THE VROL TRILOGY (55 page)

"Well, sir," she began, only to have
Bagatelle put up his hand and stop her.

"Jennie, do you remember when I told you -
that if you returned safely I would give you something else to call
me?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, as I am no longer your commanding
officer - you can call me G."

"G? As in
gee
whiz
?" asked the pretty lieutenant.

"Yes, just like that. It was my nickname when
I went through the academy. The same academy where I found
you."

"You… found me? What do you mean?"

"Jennie, just finish your report… no, your
story, and then I'll fill you in."

Jennie shrugged her shoulders and prepared to
start her story. Bagatelle looked at the impressive woman, noting
that she appeared stronger than before, even though she was very
formidable while serving under his command. He also thought that
her leather clothing suited her well. He had a good feeling about
how things had worked out for her, and was ready to reveal a secret
that he had kept for quite a while - one that would change her
life.

"Well sir, I mean… G - when we left you
we went to Earth of the future, to the
43
^rd
century. But it was
completely repaired and everything - I mean, it was beautiful.
It
is
beautiful. Anyway, in
that world things changed. I could smell things I could never smell
before, I could hear better, see better and I was faster, stronger
and would heal almost instantly if cut. Bruises took a bit longer
because I guess the salubots don't view them as a critical
repair."

"Salu… bots?" asked Bagatelle.

"Um, yeah. Look, there's a lot to learn over
there, and things are really different. But staying on track please
let me finish. Now when we slipped over to Earth of the future, Lt.
Johnson's Draeder entered into our sphere of influence at the same
exact moment that we left. He was taken with us, so -"

"Johnson is with you? Do you have him in
custody? We could bring him back and -"

"He's dead, sir… G. I killed him," she
responded completely without emotion.

"But… why? You know that we aren't supposed
to simply kill the accused. They are entitled to a fair trial and
proper representation."

Jennie interrupted immediately and said, with
no small amount of sarcasm, "Oh gee, G, and I am assuming you've
been treated fairly? Love the accommodations here. Do they also
provide room service? How about in-house massages?"

Draagh held up his hand as if to stop
Bagatelle and Jennie both, but not actually performing a cantus to
make it happen. Still, he got his message across.

"My dear Luigi - it is with the utmost regret
that I must inform you that Ryder Johnson was not only a vampire,
but also that he converted to his natural self upon arrival, much
like young Max and Jennie did, but in quite a different, and
putrid, fashion. Vampires are evil to their very cores, and through
some luck on his part, he joined forces with a particularly
ruthless vampire king by the name of Vladros, who amassed his
forces and attacked our friends and allies in the Rhönen Dominion.
But I must say that Jennie defeated the young lieutenant in
hand-to-hand combat and emerged most victorious! Yes! It was quite
spectacular, from what I have been told."

Bagatelle gave Jennie a look of disbelief and
said, "You beat Johnson in hand-to-hand combat? What were you using
- a baseball bat?"

"No, a metal gauntlet," replied the young
lieutenant.

"Interesting… ok, please continue."

Jennie took a deep breath and went on with
her story after putting her arm around her daughter seated at her
side.

"So G, yes, I killed Johnson. It was only
after he had kidnapped me, had me beaten and locked in a dungeon,
and then later used Liliana here as a hostage. He was a coward and
deserved everything that he got."

"I was there," Liliana blurted out, "when
Jennie was done his head looked like it had been put through a
blender. Oh, might you have a blender? I do not know what one looks
like, but that is what Max said the bad vampire's head looked
like."

Bagatelle struggled to keep himself from
laughing, finding the little girl to be infectiously cute.

"So, as I was saying before my little walking
bigmouth interrupted - no, let me go back. We were housed in a
castle where we learned to use our skills as lycans and even some
magic. Max is quite a mage, and he easily defeated Vladros,
enabling us to win what Krynos, the lycan king, calls the Battle of
the Blood. There were a lot of things that happened in-between,
like when I was kidnapped and Max and Draagh saved me, or when we
changed during the full moon on the eve of the Battle of the Blood,
but I think we came here to take you back with us - to the Rhönen
Dominion."

