Evolution's Essence (18 page)

A chief teleportation scientist stood among
the chain that was captured had been the true mastermind. All
murder charges were taken off Davan and given to this man. Davan’s
name had been cleared of all wrongdoing and he looked like a whole
new man passionate to live again and uncover all the secrets of
instant travel. Until Davan gave the all clear to use it, he was in
charge of all the research and dictated how it was used by
proclamation of the Asian Empress herself. He even got a team to
work with and was alive, making valued friends like he used to.

Davan too stood in the crowd present to
witness justice done. Watery eyes barely blinking, but it was
clearly written on his expression he was thinking of his workplace
friends who had become family and were murdered for no logical
reason other than greed. He wished they were around to see their
murderers’ find justice. If there was an afterlife he fervently
wished his family kicked their asses for eternity. They’d certainly
get the chance soon enough.

A strong squeeze on his shoulder had Davan
look up and saw Oliver’s empathy calm and stable as ever. The blue
man nodded as the impressive group passed.

Reporters from across Andromeda were abuzz
commenting to floating orbs recording every possible detail and
angle. Near all were focused on the royal contingent. Many of those
who weren’t Hunters gawked at Oliver and Renee, a hot topic that
wouldn’t die down anytime soon because word was released and Amanda
Lockwell had been given the go ahead to break the biggest story of
all time. All the stations either talked about were the mass
execution or that Solarians live again.

Two and a half kilometers later the Pride
spread out and Oliver moved away from Renee to approach the
standing Elders and the shortest among them. First to greet was
Vanishing Claw. “Too bad Netul didn’t stick around to witness
this.”

“
Yeah, but Callier needed
her Match to ready their son for communal teaching. And he also had
other, more pressing obligations only a Beyleez must deal with.”
Oliver dug a small item out of a pocket. A small earring shaped
just like a sword and passed it over. “I decided that instead of
what Archiver Tammat uses, it’ll be more than a year from now
before I collar another Liger Pride and give them to you. So best
do this gradually. It has limited range so use your chip to turn it
off if you need a break. The pain program will be initially no pain
at all, but over the course of three months will get increasingly
more painful. Turn it off if you cannot stand it. Play with
different levels if gradual becomes too easy and remember, at full
pain is what I endured for eight straight hours. Believe me, it’ll
feel lifetimes instead.”

“
Got it.” Vanishing Claw
looked at the simple assuming piece of jewelry in his gauntlet’s
palm and passed it over. “Talon, do you mind.”

“
Payback for all the times
you
poke
me? I’m
there.” She grinned maliciously, blue eyes shimmering as she
removed the backing of the earring, came closer and forced the thin
shaft through his left earlobe and he didn’t even twitch. Talon
replaced the backing, stepped back to turn the sword’s long blade
downward.
“Sexy. When this is all over I expect to get poked
repeatedly.”

“
But of course, My Love.
You’ll scream my name to the stars like I always make you do.” He
winked and looked away towards the train of bound men and women
each having a sensory deprivation helmet on. They couldn’t see or
hear anything. Vanishing Claw decided there was no time like the
present and activated the earring’s ability. The throbbing of the
lobe made sure nothing else was felt.

Emperor Markeese Coleson stood up on the dais
where a gallows had been erected. A hundred ropes hung from a long
metal bar that came down to a person’s knee. When the floorboard is
released the gallows stood four meters off the ground. Anyone
shorter than Jake Dorgen would not stand a chance. Especially in
Zerika’s gravity. Most of the people in line could barely stand as
it was. “Good people of the Empire!” He began, a small transmitter
sewn into the collar of his suit transmitted his words across the
cavity in the ground and through live recordings going to every
human news channel in existence. “If you have been following recent
events then you have seen every suspect has been proven without a
shadow of doubt to have had a hand in the most recent greatest
evils of our civilization. Today we cleanse ourselves of their
taint. The most heinous acts were done by a mere ten masterminds
and will be executed not by hanging. Executioners, bring your
quarry to the stage.”

