Anarchate Vigilante (Vigilante Series 4) (43 page)

“Yes, I will join your battle against cloneslavery, unstable biped that you are.” His central heart beat fast. Sadness hormones nearly overwhelmed his awareness. His six legs sought to copy the movements of the small Dolmat infant. “I knew of this Trade practice. Like everyone knows that Trade links
the planets of the galaxy. But I never . . . I never imagined that cloneslavery would be like this!”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Matt looked down at the pale white face of Eliana as she accepted him into herself. This moment of love was the reward they chose to give each other as they orbited Morrigan. Matt dismissed the mental calendar that blinked with his appointment tomorrow with Governor Airmed O’Davoren. The only woman he wished to be with, now and forever, lay under him. She smiled up at him with jade green eyes and a ‘little girl’ look that had long ago captured his heart. She wrapped her legs atop his buttocks and pushed down, forcing his arousal deeper into her wetness.

“Matthew, let’s make a baby.”

Tears came to his eyes. His heart beat faster than normal, overcoming the cyborg nanobots that tried to keep his biochemistry ‘normal’ despite the flood of arousal hormones. And other hormones. Surely there was a hormone for love.

“Yes!” he cried as pleasure filled every cell of his boy
.

Eliana’s deep mind joined with his mind as their mutual ecstasy fed the sensations of each other. Their movements came faster and faster. Their limbs wrapped and held and pulled each other closer. They sought to become one in body just as much as they were one in mindlink.

Love was the way.

They became one in all the ways possible.

Maeve O’Grady looked up at the white, yellow and blue stars that shone down on her Scouting campsite. The stars shone forth from the Carina and Keyhole nebulas in Orion Arm. The place from which her savior Matthew Dragoneaux had come more than a year ago to rescue herself, her Mom Brigida and her brother Brocault from the genome pirate Conand O’Toole. The evil man had raped her and had condemned her Mom and brother to a dark hellhole for storage of goods, a place not suited for the fifteen people he had kidnapped during his raid on the town of Rathfriland. Then Vigilante Matthew had boarded the pirate ship, killed the alien pirates, and smashed down the hatch to the cabin where O’Toole had taken her with a promise of food and water. He was stronger than she was, even at 17. Hoping to bring back food and water for her family, she had walked slowly to his cabin, knowing she would be raped. The Vigilante had sliced O’Toole down to a body with no limbs, then vaporized O’Toole and the ship with a purple plasma cloud. She blinked her eyes, letting the memory tears come forth. She talked to the night sky.

“Mr. Dragoneaux, I want to be a pilot in your fleet,” she said aloud, sending her alto voice out into a highland night of tall trees, whispering winds
, flimsy sky clouds and the chitter of groundrunners as they sought a meal of red seeds from the Succulent bush. “I am coming to see you tomorrow. On my Mom’s hoverjet. And no one will stop me!”

Looking out from her thermopile sleep bag, Maeve knew her Mom would be upset. Her brother had become eighteen months earlier and had gone off to mining school in the southern continent. She had turned eighteen a week ago. By the traditions of the
Tuatha De Danaan
people, no woman of age was barred the use of weapons in defense of her family, her home, her village or her nation. Now that her fellow
Tuatha
occupied the world of Morrigan, that ancient tradition applied to it too.

“Vigilante, I’m a good shot! And I can pilot a hoverjet better than General Balor!”

Her excitement at a future among the stars kept her awake until moonrise.

Airmed O’Davoren stared with surprise at the young blond woman who had just walked past her executive secretary
Gerald. His efforts to say Airmed was expecting a visitor shortly did not affect the young woman’s determined stride. The girl looked familiar somehow.

“Governor O’Davoren, I am Maeve O’Grady,” she pronounced as if she were on a parade field. “I want to be a pilot in Vigilante Dragoneaux’s fleet! I owe him my weapons and my allegiance for his rescue of me a year ago, when the slavers hit us.”

