THE VROL TRILOGY (178 page)

"This whole anti-lycan thing is pissing me
off. Hell, we saved the galaxy, and this is how we're repaid,"
added Bagatelle, walking arm-in-arm with Alicia, who was sporting a
new engagement ring made of white gold.

"So girls, what are you going to do? Stay
here, go to the Rhönen or go back to Hollywood?" Max asked Jessica
and Pandy.

"I'm staying in the military," said Pandy. "I
like the order about it. Plus. I managed to stay off that lycans
list, so I'll be safe for a while."

"You'll make a fine officer," said
Bagatelle.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm resigning my
commission. I really super appreciate what you did for me, but
Gabriel and I have other plans," said Jessica.

"I would have figured as much, Jessica. In
any case, it was an honor to serve with you. Please let us know if
you change your mind."

"Oh thanks sir!"

"Ali, I don't see Kyle anywhere. Where's he
going to live now?" asked Jennie.

"He'll be with us. His scores are high enough
to get him into the junior military academy, and it's a boarding
school so we'll have plenty of privacy too," she giggled, causing
Bagatelle to get an awkward look and attempt to change the
subject.

"Max, Jennie, what are you two going to
do now? I am personally giving you leeway to go where you like with
the Reagan," Bagatelle said to his sister and
brother-in-law.

"Um, I need to go find something. I have this
funny pull in my stomach, but it's not anywhere around here," said
the beautiful Primulus female.

"Jen, wherever you want, we're going," said
Max, as he gave his wife a light kiss.

"Mami, shall you be gone long?" asked
Liliana, tugging on her mother's skirt - something the woman rarely
wore.

"Sweetie, our trip will
take about four months. But you'll be here with
Tía
and
Tío
."

"You mean Abuelito and Abuelita, Mami."

"No sweetie. You have to
call them your
t
í
os
now.
It's part of your new identity - Lili Gatto, from
Schweiz."

"Oh yes, I understand. They look much too
young to be grandparents anyway."

###

Len Johnson sat on the edge of his thin cot,
staring at a blank wall. He had already been in his cell for an
entire week, and had spent the majority of his time fantasizing
about his eventual release. His mind had retreated into a world of
contrived make-believe, where he convinced himself that his son was
going to come to his rescue. Then he and Ryder would kill Max
Gunnarsson and take a slip drive-enabled ship to Earth and start
anew.

As he sat quietly, rocking his head back and
forth, he had no idea what was standing over him.

An immensely beautiful, green-eyed Primulus
stood over Johnson, wondering if the Angel of Death felt the same
when looking down upon one who was soon to depart the world of the
living. Invisible to the former dictator, or anyone else for that
matter, she watched as the man merely stared at the wall. Per
sentencing guidelines he was not allowed any contact with the
outside world, nor even a window in his cell. He had no vid
display, magazines, books nor a personal console. All he had, aside
from his active fantasies, were the memories of what he used to
possess and what he'd done.

Jennie wondered what went on in his mind: how
someone who had done so much damage could appear to be so
absolutely without remorse. Curious, she reached out and touched
his temple, delving into the abyss of his psyche. She at least
wanted to know what he was thinking before she handed down her
final sentence.

Oh… my god. He is so evil. Even his mind
feels icky.

Looking into his memories,
she saw him at a cocktail party. It was an impromptu event, the
occasion being the death of the President of the Republic, which he
had engineered. The man even had the temerity to order his staff to
create a large banner that said
Happy
President's Death Day
.

Subconsciously inviting only those of his
kind, the party was almost exclusively populated by pale, blonde
people, all having sneering thin lips and not one trusting the
other. Looking further, she saw when he hosted a massive dinner
party in honor of his son, Ryder, immediately after the young
lieutenant had wantonly murdered dozens of pilots and techs in Sol
space. Jennie was revolted beyond comprehension, as she listed
those who perished among her friends.

