Alien Manifesto (35 page)

“
So where is Rowl?” Kareen
asked at the door to her room, “Or must I howl for him?”

“
Not so loud, Kareen, he
might hear you. Rowl doesn’t know you are here, or your family or
his sisters,” hushed the Irishman.

Kareen grabbed the Irishman by the
front of his tunic, lifting him off his feet “You did all this for
Rowl,” she growled, immediately understanding the
situation.

“
Not just me,” squirmed the
suddenly uncomfortable Irishman, “the whole team
helped.”

“
Then I owe each of you a
debt of gratitude,” she growled as she nearly crushed the Irishman
in a bear hug. “It is obvious to me that Rowl has chosen his
friends well. When are you planning to tell Rowl that I am here?”
she growled.

“
I was hoping you might
have some suggestions,” said the Irishman with a rushed exhale,
relieved that the secret was out and he was still alive.

“
The dance is tonight is it
not?” asked Kareen.

“
Yes, right after dinner,”
answered the Irishman, confused.

“
See to it that Rowl
attends and leave the rest to me. I have waited for this moment for
a very long time,” whined Kareen, wistfully. “I wish, however, that
you had given me a little notice, so I could have come better
prepared,” she said in a low growl.

“
Snarth says the entire
estate is at your disposal, said the Irishman. “He also said that
if you need anything, have it sent and don’t worry about the cost,
it’s on him; a wedding gift.”

“
But the dance is tonight,”
lamented Kareen.

“
I know just the person you
need to talk to, her name is Mona, she is my mate and unfortunately
for me an expert shopper,” said the Irishman. “Don’t worry about
the short notice. When Snarth calls, they send shuttles of
merchandise to him just as fast as they can get it here. He never
steps foot inside a seller’s shop, they come to him. Besides, do
you think you are the first female canine Snarth has ever
entertained?” he said with a grin. “I will send Mona to you right
away, she will get you started.”

It was much later when the
Irishman awoke, long after all the guests had arrived and been
assigned quarters, with a start, in a sweat, visions of Kareen
still dancing through his head. “I can’t,” he thought, “Rowl is my
best friend. I won’t,” he promised himself with a cold, iron hard
resolution, as he rolled over, gazing hungrily at Mona’s nude body
curled up next to him.
She really is a
perfect redhead and she is all mine,
he
thought. He and Rowl were much more than friends; they were
brothers of different mothers. A bond so strong it crossed species
bias. Still, he was tortured with images of Kareen in his
dreams.

PART
TWENTY-EIGHT

The Plot Thickens

“
ssSo who isss behind the
plot to kill the king?” Snarth hissed, asking Howler.

“
Whoever it is they cover
their tracks very, very well,” growled Howler. “My guess is that
whoever is causing the trouble is motivated by a rumor that the
feline council is going obtain a substantial number of banking
jewels as clan tithe. That kind of a credit influx will certainly
reignite any number of claims over longstanding debts,” Howler
growled warningly. “The feline council is not known for paying its
debts if pressured. If confronted aggressively, they usually just
assassinate whomever they owe credit to rather than pay. If the
rumors are true, then the galactic council will likely get involved
to negotiate, perhaps even get them dragged into a peacekeeping
situation. The felines are on the galactic council and their voice
carries a lot of weight in some circles of the council,” Howler
growled wearily.

“
You wouldn’t know anything
about where or how the felines are going to get their hands on a
large supply of banking jewels would you?” Howler growled asking
Snarth, his attention zeroed in on Snarth’s reaction.

Snarth realized he had two choices,
and he paused before answering. He could lie to his old friend and
protect his secret. Or he could tell Howler the truth about the
banking jewels and then ask for his help. The secret was going to
come out anyway, perhaps this way Snarth could control the
political spin and market jitters such a large influx of jewels
would have on the galactic economy.

“
Yesss I do,” hissed Snarth
simply. “I will tell you what I know if you tell me where you got
your information,” he bargained.

“
Fair enough,” woofed
Howler. “Our source is compromised anyway. We have an agent working
for Sniggle as a lower echelon smuggler.”

“
When ssSniggle findsss
out, your agent will die, if he isssn’t already dead,” hissed
Snarth.

“
He knew the risks, Snarth,
you of all beings should know what they are,” growled
Howler.

“
My team and I discovered a
cache of banking jewelsss hidden by the Onesss on a remote planet
whossse location ssshall remain a sssecret,” Snarth hissed as he
explained.

“
How many?” growled
Howler.

“
One hundred thousand one
hundred and ten that we know of,” said Snarth, hissing his answer
softly, letting the weight of his words sink in.

“
That is more than enough
to start at least two small wars almost immediately, with several
bigger conflicts not far off,” Howler growled flatly. “When were
you planning on telling me?” he woofed at Snarth.

“
You are here now, are you
not,” hissed Snarth grinning as only he can.

“
I am only going to sssell
a few of them ssslowly until I make my profit and each one of my
team matessss getsss their fair ssshare,” Snarth hissed, now all
business. “After that, you can do whatever the galactic council
wantsss to do with them. I will even deliver them. That way the
exissstence of my treasssure map can remain between usss. The
planet’sss location must remain a sssecret. I sssay thisss
becaussse I know there are many, many more jewelsss yet to be
found. Enough to easssily dessstroy the galactic economy,” he
hissed.

“
Where did you get a Ones
treasure map?” growled Howler in amazement.

“
I ssstole it from a mutual
friend of oursss, ssSniggle,” hissed Snarth. “ssSSlice dissscovered
itsss exissstence sssome time ago. Then not long ago my team and I
pulled a raid on ssSniggle’sss essstate while he wasss away on
busssinessss. I made a copy of the map. ssSSniggle doesss not know
and I would prefer to keep it that way if you pleassse,” hissed
Snarth.