Bagatelle sat and looked at Jennie for a
minute, thinking about what he was about to tell her, but first
asked a couple of questions.

"So Jennie, you are married to Max, and you
both have this lovely little daughter - but where is he? Why didn't
he come with you?"

Bagatelle instantly regretted having asked
that question, as both girls appeared to be close to tears.

"He's missing in action. He tried to go back
to Machu Picchu without permission, without help, using Draagh's
staff, but it sent him somewhere - wrong. We haven't been able to
find him after searching for six months already. But we know he's
alive - Draagh can tell that much."

"I am truly sorry to hear that, Jennie. You
know, once I met the boy I knew that somehow he wasn't as bad as
the Council had made him out to be. He had a certain goodness to
him that couldn't be overlooked. His background was just too stable
to have created a narcissistic sociopath, as the Council described
him. It was mainly for that reason I reported him as most likely
having perished."

"He's the best, G. And we have to continue
searching for him so we can come back here and kick Johnson's ass,
and then kill the Vrol before they arrive."

Bagatelle reflected for a moment, and had
decided that Jennie obviously turned out well. Sighing almost
silently, he looked over to the three individuals sitting on his
couch and then decided to speak.

"Ok, I'll go with you wherever you want me to
go. Plus, I'd like to get to know this nice young lady who has been
so polite. And yes, Liliana, I have a blender and I will show it to
you."

He smiled at the girl and continued, "But it
isn't often that I put myself in a position of being at a
disadvantage, and I am assuming that I will basically be a novice
once we arrive wherever you are taking me. So I only ask that you
give blood a chance to adjust to the new surroundings, agreed?"

The beautiful dega started to nod her head,
but then suddenly said, "Blood? What do you mean by blood?"

Draagh grew a warm smile and nodded knowingly
to Bagatelle, who then continued with a most unexpected
revelation.

"Jennie, just a bit ago, when I said I
had found you in the academy, I was being perfectly honest. I had
been looking for you for years. You see, you were put up for
adoption when
I
was in the
academy; and being about twenty-one years old at the time. I was
young and didn't have access to resources, and this was all done
without my knowledge. Also, as your adoptive parents were not
relatives, and due to legal restrictions, I was unable to locate
you to take you with me."

Jennie looked at her former commanding
officer, stunned and her jaw practically dropped open.

"You see Jennie, I'm your -"

"Father? Oh my god… you're my father?"

Bagatelle smiled but shook his head, as
Jennie stared at him with wide but confused eyes.

"No my dear, I'm your brother. Our parents
died in a horrific accident when I was in the academy, out on a
deep space patrol. You were a miracle baby. Nobody expected our
mother to get pregnant at her age, and I was just finishing
university when you were born."

Jennie shot off the couch, landing on her
knees at Bagatelle's feet. As tears streamed out of her eyes she
looked up to his kindly visage, now completely different than his
usual authoritarian glare.

"But… why didn't you tell me? You have had me
under your command for years. And… you said nothing. Why?"

Bagatelle looked at his little sister with a
face so full of compassion that no one could have denied that he
understood her pain and confusion. Taking her hands that were set
on his knees, he gave her the most rational explanation he could;
the only one that was true.

"Jennie, we have strict rules, and the
anti-nepotism statutes are well-defined. One in a position of power
must not use their influence to the benefit of a relative under any
circumstances. In fact, if the military had known we were related
you would have been removed from under my command. I was going to
tell you one day - when you had transferred to a command of your
own… but I couldn't tell you until then. I'm so sorry."

Jennie calmed down considerably as she
controlled her breathing, but remained at Bagatelle's feet. She
understood the anti-nepotism laws well, and realized they were
important to keep dynasties of incompetent fools from gaining
embedded and permanent positions of power, much like what happened
on Old-Earth.

