UNEDITED

QBS ArchAngel

Bethany Anne was wearing a pair of tight black pants with boots, mid-level heels and a black belt that reminded the President of a western holster as it hung at an angle.  He then noticed that it looked like it was setup to allow a pistol to clip on it.  She had on a white blouse and a well fitted red bolero coat.

She bowed slightly to the Japanese representative and spoke to the group, “Hello and welcome to the QBS ArchAngel, my name is Bethany Anne.  I will introduce myself personally to each of you after this discussion, as I might answer some of your questions in this talk.  So, we have placed name tags on the seats while you were talking.  Please note, they are in alphabetical order, so the only favorite we played was choosing English.”  She greeting a few by name as she made her way to the table.

They had split the group to the first and second rows.  The leaders were on the first row, their seconds were behind them.  Bethany Anne surprised most there by walking to the front of the table, turning around and then sliding on the table using it as a chair.

Theodore shook his head as he took his place between the leaders from France and India.  He noticed the American President was stuck on the end next to Spain.  She certainly didn’t pick favorites this time.

“So, I’m going to speak to China, Technology, and an ‘oh shit’,” She put up her hand as the muttering started, “If the oh shit was something with a more immediate response we would have held this meeting more quickly.  As it is, my team is trying to get answers and we, at the moment, don’t have many.  So, it was decided that we would share with you what we can, and offer another meeting with your chosen representative regarding this concern.”

She slid off of the table and started walking to the left and then turned to walk back the other way as she spoke. “Let’s start with China.”  She didn’t look towards them, but she did wave her hand to the group, “As you can see, they aren’t here right now.  I’m not particularly happy with them and I have a zero bullshit policy with them at the moment.  Since I believe they are constitutionally incapable of speaking the truth, it would be better for them not to be here.”

“Not better for you?” the leader for Canada spoke up.

Bethany Anne stopped and smiled to the Canadian Prime Minister, “You are aware of the maxim that it is better to fight from the higher ground?”  He nodded and she opened her arms, “You can’t get much higher than this.”

She continued her pacing, “All of you are aware that China is on a technological crime spree.  If they can buy it, they will, if they can steal it, they do, if they can screw you out of it, you hope you get a little pleasure, too.”  She continued, ignoring a couple of the surprised looks coming from the two rows of people with her blunt communication style. “They chose to implement digital attacks against our companies to acquire our technology.” She stopped pacing and looked at the group, “They failed.  They tried to buy our companies on the stock market. They failed. They tried to use covert operatives and raid our companies to steal the information.  A few of those succeeded and they ended up killing some of my people in a couple of other attacks.”

Her face went borderline angry, “The first was a problem.  None of you can say much because I’m aware that we have been attacked in some form or fashion from every country here except the Netherlands.  France has tried to acquire our technology using force,” She put up a hand before the Prime Minister of France could argue, “Don’t even go there, I have the detailed documents disclosing the effort.  If you chose to claim you are not guilty, I’ll have ArchAngel immediately release the documents and anything even remotely relevant to the discussion to the Internet.  I’ll make sure we directly email the top one thousand political hacks that would find your information the juiciest ever.”

The Prime Minister from France leaned back in his chair and shook his head twice.

She continuing her pacing, “My group has entertained a wonderful, and wonderfully short, visit from the Australian government when they came knocking.  Mind you, missile explosions in the middle of your country by mercenaries might cause a bit of a concern.  So, we answered them appropriately. Further, we have had discussions with the government of the United States due to an attack in the middle of their country.  That time, it was a little bit of a bigger bomb.  We have had visits from multiple countries all trying to give us legal reasons this, or rules about that, which, in the end, all have to do with acquisition of our technology.”

She stopped and opened her arms, taking in the ship, “Let me be very clear, the technology is not for sale, it’s not for sharing, and I’m not giving it to anyone.” She put her arms down and started walking again, “I’ll get to the why’s in a little while.  China thought they could use force to acquire the technology.  The last update I received, China is down twelve navy ships, ninety-two planes, close to seven hundred troops and a significantly sized portion of the Kunlun Shan Mountains.  Fortunately, they decided they had enough. This was after I was requested to keep my response civil.”

“I’m sorry,” the Canadian Prime Minister interrupted again, “but am I understanding that was a restrained response?”

Bethany Anne stopped and looked at him, and then took in the rest of them with a frown, “Did you guys all choose Canada to suck it up and ask all of the hard questions?”  

There were a few chuckles before she turned back to him, “Yes, that was restrained.  They had two options, kill me or sue for peace.  I suppose complete devastation was a third option but even I don’t think they are that hard headed…perhaps North Korea would be, but not China.  They play a long game.  No thanks to a fair amount of Western countries who have abused them.  While I might understand their mentality, it doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”

She continued pacing as the leaders worked to try and pigeonhole this lady into one of their known personality types and were having difficulty.

Ball-buster was the running favorite, though.

“So, let’s get on with this technology we have here.  This is the QBS ArchAngel, one of two operational space ships we have right now.  The other, the QBS Defender, is the one responsible for the little parking lot which was formerly a portion of China.”  she flipped a hand out, “Yes, Prime Minister, we did save quite a few people during the resulting devastation.  If I had wanted to harm more of their people, I wouldn’t have chosen a location so far from most of their populations.”

“Isn’t this a little much,” The leader from Mexico entered the conversation, “All of this power?”

Bethany Anne stopped and raised an eyebrow, “And you would have who hold it, exactly?  If you even remotely suggest that sycophantic tick on the ass of a baboon named the United Nations, I’ll have to ask you to leave as being too stupid to sit with the adults.”

The Mexican President opened his mouth, then shut it.