Vanishing Claw and nine others moved to the
front of the train. Two being Steven and Stone. The other seven
weren’t Hunter’s, but family members of esteem who lost someone
dear as a result of grievously illegal crimes and got the right to
deal long awaited vengeance.

Ten were removed from the long train and
shoved or shocked a little until they got on stage. Hand’s bound
behind their back, the deprivation helmets were removed, but not
till after getting forced to their knees by a sharp, painful kick
to the joint. They cried out in pain. Both by the sharp glare of
the sun and hurt knees.

Swords were given to the seven civilians as
the Emperor retold the documented crimes from the least to worst
persons. After each one the civilians at last got to either behead
or plunge their sword through the heart or belly till the person
slowly died. Everyone watching was silent, showing little to no
remorse to their deaths.

Until the Emperor got to the
final three. “Supermodel Veronica Grimsil.” The curvy woman with
peach color hair. “Supermodel Natalie Pierce.” The sunlight haired
woman. “And Former Hunter and president of Galicom Collin Chandler.
For the crimes of millions of blackmail, slavery, kidnapping,
illegal research in science, murder, theft, cloning of over
two hundred thousand
abominations through the rebirth program and the future
attempt of genocide of all Hunters in this galaxy by the clone
army… I find you guilty by documentation of your own acts and by
eleven unbiased Drake telepaths to learn your secrets.”

“
Don’t kill us, Please!” The
woman called Veronica Grimsil pleaded.

“
You didn’t plead for my
brother-in-arms when you had Merc’s hired to kill him and Bell.
Blackmailed him with the false promise of bringing his daughter
back from death just to spy on the Andromeda Pirate King.” Steven
grabbed a fistful of hair and punched her in the face. She
bawled.

“
End this once and for all.”
The Emperor ordered.

Steven gladly removed his double balled flail
and crushed her skull to a pulp, ending the cries in an
instant.

Stone removed the huge battleaxe, kicked the
woman to the ground and chopped her torso in half with a lone
swing. She died much slower.

Vanishing claw met the vacant look of
Chandler before taking his sword and cut the man easily from crown
to groin in a single swoop. It made a great deal of mess and made
the dais smell like shit, but that couldn’t be helped.

It was over. The conspiracy was at an end
once and for all.

The bodies were carted to the Inferno trees
where graves were made and the bodies were tossed in for fuel.

Waste not want not.

The hangings took all day long, each death
went to a grave to one day produce something worthwhile. When it
was eventually over things began to settle.

Three months later the Emperor bound Jake and
Andrea in public marriage on Zerika before returning to Earth to
start mass producing Gravity Forges to strengthen defenses. The
wedding was grand, but done in space because most of Andrea’s
family couldn’t handle the jungle planet’s heavy gravity. Many were
space-born and would die of heart failure without visiting a
splicer. Bones would break too easily also. It was festive and
everyone enjoyed meeting everyone. Andrea Dorgen was now officially
the new pirate queen and loved bickering with the Fire Queen.

Isabelle was now walking on her own and could
talk like that of a child at the age of six or seven and she could
do a few small things with her limited Psionic development. She was
loved and cherished by her parents, but like her hotheaded mother,
she couldn’t be around children much older than her because like
her parents, she was fast and had a personality that required her
to be second to no one. Sadly that meant a lot of children got hurt
or bitten till they didn’t look her in the eye. Isabella had a full
set of teeth and knew how to use them. She respected adults,
especially after her parents spanked her to correct that behavior.
Unfortunately it was Solarian instinct in children to dominate one
another. Survival of the fittest and Isabella was clearly not weak.
The only two children she didn’t lash out at was her baby uncle
David and Netul and Callier’s son, Pathilim. David grew near twice
as fast as a normal human, but even so his mental development
wasn’t as great as hers. Pathilim though had telepathy and could
converse with her though physically he was still in infancy and
couldn’t do more than crawl. Those two were good friends.

