretty good and some are rather troublesome. A few are very bad and usually prove fatal. Human girls, too, can show the odd minor physical trait, but for them the biggest issue is threshold.” Raven was watching Kerrik intently. Most of this was new to her, too. “When a human girl enters puberty and starts going through the hormonal changes involved, some of them undergo threshold and become pokegirls. There seem to be several different triggers and it’s making scientific studies to determine any of them difficult. In any case, that’s what happened to Morwen. One day she woke up and found she was becoming a pokegirl.”
“I’m afraid I can’t muster much sympathy for them.”
“The leagues wouldn’t care. They’ve institutionalized the dehumanization of pokegirls and most people see even the pokegirls born in society as little more than tools. There’s been enough breeding pokegirl blood into human lines that even the offspring of human women are affected and the leagues fear for the death of humanity. That, of course, would leave the world populated by feral pokegirls.” He glanced at Raven. “Even Sanctuary would eventually be overwhelmed.” He turned to Autumn. “That means eventually all the elves would fall prey to the Nothing.”
The elfqueen shuddered. “That’s a very frightening image.”
“It is. However, I don’t think the death of humanity is quite a foregone conclusion just yet.” He frowned. “But I’m getting off topic. Like she said, Morwen has taken classes on pokegirls and knows a lot more about them than almost anyone here, with the one exception being myself.”
“Can we learn what she knows?” Raven was watching Morwen with an envious look.
“I want you and the rest of my harem to. I’m having a teacher sent down today so I can get all of you up to speed quickly.”
Autumn pushed a toe against his arm. “What about me?”
He pursed his lips. “I’m sure you’d make good use of the information, but knowledge is power and I’m not sure how much I want to disseminate this sort of stuff outside my own pokegirls. I’ll have to think about allowing you access to it.”
“While personally I don’t like your response, I can appreciate your reasoning.” The elfqueen sighed contentedly. “You have good hands.” She sighed again, this time in exasperation, and lurched upright. “Great, now I have to pee.”
As she got up and rushed off, Raven glanced at Kerrik. “You’ll scream?”
“I will indeed.” As his archmage headed off to stand guard over Autumn, Kerrik slid to his feet and idly made his way over to watch Morwen and Elizabeth.
(9/08/06 1900, Texas League)
The voice came from behind them. “What the hell is that?
“It’s an orbital tug bringing down some supplies for us.” Kerrik glanced over his shoulder. “Decided to join us, did you Autumn?”
“Elizabeth has gone home and everyone else came out here. Do you know it’s kind of creepy in there all alone with no lights?”
He frowned. “I thought elves could see in the dark.”
“We can, but we still need an ambient light source. It just can be a lot dimmer than that which would allow a human to see.” She stepped up even with Raven and peered at the sky. “Orbital tug, huh? Why couldn’t you have been on our side during the war? I’d have killed for regular supply runs. Hell, I’d have sworn loyalty to you personally for that.”
Raven glanced at her. “He’s standing right there. Don’t let the fact that the war is over stop you.”
She received a glare in return. “Don’t tease me, girl. William has powerful friends and he can find me even here. He thinks he loves me, and he’ll keep looking for me. That’s why I’m headed south.”
The archmage smiled. Her voice was soft and seductive. “Kerrik will protect you from him. He won’t make you fight, he won’t take your kids and he’ll let you work our fields. Why not pledge yourself to him?”
“Raven.”
An elegant amethyst eyebrow rose slightly. “Yes, Kerrik?”
“I also won’t let you stand there and bother Autumn when she’s not interested. Stop it.”
She laughed silently. “Yes, Kerrik.”
The tug’s running lights brightened as it slowed to hover over the parking lot. It eased down until the container it held touched the ground. There was soft hiss as the magnetic locks denergized and a metallic thunk as the backup mechanical clamp disengaged. Then the tug slowly turned and climbed back into the sky. Once a hundred feet up, the vehicle accelerated hard and quickly shrank until it was gone.
“Raven, some light please.” The archmage lifted her staff and light globes shot from it to hover in a regular formation over the parking lot. They brightened to reveal the container. It was a rectangle, forty feet long, twenty feet wide and twenty feet high with a bright emerald green interior that was trimmed with gold on the edges and around the lights and hatch. A set of buttons on the side and a handle on the front suggested that the whole front of the container swung open.