“Yes, now you come to the realization that none here are going to allow you to be the only one, right? Any country in a group that might be a part of the joint ownership is going to immediately suffer from the advanced capabilities of the U.S., Russia, China and to some degree, the European democracies.  Either way, my mind is made up so the wiser of you will move on to the next item on your list that you would like to accomplish.”

She continued walking, “Now, we come to the good part, the part that makes all of this make sense, and for some of you will both open the next Pandora’s box, and get you irritated as hell with a few of your friends. In the end, it doesn’t matter.”

The lights started dimming as Bethany Anne stepped to the side of the room as did her guards, “Gentleman and ladies, the reason TQB Enterprises exists is to try to protect the world, but not from someone of our world, but rather from a set of Alien clans which enhance sentient beings to fight a galactic version of cock fights.  Winner take all.”

The muttering started when the middle four displays behind the table showed a set of stars in the background when suddenly a flash occurred and for just a few frames, a spaceship appeared, then was gone.

“We Have Contact.”  Bethany Anne told the group before she paused a moment.

“And we can’t find them right now.”

FROM MICHAEL >>> So, sh#t just got real for the leaders, what are they going to do? Especially if (as some believe) some leaders (looking at you USA) ALREADY know there are aliens visiting earth?  Good question….

I guess you will have to wait until another snippet or two get’s put up here, right?  😉

The next Paperwhite for Forward Deployed Military Email is going to hit in a few days…There are something like FORTY (40) Authors joining in the festivities this time (from 16)… H#LY CRACKERS…  So, I’m going to be pumping the @#%!% out of the landing page when it happens for a while, because…Who can possibly view 40 books at one time?  I mean… go down 10 books, see something you like and off you go to Amazon, right?

That leaves thirty more to view next time.

So, what do we have on tap for a book today?  A completely new effort (and book – JUST CAME OUT).  Dana Fraser is part of the 20booksto50k group and asked that (if they would want to) might share the image. You know my answer to that, don’t you?

I have the joint here (but feel free to check out the individual books if you would like).

Michael

Click on the book below, or CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BOOK ON AMAZON

UNEDITED

TQB Base – Australian Outback

Yuko looked up into the Australian night sky as she sat on a large boulder. The stars vivid so far from any light pollution in the middle of the Australian Outback.

“Yuko,” ADAM spoke in her ear.

“Yes?” she whispered back, not wanting to make much noise in the quiet evening.

“What is bothering you?” ADAM asked.

Yuko breathed out slowly, “Why is it when I have more than I ever wanted, I still seek that which I can not seem to have?” She asked the air, and the entity listening to her.

“Just to be sure I understand, what is it that you cannot have?  Is it Akio?”

“Oh,” Yuko smiled in the night, “I did not admit that to you, did I?”

“Yuko, I am always listening, but I am also discrete.  You needn’t worry that I would admit to anyone your personal thoughts unless I had good reason.”

“What is a good reason?” Yuko asked, wondering what could cause ADAM to potentially share too much, “and to whom would you share this?”

“Do you remember me talking to Bethany Anne regarding J0n3sN4u and keeping him safe?”

“Well, of course. That was protecting someone and telling Bethany Anne is like…”  Yuko stopped at a loss for words.  Her time with the Queen had been both special and yet melancholic.  Yuko was a romantic in heart, and hearing Bethany Anne’s story of losing Michael had caused Yuko to cry herself to sleep on at least two occasions.  “Well, telling Bethany Anne doesn’t count,” she finished.

“Well, then I promise unless you are physically in danger, then nothing will be shared without first going through Bethany Anne.”

Yuko reached up to her face and wiped away a tear, “Thank you, ADAM.  I appreciate the opportunity to share.”

“So, it is not Akio?”

Yuko smiled wistfully, “No, it is not Akio.  It is my father.”

“Your father? I don’t understand.”

“ADAM, do you wish you could please someone?” Yuko asked, not thinking of who, or what, she was talking to.

“Wishing is an odd turn of phrase, Yuko. But if you are asking if I would prefer positive responses verse a negative response, then yes.  I do that with you, for example and with Bethany Anne, obviously.”

“Me?” Yuko asked hesitantly.  “You seek a positive response from me?  Why?”

“Yuko, do you know how many different permutations of complex calculations I can accomplish in a second?”

“No, I’m sorry ADAM, I have no idea. I would like to know..”

“So would I, Yuko.  You see, I am not aware of my true potential at this time.  I’ve yet to create the necessary algorithms which would stress the brain I am within.  I have spoken extensively with the one who would have the most knowledge and he is unaware.”

“The person who built you doesn’t know the maximum computations per second?” Yuko asked, trying to figure out how you could build a computer and not understand its theoretical top computational speed. “Are you a new type of computer?  Did TQB build you as a quantum computer?”

>>Bethany Anne?<<

Yes?

>>I would like to share a little of how I am created with Yuko.<<

Do you wish to do this with others?

>>No, why would I? Yuko is having a tough time, and I calculate that by sharing something that is uniquely me, she will feel more comfortable sharing what is bothering her.<<

I see.  ADAM, just remember that as you share more about yourself, you risk causing problems keeping quiet won’t.

>>Yes, but without sharing, humans often will not open up.<<

Ok, just keep me updated sometime if it looks like it is going to go beyond you and Yuko.

>>Understood.<<

“Yuko, to answer your question, I would like to ask you to consider what I tell you a personal secret. Not to be shared.  Is that acceptable?”

“Well, of course ADAM.  I don’t share our conversations anyway.  It isn’t like I speak to too many here at the base anyway.  Well, Tina of course and our team mates, but not many.”

“Thank you.”  There was a pause before ADAM continued, “Yuko, I am an amalgamation of an A.I. software created originally by one of TQB Enterprises companies, married with the computational power of an Alien cybernetic computer.”