The man reveled in death and mayhem, but he
had a solitary weakness. He truly loved only one thing in the
entire universe - Ryder - and he still had no idea his son was
dead. Jennie considered killing him right then and there, but found
it nearly impossible to retain contact with his rancid mind.
Steeling herself, she held on for a few moments more.

Len Johnson immediately sat up, a look of
immense pleasure encompassing his pale face. His muscles went lax
and his neck started to nod unnaturally while a scene flashed
through his mind.

He was seated in a boat on a lazy river,
fishing pole in hand. His son, Ryder, was by his side and had just
caught an unusually large bass, reeling it in and gutting the
creature with glee. They were together - father and son - passing
their free time together as they would so often do on their new
home - Earth. They enjoyed that spot on the Congaree River, in what
used to be South Carolina, and he had even used convenient slave
labor to build a nice vacation home on its banks.

Suddenly, and without warning, something
large shot up out of the water. It was a screaming, evil Max
Gunnarsson, his eyes aflame and fire shooting out of his mouth. The
interloper landed in the boat and started to stab Ryder to death
with a large knife, carving away at his beloved, only child. Ryder
screamed in agony, while Johnson remained frozen, unable to assist
his son. He tried to reach his boy, but the more he reached out
toward his son the further away he seemed.

Then everything went black.

Len Johnson was pushing his fishing boat out
from their vacation home in South Carolina. His son Ryder jumped in
first, laughing as he grabbed his fishing pole.

"Betcha I get the biggest one today, Dad," he
said, as he put some bait on his hook.

They were together, and had succeeded in
emigrating to Earth, their new dominion. It was a sunny afternoon,
and the cool breeze soothed their skin…

"Ma'am, something's wrong with the prisoner,"
said a prison medical technician.

"What's wrong, Tech Warner?" asked the
commanding officer.

"He just sits there, rocking his head back
and forth for a few of minutes, wearing a smile. Then he suddenly
starts to scream and thrash around. After a couple of minutes he
goes back to rocking his head. It's been happening over and over
again for the last two hours."

"Keep an eye on him. No one is to speak to
him, nor go to his aid while he's conscious. Those are the
rules."

###

Tommy and Janie Williams
waited outside ornate, wrought iron gates that guarded the path to
an attractive, white two-level building. Looking out at the grounds
they saw vast, rolling green hills everywhere, with only a
futbol
field and some
trees breaking up the seemingly endless horizon.

"She'd better hurry up. You don't wanna be
late on the first day of school," said Janie.

"Oh, she'll get here on time. Remember she's
a - Lili! You scared me!" exclaimed Tommy, as a pigtailed Liliana
was suddenly standing next to him.

She had just arrived at her new school in a
most unusual manner. In fact, in a way no one else her age was able
to.

"Hi guys! Sorry I was
almost late.
Tía
made me iron
my uniform… by hand! Can you believe?"

"Oh yeah, Lili, we can believe," said Tommy,
feeling no sympathy for his friend, being he also had to iron his
own uniform, and would have to as long as he had one.

Boys wore blue knee-length shorts and a
white, collared shirt, with the school crest on the pocket. Girls
had a nearly identical uniform, but their shirt and shorts had a
more feminine cut.

"Pretty impressive campus, eh?" mused Janie,
as the trio walked down the path to their new school.

"Mm-hmm," hummed Liliana,
who was also looking around and was very, very excited. "Oh,
Tío and I rebuilt my treehouse. We can use it for our Lycan
Brigade meetings," she whispered.

"Lili! Shhh. You shouldn't even mention that
here on campus," Janie scolded quietly. "Here comes the
headmistress. Now behave!"

"Welcome, Tommy, Janie and Lili. It is good
to see you," said Professor Loretta Harrison, as the children
walked up the stairs to the main building, getting slightly bustled
by numerous other kids running past, already knowing their
destinations.

"Good morning, Professor," said Liliana.
"Might I ask how it is you identified us for such a nice
greeting?"

Harrison smiled and looked out over the
incoming throng of students, saying, "It's not often we receive
foreign students."