“Why is it green?” Misery ran her hand over the side. “It’s pretty.”
“Green and gold are my heraldic colors and Virtue decided that Vallation was mine, so she made everything in green and gold. Personally, I think she went a bit overboard.”
I am your personal colors? How wonderful. A wave of glee spread out from Whisper. Raven and Misery both scowled at her while Morwen laughed. Autumn just looked slightly confused.
Kerrik pressed a button next to the front hatch and a soft cyan light on the front changed to amber and then to red as the stasis generator inside the container spun down. The trim around the door went from gold to red and finally to green. He grabbed the handle and pulled. “Shit. I need someone stronger than me to open this. The damned door is pressure locked. I’m sure the interior is in vacuum since it was loaded in space.”
“Isn’t that a vent?” Misery pointed at a pipe stub that was next to the hatch. A valve was on the end.
Kerrik’s ears flattened for a second. “I am going to have to pay better attention to my surroundings or I’m going to get eaten by a feral, aren’t I? You are absolutely correct.” He turned the valve and air began whistling into the container.
After a few minutes the air flow slowed and Kerrik motioned to Misery. “Go ahead and open it, please.”
The mini-top grabbed the hatch and pulled. When it resisted, she grunted and pulled harder. Air rushed inward around the edges as she levered it open.
As the hatch opened, interior lights came on to illuminate the contents. The front portion of the container was filled with a single object that filled all the available space which left only a fraction of an inch around it to allow the light from farther inside to escape. The part that they could see was flat and completely featureless.
Kerrik pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at the object. “Out.” He looked around as it rose a thousandth’s of an inch to hover and began drifting out of the container. “Over there.” He pointed to the edge of the parking lot closest to the building.
Morwen hastily got out of the way as it exited the container and lifted up to drift an inch above the asphalt as it turned towards the indicated spot. “What is that?”
The object, once revealed, turned out to be thirty feet long, making it a chubby rectangle twenty by twenty by thirty. A recessed control panel on one side was covered with red lights. Kerrik glanced at his vampire. “It’s a weaver. A weaver is a molecular level manufactory and having it around will greatly simplify our supply needs.”
Morwen frowned. “I hope you realize that I have no idea what you just said.”
“Oh. It makes things. As long as you have a formula for whatever you want, it’ll make it. I figure we’ll be using it for a lot of stuff, including ammunition, clothing and food.” He watched the weaver settle down on the pavement. “We can also use it to make trade supplies if we need to.” He headed inside the container.
The last ten feet were filled with boxes that so efficiently used the remaining storage volume there wasn’t any obvious way to begin removing them. Kerrik sighed. “Whisper, please start with the top layer and pull the boxes down so we can get them out. Ladies, please take this stuff inside and pile it in the lobby.” The cabbit’s antennae lifted. The topmost layer of boxes slid away from the rest and drifted down to the ground. When Autumn grabbed a box he looked at her for a moment and then spoke quietly. “You don’t have to do that.”
She gave him an amused smile. “I know that, but since you’re letting me stay here, the least I can do is pitch in.” She balanced the box on her belly and followed the line of others into the lodge.
How long is she going to stay?
He shrugged. “I have no idea. As long as she wants to, I guess, before she pushes on south.”
What is the plan for the rest of today?
What is the plan for the rest of today?
“Somewhere in those boxes is the power unit for the building. I want to find it and get it hooked up. Then we can check the wiring in the building and use the weaver to start making appliances. I don’t really trust the ones that are inside, so we’ll just junk them in the weaver and make all new ones. Eventually we’ll do the same thing to the light fixtures, if they have any problems.” He rubbed his eyes and grabbed a box. “All of that will take most of the tomorrow, if you factor in some training for everyone. The next day, we’ll see about going to Austin so we can find out what the Texas League is really like.”
Name: Wolf, Kerrik
Age: Unlisted
Residence: Kingdom of Haven - Currently Texas League
Status: Active
Rank: NA (5)
HRA rank: Colonel
Security Clearance: Omicron
Licenses
Tamer Y
Master Tamer Y
Breeder Y
Watcher N
Researcher N
Pet Owner N
Tradesman N
Active Harem
Raven Archmage
Whisper Cabbit
Misery Mini-top
Morwen Vampire pokekit