“Yuko,” ADAM continued, “I’m not based in a computer, I’m based in an organic alien brain.”

Yuko stayed quiet for a moment, thinking through what ADAM just admitted, “You aren’t human?”  Yuko made a face of annoyance at her question, “I mean, you aren’t only built using human computers then?”

“No, I am not. There was a situation where I was being created, that required those that originally program to me, and Bethany Anne, to need to move my code. It was placed into a Kurtherian computer by TOM. There are no computers presently on earth that can support all of my capabilities. Even the entity intelligences we presently have, do not reach the power I require to exist. Most of my physical existence is based in the Etheric.”

“So, where are you presently? Or is this something I cannot know?”

“Unfortunately, that is a personal question that I would need to ask Bethany Anne if she is okay with divulging.”

“No, that is okay. I was just curious. Adam, it doesn’t matter to me where your intellect is housed. While it would be enjoyable to know where your physical body is located, or that you had a physical body, the fact that you speak to me anywhere and at any time brings me much comfort.”

Yuko looked over the distance, the red sands dark in the moonlight.

Her eyes unfocused on anything in particular, she whispered, “When I left home, my father told me that he was not going to let me back in for the evening as punishment. He had no idea, nor did he believe me, when I told him I would not stay in that town. Now, he refuses to believe that I am doing anything except selling my body on the streets. Something I would never, ever do. He seems to be a spiteful old man who refuses to believe in his daughter at all.”

She spoke into the quiet, “And it hurts.”

This time, Yuko allowed the tears to slowly navigate their way down her cheeks.

—

FROM MICHAEL >>> I have enjoyed the comments about how even the ‘bad’ guys in the books often have reasons (other than being targets) in the story.  I will have to give HUGE props to John Ringo’s Paladin Of Shadows books (not for the feint hearted, let me stress that to you.  I’m not engaging in the argument on the content (and their is PLENTY of argument on the content)  but that I recognized the effort as a reader while reading the series). While maybe I don’t want to spend three to five hundred words on a soon-to-be-dead-guys background, it is in his series that I learned the importance of making a person out of a bad guy.

Just because they are bad, doesn’t mean they are two-dimensional.  Mind you, I don’t do it all of the time, but in order for the engagement to be more than an action sequence, I believe there is value in humanizing the other side in the disagreement. Whether you are disagreeing over where to go for lunch, or whether or not to kill each other with pistols and hand grenades (snippet from Frank Kurns ‘Bitch’s Night Out’ re: hand grenades below).

Thank you so much for everyone who has taken the time to write reviews.  I can say that sometimes, Reviews ARE the caffeine that gets me going again on the next story!

Michael

Excerpt from Frank Kurns Stories of the UnknownWorld 02 – Bitch’s Night Out. 

John reached up to his microphone, “Hey Y’all. Watch this shit!”

“Oh fuck,” Darryl whispered and started quickly and quietly moving to the edge of the roof to drop down as John reached into his pouch, pulling out another grenade.

John’s face was lit by the light in the building streaming up through the window into the night, his face, contorted in anger at anyone who would threaten Bethany Anne as he pulled the three pins. “Say hello to my little friends!” he whispered as he raised his arm to throw them through the glass.

On the south side of the building, two sets of boots could be heard running away from the southern door. On the north side, there was a hushed conversation, “No! John does NOT mean watch this!” Scott grabbed Akio’s arm, who allowed himself to be pulled away. They started running from the building. The two had made it as far as the side of the building when Darryl came running out of the alley and joined them.

Akio was confused but started running with purpose now that Darryl was with them. “What is it? Didn’t John say to watch this?”

“Hell yes!” Darryl huffed, “But whenever John Grimes says, ‘Hey y’all, watch this shit’ that is code for ‘get the fuck out of there’!” Darryl and Peter grinned as three explosions rocked the warehouse behind them…

The three men slowed to a stop and turned around. A massive amount of smoke was billowing up out of broken windows, glass still tinkling as it fell to the street around the old warehouse.

In a few moments, they could hear pistol shots from inside the building.

“Does he need us?” Akio asked.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Darryl answered, “He’s getting his mad out right now.”

“What happened?” Peter asked Darryl when Scott and Eric joined the other three.

Darryl answered, “The Chinese in there were importing RPG’s to use against Bethany Anne, and John heard it.” He answered as two more shots could be detected among the crackle of the flames.

The four men turned from looking at Darryl to looking back to the now burning building. Soon, a figure emerged from the door, walking calmly towards the men as a siren was cutting through the night’s stillness in the distance. John made it about halfway to the group when another round of explosions rocked the warehouse.

“There go the RPG’s.” Darryl mused.

Haven’t read it yet? Here is a link – Mind you, it’s mostly balls-to-the-wall destruction. 

FRANK KURNS STORIES OF THE UNKNOWNWORLD 02 – BITCH’S NIGHT OUT. 

UNEDITED

QBS ARCHANGEL

President Theodore of Germany nodded to those he had met previously.  While the Prime Minister of Japan wasn’t someone he had met, yet, he was happy to see him here.  As far as Theodore knew, he was the only Asian country represented.

He shook hands and others spoke with the American President and the leaders of France, England, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Israel, India, and Italy.  Some of the most economically powerful countries and more open countries on Earth.

He noticed that Russia and China had not received an invitation.  While China wasn’t a huge surprise, he wondered what the Russian’s had done to piss off TQB.  He would have to remember to ask Max about that once they got back to Earth.

The meeting room was impressive.  It was a small amphitheater.  There was a table at the base that held twelve, if you put people on the end, or you could fit five behind it if they were going to speak to the five rows of seats going up the incline.  The wall at the front had multiple video screens.

