Destroyer: A Military Space Opera (The Bad Company Book 5) Read online

  The silence grew in volume as many more joined the summit by mental link from their hiding places scattered across the galaxies—another precaution against total destruction should she find them. There were no snatches of conversation that might give away a connection. Even their exact numbers were hidden.

  Gödel’s law was simple to obey.

  Give the humans nothing.

  A low, reverberating chime sounded, signaling the arrival of the highest-ranking Kurtherian left alive to lead them. A solitary ball of Etheric energy came into being near the roof of the cavern, its pallid light casting the ancient carvings on the dais into relief—a reminder to the Azzhur present of the species they had wiped out when their clan took this planet centuries ago.

  Gödel’s entourage entered first. Two carried her throne onto the dais, and the other four fanned out at the base of the steps and raised their glowing hands to the roof. “Rejoice in supplication,” they announced, “Gödel has come.”

  Every Kurtherian of the clans found the human cryptonym distasteful in the extreme. No one present knew their leader’s true designation.

  None dared ask.

  Gödel exercised her skills with the Etheric with clinical abandon and pinpoint accuracy, as did her faithful. Meaning, she could call herself whatever she liked, and there wasn’t a Kurtherian who had the power to question her.

  The neutral silence took on an air of uncertainty as Gödel’s guards mounted the dais and positioned themselves around the throne. Everyone was aware of how badly the summit would go if everything was not exactly how she expected it.

  Gödel appeared upon the throne in a flash of light and a swirl of semi-diaphanous robes. The relief in the cavern was palpable when she settled back without passing comment—or killing them all in a fit of displeasure.

  The absolute ruler of the Seven adjusted the fold of her ornate hood against her veil before folding her gloved hands in her lap. “Explain,” she uttered in a dispassionate tone. “Explain to Us how Death, that irrational, emotional human, has managed to gain yet greater control over the Etheric.”

  A susurrus of denial echoed around the roof of the cavern.

  Gödel lifted a finger, and a Kurtherian in the front row stepped forward. “Speak, T’sehmion. Tell Us and your brethren what you witnessed.”

  T’sehmion bowed their head and turned to the assembly. “Your Glory. My station was attacked by Death and her consort. They gave me no choice but to initiate self-destruct measures. All was lost, including the B’kheth.”

  Gödel’s veil rippled as her mandibles jabbed at it. “How did she get past Our defenses?”

  The red glow beneath the Kurtherian’s hood dimmed as they turned back to Gödel. “I do not believe what I saw, your Glory.”

  Gödel leaned forward on her throne. “I see it in your mind, and it is the truth. Tell them.” Her voice hardened, making her request a demand the Kurtherian dared not disobey.

  T’sehmion bowed lower. “She walked out of an Etheric storm, but that isn’t possible.”

  Gödel straightened, and the room flinched.

  Her chin protruded beneath her veil, every word icy. “Nothing to say? Not one of you can hypothesize how she lived through it? How she walked into that storm and walked out at Our facility?”

  No one spoke.

  “Then what purpose do any of you serve?” Gödel demanded. “We were not ready for her to discover Our factories. If none of you can protect Our interests, then you are of no use to Us or to the future of the clans. We will replace you.”

  The room erupted into hushed whispers as Gödel got to her feet.

  “We d-d-dare not m-move against her, your Glory,” one of the hooded figures stuttered. “She is too p-powerful, and the revelation of her ability to ride the st-storm wall p-proves it without a doubt.”

  Gödel pointed a gloved finger around the room, smiling as she landed on the speaker and took control of his nanocytes. “We are Kurtherians,” she calmly told the assembly as the speaker gasped his final breath. “Superior to all, submissive to none. We are the guardians of the path to Ascension, and we are at war.

  She released the unfortunate to fall to the floor. “No longer can your duty be disrupted by the will of a single primitive female. You will all purge this blasphemous line of thought and find a way to rein in the humans, or it will be Our duty to cleanse our genetic pool of your weakness. There must be something we can use to remove Death from the equation.”