Now she recognized the girl. Or young woman since she recalled the lady might now be 18, the age of independent adulthood on their world. “Thank you, Maeve. I recall you from the drinking and dancing party in Lisdoonvarna’s central park. You were very quiet then, though your brother Brocault tried to pull you into a round dance.” She paused, gesturing Maeve to sit on the curving couch that she had shared with Balor and with the Meligun spy. Who thankfully had left their world two weeks ago. “How did you hear of Matthew’s need for pilots?”

The slim young woman puts fists on her hips, atop the embroidered work pants she wore, and fixed blue eyes on Airmed. “Governor! Everyone knows about the people you are secretly training for the Vigilante fleet! And they knew to keep their mouths shut during the visit by the Meligun bear spy.”

Airmed gave thanks again for Balor’s advice to send this boisterous young woman out on a Scouting campout trip. Which clearly had not sufficed to keep her away from the capital. A ring on her left hand buzzed silently, telling her that Matthew Dragoneaux had entered the building. With three other people according to the buzz pattern. She sighed.

“Gerald! Bring us a pitcher of ice water! And a dozen glasses! Who knows who else will show up to demolish my day’s schedule.”

Matt, walking hand in hand with Eliana as they exited the Nullgrav elevator block, led his Mom and sister into the spacious, beautifully decorated office of Governor O’Davoren. A metal mobile hung from the ceiling. A large aquarium filled with puffer fish stood in front of the glass wall that looked out on the Greek-style buildings of Lisdoonvarna. And music of a Celtic nature echoed softly off the room’s pale green walls. He stopped in front of a ruddy-faced young man. Gerald, he recalled from his visit a year ago.

“Gerald?” He smiled the way Eliana had taught him to smile when in the company of other humans. “I am here for my visit with Governor O’Davoren. With me are my lifemate Eliana, my sister Charlotte and my mother Kristen Dragoneaux. Is the governor available?”

Gerald brushed back his brown hair, met his smile with a guilty look and stood up. “Yes, Vigilante Dragoneaux, our Governor O’Davoren is in her office. She . . . was joined moments ago by a young woman you may know. Her name is Maeve O’Grady. Please follow me.”

With a tuneful whistle of surprise, Matt followed Gerald in
to Airmed O’Davoren’s executive office. Eliana and Charlotte gave him a mindlink smile as they picked up on his surprise. Then all of them looked at the young blond girl who jumped up from the couch and gave him a three finger salute.

“Fleet Captain Dragoneaux,” she said firmly, her blue eyes focusing only on Matt. “I am Maeve O’
Grady! You rescued me a year ago. Since then I have trained at laser rifle shooting and hoverjet maneuvering. Please accept me as a pilot trainee in your fleet!”

Eliana felt Matt’s mental surprise, his brief chagrin, then his softness of feeling for the young woman they all knew had been beaten and raped a year ago. By that bastard Conand
O’Toole! She felt Charlotte’s mental shock at the mindimage of the naked Maeve that had been recorded by Mata Hari’s Spy Eye, then a feeling of nausea from Matt’s sister as she mindviewed the dismemberment of O’Toole. She pushed that memory into a deep vault and gave her mind-sister a shrug.

“Charlotte, it was necessary.”

Matt ignored their mental communion chatter and focused on the young woman who had overcome much to appear here as bravely as she had.

“Hello young Maeve. I thank you for your offer to serve as a pilot in my fleet. Does your mother Brigida approve of your offer?”

Maeve frowned. “No, she does not. And I know she will not be happy with my decision. But I am of adult age for us
Tuatha De Danaan
. I choose to be at your service!”

Matt nodded slowly, his mental reaction to Maeve a mix of interest, surprise, deep consideration and curiosity. “Why do you wish to be of service to me and my fleet?”

“So I can kill more slavers like that bastard O’Toole!” she yelled, then gulped. But her gaze stayed steady. As steady as a rock.

Matthew walked up to the young woman who was tall but still did not reach Matt’s chin. Her lifemate looked aside to Airmed. “Governor, how many new pilot volunteers have you gathered since my last visit?”

“Forty-three,” said the middle-aged woman who had put her life and her good name to the defense of two million humans who hailed from the island of Eire, on far distant Earth.