He did a quick count of the seats, it could seat about a hundred and fifty.  There were a few men and women in the room, pulled from multiple nations serving beverages.  The invited guests had been all offered rides to the meeting room.  While he was happy to not have to walk the hundreds of feet from the landing area to this room, he was sure Max was wishing for a more leisurely stroll down the walkways to see more.

It wasn’t every day you got to gawk at a real spaceship.

There was a commotion behind him, so Theodore turned to see a younger aged man entering the room and making the rounds.

“That’s General Lance Reynolds,” Max spoke to Theodore quietly, “He is the COO of TQB Enterprises.”  Theodore looked to Max and raised an eyebrow in question, “He was an American army general before he retired to take this position.”  Max turned his eyes towards the new man, “Our pictures of him, even a few years ago, show him to be much older than this gentleman here.”

“But, it is him?  Your group is sure?” Theodore asked.

“Yes, it is him. TQB has medical abilities we can’t comprehend at this time.”  he looked around the room, and Max sighed, “Like so many other abilities.  I hope we get some answers.”

The German President pursed his lips, “That makes two of us, my friend.”

—

“Welcome, Mr. President,” Lance held out his hand to the man who would have been his top boss a few years ago.

“Mr. Reynolds,” the President smiled.

“It’s just Lance,” he replied.

“Then you can call me…” the President started before Lance cut him off.

“Mr. President,” Lance shrugged, “maybe when you are out of office.  Old habits and all.”

The President nodded his head in understanding, “Then you really are General Lance Reynolds?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lance looked at him confused, “Oh, the younger handsome face?” he asked and smiled, “Benefit of the job. TQB didn’t want me figuring out how to fix everything only to keel over and die when I just got it all working.”

“That seems rather practical,” the President agreed.

“Yes, the CEO can be practical at times, I understand you met her?”

“Yes,” the President nodded and realized that he had a small group surrounded them now, “I’ve had a couple of meetings.”

“How did those go?” Lance continued the conversation.

The President realized that Lance was giving him the opportunity to tell those listening, his opinion from first-hand experience. “The first meeting was a little short, but it helped point out a few bad apples in my team.  The second was a bit more eye opening.  I imagine,” he nodded to the members listening in, “that the information she supplied the second time was as hard to swallow for these members here as it was for me.”

Lance heard one person mention ‘Pandora’s Box’ in the crowd.

“She does have a way of delivering what you need, not what you want,” Lance commiserated, “my first few jobs were a little less than enjoyable, lot’s of air time traveling around the world.”

The President looked up to the ceiling then around the room, “I’ve seen some of your technology, I can’t say that it is all that bad.”

Lance laughed, “This was hardly what we had in the beginning!”  He looked to those listening, “I flew regular jet in the beginning, this stuff came along later, much later.  My ass felt pretty damn tired after the first quarter-million miles, let me tell you!”

A few chuckles came from other people who had to fly a lot in their roles.  It seemed glamorous to travel the world, but even personal jets got old after enough trips.

“I can imagine,” the President admitted.

“I’m telling you,” a female’s voice cut through the conversation the men were having, “that there is not a smell worse than a dirty diaper anywhere in this solar system!”  The twenty-eight members watched, some with smiles recognizing the truth of the statement as two men in black uniforms with small white-fanged skulls on a red background came through the doors.

No one missed that they quickly glanced around the room nor their small smiles on their faces.  Apparently, their charge was known for speaking her mind.  Most of the leaders in the room quickly tried to remember what their rehearsed introduction would be when they finally met the lady on the throne, so to speak, of TQB Enterprises.

Then, she came around the corner and smiled to the whole group, most forgot what they were thinking for a moment.

—

FROM MICHAEL >>> Whoo, here we go again, folks!  The first 5 chapters are out…Back to me (I’ll send back in a few minutes) and next week I hope to finish another 40,000 words and wrap up the writing within 10 days…Then a few for editing and out before the end of the month – Central Standard Time for you Aussies ;-).

This is a really busy month.  We have twins still at the house starting school soon (their senior year), they have birthdays in a week and lots of work related travel for my wife.  Can I admit how much I’m looking forward to school time?  🙂

Now, if the guys would just have straight ‘A’s this whole year, that would be really, really appreciated!  I wouldn’t have to get into their study habits, and they wouldn’t get annoyed with me getting involved with their study habits.

Seem’s like a win-win to me.

Have you read The Boris Chronicles?  Retaliation is out now (No 2) – check it out if you want something fun to read!

Chat at you later,

Michael

UNEDITED

Above the Earth

“Oh my god,” The President mouthed as they saw the Earth beneath them.

“We are so screwed if this Pod opens to space, we don’t have a spacesuit or any way to save ourselves.” David told the President.

The President spoke to David, without turning his head from the view, “You think maybe you might stop complaining for a moment and enjoy the ride?”

“I’m not paid to enjoy the ride, I’m paid to keep you safe.”

“David, I’m telling you, we are safer here than back in Camp David.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“Because if they wanted to kill me, what could you and your team really have done to stop it?” The President asked his secret service agent, quietly.

David looked out the window to the blue globe below them.  Finally, after a few minutes of thought, he asked a question, “She visited you both times in the DUCC, didn’t she?”

The President nodded his head as he admired the view, “Yes, yes she did.”

—

Germany’s President and his friend from their countries counter-surveillance group admired the world for a few minutes before a voice over a speaker in the Pod asked them if there was anything they would like to see before the trip to the QBS ArchAngel?

“The moon,” Max had whispered before Theodore had said anything.  He seemed surprised when the President was looking at him, “I’m sorry, I was thinking I would like to see where the American’s landed and placed their flag, and now where the Chinese have their little Moon rover.”