"But, did anyone else know at all?
Anyone?"

"Yes, only one. Lt. Commander Vasquez."

"Ah, ok… saaaaay, did you and the lt.
commander have a thing going on? I always thought she was too nice
to me."

Bagatelle grew an immediate look of
defiance, and merely said, "That,
hermanita
, is none of your concern," his
face turning to a guilty grin. "But," he continued, "she is one of
the agents assisting me here - and is taking an incredible risk in
doing so."

Jennie fell back on her rear, having the new
revelation completely change her view of her commanding officer.
She also felt a sensation flowing through her stomach - a good
feeling, as she knew that she had a blood relative, something she
had never known she had before.

"So, what was my birth name?"

"Jennifer Marie Bagatelle," the deposed rear
admiral stated quite plainly.

"Oh wow, my adoptive parents kept my name
pretty much the same. That's nice. At least I wasn't named
Hortencia or something horrific like that."

Looking back to her daughter she said,
"Liliana - come here sweetie. Come here and say hi to Uncle G."

"T
í
o! T
í
o!" yelled the little girl, as she jumped up
onto his lap and peppered his face with kisses.

Bagatelle moved his face around, trying to
avoid his newly revealed niece's smooch attack, and said, "You're
teaching her Castilian? Who would have thought… but I assume Max
had a hand in that, right?"

"Why wouldn't he? I mean, he's from…"

"Córdoba, yes. He was born in the same town
as us."

"Whaaaa? We were born in Córdoba? I thought I
was born in Buenos Aires!" Jennie exclaimed, totally surprised.

"No, Jennie. Your adoptive parents lived in
BA and probably told you that you were born there. I studied for my
degree in biomechanical engineering at the University of Córdoba.
In fact, Max's father was one of my instructors. He was quite young
for a professor, being about fifteen years older than me."

Jennie gave him a sad look and said, "He
wasn't Max's dad, remember? Max's dad is some angel guy named
Michael."

Bagatelle gave his sister a warm, but serious
gaze and said, "No Jennie. Charles Gunnarsson was Max's father. He
was a good man, and a brilliant professor, with a wisdom way beyond
his years. You see, being a father comprises of many things, and
impregnating a woman is only a small part - and the easiest, I
might add. A true father loves, cares for and raises his children,
and takes them to school, teaches them, sits up with them at night
when they don't feel well."

Suddenly, Liliana interrupted while still
sitting on Bagatelle's lap. Forming her thumb and forefinger into a
circle, she started making up and down motions.

"Does a father teach
this
to his son when he comes of
age?"

Bagatelle looked at Liliana with a horrified
face, and then down to a blushing Jennie, who was still seated on
the ground.

"Jennie! What the hell are you teaching this
child?" causing the woman to get a completely awkward look and
stammer out a lame response. The last thing she wanted to do was
implicate Max, who had accidentally exposed Liliana to that
particular bit of nonsense back when they had first met.

"Um… it wasn't me. You see, living with lycan
warriors and all - well, there's a lot of guy stuff and joking and…
and… um, well. Lili! Don't do that! It's embarrassing!"

Liliana giggled and winked at her mother.
Then she jumped off her uncle's lap and ran to the kitchen.

"Blender! T
í
o! Show me the blender,
please!"

Sighing, Bagatelle got up from his chair, and
reaching a hand down to his sister helped to pull her up. Then he
did something he had never done before - he gave her a warm hug and
kissed her on the forehead. Lifting his head up he then noticed
Draagh, who was sitting on the couch and had a curious smoke-filled
bubble around his head.

"Um, Draagh, what's that?"

Draagh responded, his voice sounding like it
was indeed coming out of a bubble, and looking like a fish that was
staring out of its fishbowl, his eyes slightly misshapen by the
convex curvature on the semitransparent covering.