“
Of course old friend; what
Sniggle does not know will do him no harm,” growled Howler,
suddenly lost in thought.

“
It could be the Hibi
banking clan that is stirring up trouble on the feline home world.
They hold a great deal of the feline council’s war debt,” Howler
growled.

“
That would be foolish on
their part,” mewed the assassin master. “If my clan loses control
of the council the Hibi will lose all of the credit they have
extended to the council and their leaders will become prey. As I am
sure they know,” he hissed.

“
It hasss to be the
Gemanomes,” whispered SSlice They and they alone hold the Hibi
banking clan’s leash.”

“
They will be the first to
claim war reparations as it was their fleet that destroyed the
Ones’ home world,” growled Howler.

“
If it is the Gemanomes,
they could not have picked a better time to try to take control of
the council,” SSlice whispered. “Several galactic consulate ships
have gone missing. Gemanome bandits would be the prime suspects
especially if the king were attacked and killed.”

“
There is a raging debate
in the council as to which course of action they should take. The
issue of attacking or negotiating with the Gemanomes has deeply
divided the Security Council. The Gemanomes desperately want a seat
on the security council,” added Howler.

“
If it becomes known or
even suspected that the Gemanomes bandits or Gemanomes military is
behind the attacks on the consulate ships then it will be war. One
that will either unite the remaining galactic alliance members, or
tear the alliance apart,” finished SSlice.

PART
TWENTY-NINE

An Unsuspecting
Rowl

Kareen and Mona spent the rest of the
afternoon shopping at the dozens of merchants that showed up in
their portable showrooms. With just a single long time unit’s
notice they came, quickly filling Snarth’s private landing
pad.

“
Are you sure that is what
you want to wear?” asked Mona, puzzled to the edge of her social
algorithms by Kareen’s choice.

“
Rowl is a warrior and I am
to be his mate. From now on where he goes, I go,” said Kareen as
she adjusted her new body armor, unsheathing her twin swords to
several different opening moves, all perfectly executed. “I am a
fight master after all,” she growled. “You are a pleasure bio mech
are you not,” demanded Kareen, satisfied by her armor and
swords.

“
Yes, I belong to Kyle. I
advise against using his real name, he prefers to be called the
Irishman.”

~

As Kareen headed toward the
main hall and the dance, having skipped dinner in favor of
preparing, her stomach fluttering like it was full of butterflies.
She thought to herself
so Kyle prefers
pleasure bio mechs to real partners. I will see about that! I know
just the perfect mate for him. He does not stand a chance; he will
not even have to work at it. I only have to introduce them, that
should be enough.
She was smiling at the
thought of being able to pay back the Irishman’s kindness and
loyalty to her and her soon to be mate, her stomach calmed by the
distraction.

Kareen strode into the main ballroom,
her muscles rippling as she strutted, her tail held high in full
battle dress. Her heart shaped mane and long tail flowed behind her
as she moved through the crowd of guests, towering over most. All
conversation around her stopped. Seeing her swords, the guests
milled nervously about, locating the exits. Hearing the
disturbance, Rowl made a beeline for the cause. Suddenly his knees
went weak at the most delicious smell he could ever remember. She
was here!

It was Kareen and she was dressed as a
fight master. That is what the commotion was about, her swords. As
he stood behind her, people looked away, turning their backs,
giving the two canines privacy in the middle of a crowd. Throwing
his head back, chest extended: “Kareen!” howled Rowl at the top of
his lungs, beginning the mating ritual, trembling with
excitement.

Spinning around to face her mate,
responding to the mating call, Kareen howled, not as loud, yet just
as passionately: “Rowl!” Kareen had such a beautifully sensuous
howl; people turned and stared, again.

Then Kareen bolted toward the main
entrance at a dead run, Rowl was only a split second behind her.
Into the jungle surrounding Snarth’s estate she ran. She would
continue running until she reached the grassland section of the
estate. All the way to the love nest that waited for them
there.

Rowl followed her, never quite
catching up, nipping her flank occasionally, and letting her run
until she was exhausted. When she stopped, the mating would begin.
It would go on for hours, perhaps even days, as the two became
one.

PART THIRTY

The Young Queen

When at last the Queen’s
egg glowed golden bright, pulsing with energy, it was nearly too
late for the young nymph. Abandoned by his nest mates, out of food
and too weak to forage, he lay at the base of the pedestal that
held the golden egg. Only the new Queen could save him now.
She will be here soon,
I
only have to wait a little longer,
thought
the young nymph.
Just a little
longer,
he thought as he slipped once more
into blackness, leaving the birth of a new Queen unobserved by
anyone.

With a bright flash of energy, the new
queen coalesced into her new corporal form. Seeing the nearly dead
aide at her feet, the new Queen’s first act was one of compassion
for one of her own people. She bent toward the unconscious, very
nearly dead aide. Closer she came until their mouths were scant
inches apart. She gently let some of the life giving energy of the
sun flow into the young nymph, saving him from certain
death.

It was several minutes before the
young nymph regained consciousness, to find the Queen patiently
waiting for him to wake.

“
My Queen,” he spluttered
almost in disbelief as he flipped back over on to his feet.
Immediately he began scraping his chest plate against the chamber
floor in submission.

“
It is I who should bow to
you young one. Too much has been asked of one so young, yet you
have not faltered in your duty to me,” said the Queen in a faint
musical voice. “I am forever in your debt,” she said as she bowed
to the young nymph, an act never before done in all the thousands
of generations of Queens. “Bring me the elders of your clan,” she
commanded.

“
If I may, my queen,
please,” squirmed the young nymph, his fear scents filling the
chamber. “My Queen, all of my nest mates have abandoned me,” he
said in a whisper.