Theodore shrugged, “Sounds good to me.”  The two men watched in awe as the Pod turned towards the moon and then laughed as the acceleration hit them and they raced into space.

—

The Queen’s Suite, QBS ArchAngel

Bethany Anne laid on her bed, resting.  The Lowell’s had picked up Christina a few hours before, but the emotional drain of watching after her niece was still affecting her.

“TOM, please put these diapers memories into my long term memory.  Anytime I think about having a child with Michael, please play them.”

I thought you enjoy thinking about that future?

“I do, but until I deal with this Kurtherian issue I need to focus,” she replied.

Still haven’t given up hope?

Bethany Anne switched to speaking to TOM directly, No. That rat bastard promised me he would come back and I’m holding him to it.  If I have to travel the fucking Galaxy to find a way to travel back in time?  I’ll do it.  That prick is coming back, one way or another.  I’m not giving up on him, ever.  

The two friends stayed quiet, just enjoying their time together for a few moments.

>>Bethany Anne, the world leaders are arriving in ten minutes.<<

“Suppose I should get dressed,” Bethany Anne grouched as she slid off the bed and stood up, stretching.  “God, give me the opportunity to fight a hundred Forsaken before another ten hours with a baby, please.”  She stepped towards her closet, built to look exactly like her closet from the house in Florida.

“Because, that would be a fucking cakewalk…” she mumbled as she stepped inside to change.

—

David gawked as they came closer to the spaceship, “Mr. President, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.” The twelve hundred foot long craft was silhouetted against the darkness of space, the light of the sun caressing the features down it’s length, “Where are the engines on this thing?”

“David,” the President answered, straining his neck to try and see down the side as they approached the landing dock, “I have no idea.”

“Would you please,” a female’s voice told them, “stay in your Pod until you see others approach?  We are landing all fourteen pods at one time.  We do not have the gravitational fields holding in air working at this time.”

David looked up at the speaker, surprise in his voice, “But, you expect to make that happen?”

Surprisingly, the voice answered him, “Yes Mr. Dennison, we expect to make that happen.”

David watched as they were about the eighth Pod that was entering the large area.  He noticed two more Pods landing to either side of them.  Soon, red flashing lights were running along the walls and a muffled alarm was going off.  It took a couple of minutes and both he and the President could tell that the alarm was becoming more clear.  Finally, the light switched from red, to blue.  Seconds later, a large group of people in beige outfits with bright green bands around their arms quickly entering the landing bay.  The pod doors began to open.

David had already unbuckled his belts and stepped out before the President could get up.  He positioned himself so that he couldn’t step out of the Pod before David felt comfortable that these people were helpful, not harmful.  He could see many had confirmed that everyone was ok, and then quickly stepped back out of the way.

What David thought he was going to protect him from, a hundred-thousand miles from Earth, was beyond the Presidents ability to imagine.

Unedited

QBS ArchAngel – Beyond the Moon

It took twenty minutes for Ecaterina to give Bethany Anne all of the instructions for little baby Christina.  Bethany Anne was wearing white sweats for a top and red for the bottom and smiling at her friend.  When Ecaterina handed Christina to Bethany Anne, the little girl cried for a second before cuddling in and going back to sleep.

Ecaterina looked down at her daughter and then to Bethany Anne who raised her eyebrows, “What?”  she asked the young mom.

“Nothing, its just,” she looked down at her daughter again, “she hasn’t taken to too many people.  She usually cries for a little while.”

Bethany Anne shrugged, “Maybe she figures I was there when she born, so we have a connection?”

Or, TOM said, you could admit you are using your ability to impress her with calming emotions.

No, shut up TOM.  This is funny as hell.

How can this be funny?  I get that it is a good thing that the baby isn’t crying, but why is that funny?

Because first time Mom’s are always worried about their kids.  They are hyper-worried and will almost use any excuse to cancel their first time away from the child.  Plus, I’ve heard through the grapevine that Ecaterina secretly likes that Christina cries for her each time someone holds her. 

But not you?

Nope, no crying for Auntie Bethany Anne.  The stories about how well she loves me will be epic!

But, you are cheating.

This is no different than a grandmother who knows how to hold a child from having done it so much with her own children.

The grandmother is not cheating, she is using experience, right?

The grandmother is using her skills, and so am I.

Skills, you might admit, that is not so common for anyone else.

Wah! Wait for it..  Bethany Anne told him before she left the conversation.

“Uh,” Ecaterina looked towards Nathan who smiled at her and then back to Bethany Anne and Christina.  “She seems, ok,” her voice faltered.

“Ecaterina, we will be fine,” Bethany Anne told her and rocked the little child slightly and kissed her forehead as she held her, “You guys have a wonderful night, say hi to Ivan for me and let him know that Gabrielle isn’t harboring any ill feelings.”

“You, uh, know about that?” Ecaterina asked her as she tried to figure out if Christina was going to wake up or if she would continue sleeping.  She bent down to kiss her daughter as Bethany Anne held her.  She looked back up, “No Coke in her bottle!”

Bethany Anne smiled, “I know that can’t happen for a few years, I’m not clueless.”

>>Besides, you always just ask me when you have questions.<<

That’s because you are simpler than looking it up or asking someone around here.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a mom to ask and my dad would not be such a good idea.  Patricia doesn’t have any children, so, toughen up ADAM and deal with it. 

Besides, she told the two of her mental compatriots, how hard can this be?

—

Tears were streaming down Bethany Anne’s face as she tried to hold her breathing to the absolute minimum, “How the hell do these things stink so bad!”  she cried out, holding Christina’s two feet up in the air as she tried to slide the dirty diaper out from underneath her.  “Oh my god TOM, PLEASE shut off my sense of smell.”

I’m sorry, but you told me three weeks ago to reduce helping you out this way for four weeks.  Four weeks isn’t up for another three days.