Matt nodded. She felt his decision even as he reached to lift
up Maeve’s chin so her blue eyes were fixed on him. “Hatred alone is not a good motive for fighting in a war. This war is a war for the extinction of cloneslavery from this galaxy. It is not a war for personal vengeance.”

“Brother,” called Charlotte as she walked up to stand beside a worried-looking Maeve. “You are right about not letting vengeance rule you
r life.” Charlotte looked at their pilot volunteer. “Maeve, I lived fifteen years as a labor slave to a Meligun bear person. I was fed decently, had shelter from the elements and most of what my owner wanted was back massages and cleaning of his fur. Still, I had no personal freedom. And my owner implanted a tracking nodule in my neck, here, where you can see the pale scar. I gave up my hatred and my wish for vengeance long ago. Do you know why?”

“No, mistress Charlotte,” Maeve said in a subdued voice. “Why?”

“Because I realized that living in hatred meant my owner possessed my soul, my inner self, even my thoughts in a way. I determined to deny him that!”

Matt
nodded to Maeve. “My sister is wise beyond her years. She learned something that my Eliana has long counseled me to adopt. Can you, Maeve, abandon your thirst for vengeance?”

The blond-haired girl blinked, glanced at Charlotte whose mind felt deep empathy for the girl, then looked up at
Eliana’s Matthew. “Yes, I can. With your help. And with Charlotte’s help. Please?”

Eliana felt Matt’s mental sense of satisfaction, his sense of gaining another pilot
, and a sense of success in helping young Maeve to recover from her rape and mistreatment.

“
I accept your offer of pilot service, young Maeve. How do you
Tuatha De Danaan
swear an oath?”

“This way,” Maeve said as she struck her chest with her forearm. “My aid of arms is yours to command. My food is yours to share. My beer and wine are ours to enjoy. And my family’s heritage song will include your name in an honored place!”

Eliana had never heard an oath so simple, so real and so binding as what Maeve had just said. In mindlink with her brother and with Charlotte, they celebrated the recovery of a cloneslave captive.

Hours later Matt stood with Eliana in the Park habitat. They had been called there by Mata Hari and Gatekeeper. Only they had been called by mindvoice. It was clear the other humans on ship
Mata Hari
were not invited to whatever his two AIs planned. He looked across the blue pond as Mata Hari’s mind globe, a copy of the purple one occupied by Altuna, floated toward them. Beside her floated the silvery mind globe of Gatekeeper. Their holo images hovered atop their individual globes. A third mind globe floated in on Nullgrav, between Mata Hari and Gatekeeper. It was not Altuna’s or BattleMind’s mind globe. Feeling Eliana’s intense interest over their shared mindlink, he spoke.

“Mata Hari, Gatekeeper, we are here as requested. Uh, where did that little globe come from?”

“From us,” whispered Mata Hari in a voice tone that did not match any of her personas.

“From both of us,” said Gatekeeper, his holo face showing a shy smile.

“A baby!” cried Eliana.

“In a moment, yes,” said Mata Hari.

His AI partner’s mind globe touched Gatekeeper’s mind globe. At the crevice between them, the small mind globe touched both larger globes. A purple glow enveloped all three globes.

“Helllllloooo, my progenitors,” squeaked a voice that sounded like a mix of his voice, Eliana’s voice, Mata Hari’s Spy voice and Gatekeeper’s gardener voice
.

Matt smiled the way Eliana had taught him. As she too did, both in mindvoice and in real-time physical reality.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “That’s a fast learner! Do you have a name for your offspring?”

“Yes!” yelled Eliana, moving to kneel before the small purple mind globe.

Gatekeeper smiled broadly. “We call her—”

“Child,” spoke Mata Hari as she finished the mind-thought of her AI partner.

Eliana jerked on him to kneel down beside her. He did, enjoying the smell of fresh grass.

“Hello,
Child,” crooned Eliana. “We are Eliana and Matt. We also are expecting a baby! You two can play together in nine months.”