Four more months passed when the cubs were no
longer cubs. Twenty one fully grown and trained Ligers stood at
attention in a line. The males a had bit more of a mane where
females were sleek. Nova’s daughter was bulkier and taller than any
of the females and even the male she had taken as hers. They
survived to adulthood and passed all the tests required. They
merely lacked the experience of their ancient parents.

Five tons of scrapped steel sat in a
haphazard pile outside the house Oliver and Renee called home. Most
Elder Hunters had long ago left, but Vanishing Claw and Talon stood
beside Scythe and a heavily impregnated Javelin carrying Scythe’s
child. Oliver’s Valek initiated the Liger collaring program and it
chomped down on the scrap and chewed it up like a beating heart
before he laid a hand on a neck and the Valek encircled furry necks
one after another. When the black receded, left behind was a thick
azure collar over snow white necks. After each collaring was
completed he glanced to find Isabella standing on the wall, curly
auburn hair brushing her tiny shoulders with adorable ringlets. To
either side of the daughter were the heads of Sparky and Rose
keeping an eye on her so she didn’t get close. This ritual was
sacred and things needed to be kept absolutely quiet. Everyone else
was watching behind the wall except Oliver and his Pride of
twelve.

Once all were collared he used most of the
remaining steel to create the malleable Liger armor by cutting
their flesh a little to combine some blood to the material. A
similar process to what he did to Renee in New Wrangler Prison what
seemed eons ago.

With the last feline bonded to armor he
looked up and connected to the Creelin Observer cloaked at the edge
of the Zerikan solar system. “Archiver’s, please contact Game
Warden Collu on Jaffablin and tell her the Pride is ready.”

“
She is making final
preparations as we speak, King Void.”

“
Haven’t heard your voice in
a long time, Archiver Brambbit. Are you coming to watch another
bonding ritual?”

“
Some other time perhaps…
Game Warden Collu will arrive in moments.”

In just a handful of seconds, down the road
came a brilliant flash of light. Oliver backed up when he saw
her.

Collu in the middle of the underground street
stood entirely naked. Nothing touched her body. Her skin was
bluish-grey and thin, but strong. Flat breasts didn’t hide a pair
of nipples that were only used to allow a baby to breathe by
secreting a lotion. She had her long segmented hair/antennae laying
across her back. She even had a vagina much like a human woman.
Convergent evolution for a sexual species. But her glowing eyes
stared straight ahead, completely blank white.

Taking a single step had the twenty one
Ligers charge at her and roar so loud most covered sensitive ears.
Any sane person would try to flee, even in vain. Collu didn’t show
any sign of acknowledgement and they swiped extended claws in her
face. Missing by mere millimeters. Spiked armor, proved their
inexperience because shallow cuts appeared on her arms.

Just the queen of the Pride stood her ground,
large blue eyes glaring with greater intelligence. Collu stopped
nose to face till the female made the armor get sucked into the
collar. They stared each other down for a moment then Collu’s torso
near vanished in the deadly maw. Fangs pierced flesh, making blue
blood run down a firm butt without a hole. Creelin expel moisture
through their vagina or penis. They didn’t eat conventionally so
didn’t require a way to leave waste.

As soon as the fangs pierced, the Pride
surrounding her went completely silent and tense, ready to tear her
apart.

“
Daddy, she’s hurting!”
Isabella squeaked, her adorably freckled face was pinched in
discomfort.

“
I know, baby doll, but
remember, you need to be a bit more quiet.. shhh.” He whispered,
scooping her into an arm. “And don’t try touching their minds.
They’ll kill her and you. You don’t want her to die do
you?”

“
No, Daddy. Ma say’s dying
is bad and you never get to see someone again. I’ll be more quiet…
Okay, Daddy?” She said, tilting her small head like a puppy. Renee
wanted Isabella to call him Papa, but Isabella was a defiant and
spirited child. Renee though made sure she was called Ma and
nothing else. “How long must we wait?”

“
A few hours, Kiddo.”
Vanishing Claw rubbed her soft head.