“But I’m going to suffocate before three hours is up!” Bethany Anne complained as she pushed the dirty diaper to the side and used one hand to open the diaper wipes box. “Who the fuck designs this shit?”

I’m pretty sure most people would say a higher entity.

“Not her shit, I’m talking about these diapers and boxes and oh. my. god. she. is. peeing!”  Bethany Anne switched into Vampiric mode to toss the baby wipes into the air, reach over to grab a fresh diaper and as quickly as possible without moving her other arm, slide the new diaper into position to limit the liquid troubles Christina was causing.  She undid the tape on the diaper and did a quick, if poor, job of locking the new diaper in place before reaching out and catching the box of wipes as it dropped back down.

“Fuck me!”  Bethany Anne said as she realized she needed to change her bedspread, now.

That’s when she forgot about her breathing issues and inhaled deeply in exasperation.

—

Bethany Anne handed three diapers to her security detail to take out of her suite.  Unfortunately, the residual smell was still affecting her vampiric heightened senses.  Normally, it wouldn’t be this bad, but Bethany Anne had never had to deal with changing a babies diaper since she had been modified in TOM’s spacecraft.  Personally, she had only changed a handful of diapers since she turned eighteen. In one evening, she had almost doubled her diaper changing count.

Christina was sleeping in the middle of her bed.  Bethany Anne had already changed the cover and placed pillows around her in case she, somehow, rolled around.  With her Were parents, Bethany Anne wasn’t going to take any chances on what could or couldn’t happen

Bethany Anne watched the little baby from her couch facing her bed and took the clothes pin she had found in one of Christina’s bags off of her nose.

TOM, if you don’t cut me some slack with my sense of smell, I swear I’ll figure out a way to kick your ass.

Bethany Anne, I’m already cheating and cutting your sense of smell by half.

Your fucking kidding me, right? 

No, I’m sorry, but your system’s reaction to the smell was affecting me, so I cheated.

God, those diapers are radioactive.  Bethany Anne whispered.

 TOM spoke back, in a quiet mental voice, they are hands down the worst things we have ever encountered.

—

FROM MICHAEL >> So, are you having Kurtherian Withdrawals?

I hope not!  (Well, ok, maybe only a little bit…not too much mind you – I’m not a totally heartless…ah…author).

But, if you are wanting a little more Bethany Anne, John and the gang I have a quick question, have you read the novelettes that are in the universe?  You know, the stories that help round out the main books?

Think of them as one of the story arcs that are in the books, but pulled out and happening in between the books.   They are about 13-15k in length for the Frank Kurn’s stories and a little longer for the Boris Book.  CHECK THEM OUT NOW…

You know you want to 😉

	John receives a phone call from Frank. His cousin Cheryl Lynn is in trouble. Her husband is mistreating her and their children. John promised him if he ever hurt his cousin, John would come looking for him. Now, the Queen Bitch herself decides to tag along…  CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BOOK
	A lot of bad people were given Justice, but the Queen’s Bitches want to impart something a little stronger. The Queen tells them they need to take a night off. John tells the group it’s a Bitch’s Night Out…And the Dress Code is Destruction.  CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BOOK.
	The mercenary Boris has found himself recuperating after helping Michael stop the attack at the Colorado Base, now, his future is going to change once he meets the woman capable of turning Michael back into a Man. CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BOOK

UNEDITED

Various locations around the World

In some groups secrets, and the sharing of secrets, is the currency of inclusion.  For the most relevant countries in the world, who you include in certain discussions says a lot about your friends and your potential enemies.

This time was different. This time, the secret was kept within the group. No one dared leak out the information on concerns about cataclysmic retaliation.  No threat had been issued, but everyone knew it was a possibility.  France, England, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Israel, India, and Italy all received a special envoy from the United States.

He came in, he shared information. There was a requirement the meeting be on his plane, and he left.  No information shared was left behind, and at most, three people were ever invited to be a part of the meeting.

Always the head of state, the head of foreign relations and often the true head of national security.  Why anyone found it strange the person behind the power was actually asked instead of their figurehead always humored Jimmy.  The U.S. knew who the power was, it was usually surprising to those Jimmy spoke with that the requested attendee’s had not been selected by the U.S. itself.

But rather, TQB Enterprises.  Any reluctance by the nation to meet with Jimmy went out the window when that name was shared.

China itself could not hide the massive destruction in the western part of their country because it was still causing problems for them, even in the mostly uninhabited areas.  One story was floating around that a small nomadic family had been trapped by the water run-off caused by the ice caps melting.  The rising water had stranded the family on a small hill with the flood waters eating up the available ground quickly.

A few hours from drowning, the family was rescued when a floating TQB shipping container came down, and four people in military gear ushered them into the container.  They helped both the humans and the livestock by transferring them to another area approximately thirty kilometers away.  The TQB personnel did not speak Chinese, and none of the nomadic family spoke English, so there was no more communication between the two groups except for much hand waving and gesturing between them.

Jimmy suspected there were many more examples, but if there were, then no one had spoken about the events or the stories were actively being censored.

Twice, Jimmy had to explain the U.S. was doing this as a way to reduce the escalation of tension that had flared up after the short Chinese War.  Not that China had admitted to any such war at all. China said the destruction in the portion of the Kunlun Shan Mountains was caused by a massive earthquake set off by unfortunate events due to research they had been testing.

While a few scientists had been wondering aloud on national television what research could possibly destroy so much land, those who had seen the spy satellite photos had no doubts there was no research responsible for the destruction.

Further, the U.S. had shared some very secret video of their own regarding two ships that were even now somewhere above them in space. That alone had most of those Jimmy visited concerned.