  Gödel glowed with absorbed energy. “Death desecrates our ancestors with her every breath, and it is all we can do to keep her distracted by continuous war. The years she vanished, we could find no trace of her. Now she is returned, stronger than ever and We want her destroyed!”

  A curt voice broke the stillness of the cavern, taking the plunge for them all. “We are well aware of her weakness, Your Glory. However, unless we all have access to the knowledge you have gained…”

  Gödel’s laugh rang out across the cavern. “Have you begin to believe you can match Our Magnificence? We think not, Reben. It has become clear to Us, and to you, that the path to victory lies with Us, and Us alone. You are but weapons, and at the moment, ineffective ones at that.”

  The speaker’s continued status as a living being encouraged another to speak up. “Your Glory, any move against the humans will result in disaster for us all. The charts—”

  Everyone present suddenly found their ability to draw breath was no longer a given when Gödel lifted a hand and squeezed it into a fist. “We care not for the charts,” she sneered. “We are Gödel. The prophecies are naught but amusements to those such as Us. We care only that Death and all of her allies are removed as an obstacle to Kurtherian dominion over all. This universe has a choice: obey Us and accept the gift of Ascension or die to bring that Age in.”

  Everyone in the cavern hitched a collective grateful gasp when Gödel dropped her grip on their airways and vanished.

  Her voice echoed throughout the cavern—and their minds.

  You will find a way to achieve it, or we will all die.

  AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

  One of the interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.

  I-15 Southbound heading to Stateline (couple miles north) going to LA

  On my right side, outside the window are the mountains which rise up from the desert floor. The evening colors of the desert are splayed across the sky like a painting you might find in Sedona, Arizona.

  In just a few moments, it will be dark here in the mountainous area as the sun drops below the horizon, and even the little bit of light outlining the mountains (hills?) around here will just fade into the night. The light will either be from the casinos we pass in Stateline or the ongoing line of white lights from cars coming from California to Nevada to try their hand back in Las Vegas.

  Which, when I think about it, I want to encourage.

  Would you fine folks from California PLEASE come to Vegas and continue to support our economy?

  You would think that California, with its massive need for tax revenues, would recognize the huge opportunity to just allow gambling in zones inside California and keep the tax revenue.

  I’m sure there are many and varied reasons why this won’t work, and I’m too damned old to care to change anyone’s opinion on the idea.

  Besides, it puts money into the coffers of the city I live in, AND they gave us one of their football teams (Raiders).

  Maybe we will leave things as they are and we all call it even-steven, California?

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  Ad Aeternitatem,

  Michael Anderle

  Books by Craig Martelle

  Craig Martelle’s other books (listed by series)

  Terry Henry Walton Chronicles (co-written with Michael Anderle) – a post-apocalyptic paranormal adventure

  Gateway to the Universe (co-written with Justin Sloan & Michael Anderle) – this book transitions the characters from the Terry Henry Walton Chronicles to The Bad Company

  The Bad Company (co-written with Michael Anderle) – a military science fiction space opera

  End Times Alaska (also available in audio) – a Permuted Press publication – a post-apocalyptic survivalist adventure

  The Free Trader – a Young Adult Science Fiction Action Adventure

  Cygnus Space Opera – A Young Adult Space Opera (set in the Free Trader universe)

  Darklanding (co-written with Scott Moon) – a Space Western

  Rick Banik – Spy & Terrorism Action Adventure

  Become a Successful Indie Author – a non-fiction work

  Enemy of my Enemy (co-written with Tim Marquitz) – a galactic alien military space opera

  Superdreadnought (co-written with Tim Marquitz) – a military space opera

  Metal Legion (co-written with Caleb Wachter) - a military space opera

  End Days (co-written with E.E. Isherwood) – a post-apocalyptic adventure

  Mystically Engineered (co-written with Valerie Emerson) – dragons in space

  Monster Case Files (co-written with Kathryn Hearst) – a young-adult cozy mystery series

  For a complete list of books from Craig, please see www.craigmartelle.com

  Books By Michael Anderle

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