"True, we
are
foreign students,"
said Janie.

"Yes, of course you are. You will have a
special English and Castilian class just to make sure you are at
the same linguistic level as your fellow students. After having
completed that you shall be integrated into regular language
classes. However, your math and science tests came back with
excellent marks, so you shall go into all other regular classes
straight away."

"Special Ed. Oh joy," Tommy said
sarcastically. "Maybe they'll send a short bus for us every
morning."

"Oh, but we are special," chirped Liliana,
not understanding her friend's burlesque comment.

"Come, children. We have much to accomplish.
Welcome to St. Mary's Academy."

###

Later that afternoon, Commander Jennifer
Gunnarsson stood on the bridge of the ADF Ronal Reagan, punching
coordinates into the hook drive computer as the ship floated in an
asynchronous orbit over Buenos Aires. They were to travel across
Orion's spiral Arm to a world where something very special awaited
the remarkable woman. She scanned the crew - each one being of she
and Max's choosing. Aside from some Rhönen and Tokyo lycans, Josh
and Becky Mannheim were joining them on the ship on special
assignment from the Military Scientific Research Complex. Also on
the vessel was Marko, the formerly antagonistic lycan from
Post-Apocalyptic Hollywood, now going by the name Mark Stanovich.
After his inoculation and basic training he turned out to be
excellent at his job, quickly rising to the position of security
detail group leader.

Admiral Luigi Bagatelle was also on the
Regan, performing a final inspection. His presence was critical -
in both technical and celebratory manners, as it was to be
Mankind's longest attempt at travel with the hook since its
invention by Max Gunnarsson some two years prior.

Entering the bridge, Bagatelle watched with
pride as everyone stood at attention, with Max bellowing,
"Attention on deck! Officer on the bridge!"

"As you were."

"Sir, did the inspection pass muster?" asked
Max.

"Looks good, Max. You've put together a fine
crew."

"Well, I helped a bit," added Jennie, causing
Bagatelle to turn and give her an inquisitive glare.

"Jennie, I received some intel that Johnson
has had a psychotic breakdown. You wouldn't happen to know anything
about that, would you?"

Jennie seemed to hesitate for a moment, and
then said, "Hmm, sorta, Admiral. I kinda paid him a visit last
week."

"And just what did you do, little sister?" he
demanded, an ominous tone lurking in the back of his throat.

"Oh, you're gonna love this one, G," said
Max, rolling his eyes.

"Recursive memory loop, like a waking dream.
He sees himself with his puke of a son. Everything's beautiful
until Max pops up and kills Ryder. Then he forgets and it starts
all over again. Kinda cool, if you ask me. It'll be like that for
the rest of his life."

"What about food breaks?" asked Max, as he
tried to stifle his laughter.

"They've already got him on an intravenous
drip, as well as a catheter and a colostomy bag. He'll be bedridden
and catatonic for the rest of his life. I checked up on him
yesterday, just to make sure my cantus stuck," said Jennie.

Bagatelle ground his teeth and considered
berating his sibling for a moment, but decided to let things be.
Due to Constitutional restraints Johnson had the luxury of living,
and whatever Jennie had done was certainly deserved.

At least she didn't kill him.

Looking around at the crew, Jennie said,
"Ensign, I believe we're ready." She paused briefly, and turned to
look at Max and Bagatelle. "We're just waiting for the Captain's
orders. Oh, Admiral, the Commodore can take you to the Revolution,"
while nodding her head toward Gabriel.

Pandy Vendetta turned and looked at her new
superior officer, giving Jennie a wink.

"Commander, I'm ready when you are."

"I defer to the Captain," said Jennie.

"And I defer to the Commander," responded
Max.

Bagatelle walked over to the archangel and
the two disappeared with a light pop. Moments later Gabriel was
back on the bridge. Most everyone on the ship was aware of the
special nature of their commanding officers, and gave Gabriel's
departure and return little further thought.