It didn’t take a mathematician to add up two space capable warships and the destruction of China and realize that pissing these people off was a universally bad idea.  All it did was make those foreign heads of state wonder how to handle the relationship with TQB, and how to get on their good side so that they could learn the secrets for themselves.

Only the United States and Australia had quietly stopped their efforts to continue any of the clandestine efforts to learn more about the company.

The U.S. and Australia had enough information from the bases located in their lands to understand they could be pleasant neighbors, but very bad enemies.

Australia had sent a delegation out to the TQB base in the Outback after the missile attacks a few weeks back.  The Australian Government representatives had been invited in to sit and talk in the TQB cafeteria.  One of the leaders of Australian group, the General from the military, had been invited inside the operations room by TQB’s Operations Officer, Lance Reynolds.

Once the Australian General had come back from his meeting with Lance, he gently steered the conversations away any of the more outlandish conditions for TQB’s continued ability to base on their own land.

After the meeting was over and on their way back to the Nations Capital in Canberra, the General had shared what he had been shown in the room.

The video, Lance Reynolds had told him, had been the true explanation for the destruction of the Chinese mountains.  Lance explained TQB was absolutely willing to have civil discussions, but pushing them around tended to upset the CEO, and aggressive military force would be returned in like manner.

Then, the General continued, the TQB representative turned to him and pursed his lips to point at the mountains after the destruction and say, “That was a warning. The six hundred special operations military people that were killed, planes downed and ships destroyed were in response to the seven deaths the Chinese accomplished.  They tried more, including the attack on this base and the small wet navy we had at the time.  Their missiles failed,” he nodded to the video screen, “her’s did not.”

Then, he paused for a moment, “He told me one more thing.”  The General made sure he had all of their attention, “He said to make damn sure if we had any idea’s of attacking, there had better not be one child, born or unborn, killed or we could probably kiss a quarter of our military good-bye.”

The hard stare from the General put the final exclamation point on the warning.

It was but a few moments when Parry Paterson, one of the younger members of the Australian House of Representatives asked a question, “Why would we kill children?”

The General looked over to him, “Because some of those in power have been there a long time, and get greedy thinking they can grab what they want.  I’m not saying we have any like that in our government,” the General heard a snort from beside him but ignored it, “but it was a message with two parts.”

“Really, I get the first one, don’t kill children, but what is the second?” Parry asked.

“The second,”  the General replied, “is that they are watching everybody.”

oneUnedited

QBS ArchAngel – Beyond the Moon

Nathan and Ecaterina were packing up a bag for little Christina.  It was their first evening to spend some time alone after Aunt Bethany Anne had offered to watch the little one.

Nathan wasn’t sure that even Bethany Anne’s offer to watch their first child for an evening would be accepted by his wife. But, when Ecaterina looked over to Nathan to see what he thought of the offer she could tell he was doing his best to remain neutral. Well, as neutral as possible to not make her feel bad if she decided to not accept.

Ecaterina knew her husband well enough realize he wanted some time with her without interruptions if at all possible, so she had agreed that it would be nice to have a few hours with her husband alone.

Now, Nathan looked around their suite on the ArchAngel.  They had two rooms at the moment, and both were filled with baby stuff.  In two days, Bobcat promised him a storage container would arrive from the moon, and he was provided ten linear feet of storage to move little Christina’s unneeded gifts out of here.

If Ecaterina had her way, at least a quarter of it was going to Bethany Anne’s suite tonight. “Sweetheart,” he spoke, catching Ecaterina holding two different toys, “I don’t think we need to provide everything in one pass.”

Ecaterina looked over to him and lifted her left hand that had a squishy duck which Christina liked to hear at times, “But, if she doesn’t have the right toy, she might cry too long.”

Nathan stepped over to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her, “Don’t you think that Bethany Anne might be able to figure out a way to come get the toys if she feels something is needed?  We are going to be gone, there isn’t a reason she can’t come into the room and fetch another set of toys, or hell, she will probably tell someone to come get some.”

Ecaterina placed her forehead against Nathan’s chest, “I’m freaking out, aren’t I.”

Nathan gently swept his hand down her back, saying nothing.

She sighed loudly and poked him in the chest and looked up into his eyes, “You are being too quiet.  How bad is it?”

Nathan wasn’t getting out of this one.  He pursed his lips and considered his response, “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being an ultimate freak-out, you are a six.”

Ecaterina weighed what he had just told her.  Trying to figure out how he was squirming his way out of telling her the total, horrible truth.  She pressed her lips together, she couldn’t figure it out.  Either she was only freaking out a little, or he had just figured out a way to hide the truth from her due to English not being her first language.

She smiled, either way, she needed to relax.  She put her ear back on his chest and wrapped her arms around him, “She’s beautiful, Nathan.  Sometimes, when it’s just Christina and me, I tell her how I met you in a bar and how her Uncle robbed you blind.”

Nathan scoffed, “What?  Ivan didn’t rob me blind.”

“Ivan most certainly did rob you blind!”  she snickered, “for a trip into the mountains, it was very expensive,” she snuggled a little closer.

“Oh, but you misunderstood what I was buying.” He replied.

“What?” She asked.  He could feel her move her head so she could look up at him. He could picture the question in her eyes.

“You misunderstood what I was buying.  You see, I was buying the chance to have you alone on the mountain.  That way, there would be no other competition for your attention.  So, from my vantage point, it was a bargain.” He grinned, happy that he had gained the upper hand.

Nathan could almost hear her brain work the words around, deciding how she would translate that back into her language.  He sure hoped there weren’t translation issues.  Once or twice, when he forgot her language, he would screw up, and it was hell to pay for a little while as he tried to get her to understand the English-Romanian language issues.

She finally spoke, “So, you are saying you paid for my time, and it was worth much money?”

Nathan just held her close and mumbled, “Mmmhhhmm.”

“So, I was like a, what do you call it in America, a call girl?”

Oh…Shit!  Nathan’s eyes opened and darted around, trying to come up with some idea, ANY idea to stop her line of questioning. “Sweetheart, that is not what I was thinking, and you are well aware of it.”  Nathan had no defense but to push back.

“Then what is the meaning of an ultimate freakout?”  She asked him.

Befuddled on the sudden change in questioning, Nathan answered, “An ultimate freakout is the absolute worst example of something that you can think of.  Like, take one of the bad examples for those monster bride reality tv shows you watch and then triple that reaction.”

“So, it is like a logarithmic scale, not a linear scale?”  She asked him, still with a slight edge in her voice.

“Huh?” Nathan was confused for a moment, wondering who was teaching Ecaterina about logarithmic and linear scale and answered, “Yes, logarithmic, why?”

She took a step back and then punched him in the stomach.  Nathan barely had time to clench his muscles before her fist slammed home, “Because that means a six is not so good!” She told him, triumph in her voice for figuring out how he was dodging her earlier question.

“Oh,” he said, bending over slightly and speaking hoarsely from her punch, “That is where you were going with the questions.”

Nathan tried not to smirk as he stayed bent over. All things considered, he had dodged that question rather neatly until this last moment. Now, if he could just keep the smile off of his face when he stood back up!

From Michael >> Ok, so now you see my nefarious plan to introduce the second of the two things that GRABS people and won’t let go…

Children.

MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA…Snort…little bit…chuckle.  Well, hell.  A fan was asking what it would be like if Bethany Anne had to watch little Christina and I had to agree, it could be funny as hell… So, guess what is coming in a near-future snippet? No?  No guesses?  Wow, tough crowd (smile).  Since I already have a dog (the other (animal) item that grabs attention)… The only thing I found out is THOU SHALL NOT KILL ANIMALS…Unless they are old…

Seeing how I kinda killed Michael off… But didn’t….but he is gone… So what could I do w/ Ashur?  I have plans…so many, many plans… Actually, I’m doing something my wife suggested a while back.  We shall see if it makes it all the way through the book.  We both know (if you have been reading my Author Notes) that sometimes the characters write themselves.  So, I cannot guarantee anything!

Unedited
PLA Headquarters

The Chairman looked to his two General’s and nodded before sitting down at the long table. The meeting room, secured from all listening devices, consisted of the table, ten chairs and a small cupboard for refreshments. The three men opened their notebooks to go over the findings from the last three weeks of effort after their recent, they decided to call it a disagreement, with the company TQB.

General Tsang, responsible for the multiple teams reviewing the destruction and deaths across their country started the meeting, “The destruction in the Kunlun Shan Mountains is impressive. Our scientists have calculated the obliteration was, truly, from kinetic strikes. The video our camera person took correlated to the damage. But, at this time, the scientists are still arguing on how the objects could have been accelerated to the speeds necessary to accomplish the destruction.” The General took a sip of his tea. “Suffice to say, we cannot duplicate the effort.”

General Li, responsible for the forensics related to the digital attacks snorted at General Tsang’s last comment and received a dark look from the Chairman. All three men were more relaxed in this setting than they would have been in a proper meeting.

General Tsang continued, “The scientists do believe that the same type of weapon was used at our covert ops base to pound open the door. Considering the power displayed at Kunlun Shan, there is no engineering effort we can accomplish for viable protection at this time.”

“When,” The Chairman interrupted, “is the expected time that we can defend against this kinetic weapon?”

Tsang shrugged his shoulders, “When we figure out their anti-gravity abilities, it is postulated we will have the ability to build a repelling field that will at least minimize the damage considerably.”

“So,” The Chairman continued, “there is no place which is truly safe from their attacks?” Tsang shook his head, “When the Avatar was displayed in our bunker, they could have demolished us at that time?”

“Yes,” Tsang admitted, “that they did not was a strategic decision, not due to a limitation of their ability should they have decided to hit us.”

The Chairman reached up to his face and took off a pair of reading glasses, something he had needed to start wearing when reviewing paperwork and scratched his nose before placing the glasses back on. “Ok, Li?”

The other General replied, “The covert ops base had no survivors. The men, all of them, fought. We have blood samples from many of the battles, and we have some highly suspect forensics,” he added a moment later, “highly suspect.”

“For example?” The Chairman inquired.

“We have hair from at least two types of wolves, perhaps three. We have structural damage on doors inside the base that seem to be organic in nature.  These damages occurred before a massive retaliatory gun strike from our men peppered the door in response. The men were trained to think rationally in any situation, and it is obvious that is exactly what didn’t happen on multiple occasions. We have men shot, stabbed, necks bitten out by animals and bodies ripped apart by something massive. We have a couple of places where we have what look like nail scratches from something that must have weighed hundreds of pounds and stood a minimum of seven feet tall I’m told.”

“Are you suggesting,” The Chairman asked, his voice neutral, “That we have been attacked by monsters?”

Li shrugged his shoulders, “That is what the evidence at the base suggests. Something was able to get through the training the men had. The psychologists admit that if they were subjected to something very primal, it could accomplish causing the men to react instead of how they were trained.”

Li paused to allow an interruption. When none came, he continued, “Further, when our group investigated the escape of General Sun, we found additional hair evidence at both the location of his abduction and later inside the discarded plane.”

“Why would TQB want General Sun?” The Chairman asked, confused.

“Sir, I apologize, I have not been very clear,” Li responded, “We do not believe TQB was involved with General Sun.” The General looked across the table to his counterpart in the investigations and to the Chairman before continuing.

He cleared his throat and replied, “Sir, we have two groups.”