Jupiter Fleet 1: Werewolves Don't Purr (44 page)

“Yeah, killing each other just after breakfast? Not cool!” said Barry.

Leona turned back to the port and looked up at the ship that had approached the
Space Dog
. She was nearly felled by the force of the telepathic message she received.

“Not so strong! You’re hurting me and I can’t understand you,” she sent back.

“Sorry! This is the
Vengeance
, Mergnot’s ship. We have been trying to communicate to you for days with linked telepaths. You are being boarded.”

“That part of the message got through. It was weird—it was like I was having these strange feelings, not my own,” said Leona.

“Why is that weird? That is what indirect communication feels like. It is also exhausting. Mergnot says he can send over a party to help with the boarders.”

“Why should I believe you are who you say you are?”

“Maybe this will help.”

The linked telepaths sent a mental image of all of them purring. Leona laughed.

“OK, send them over. We could use the help.”

“Mergnot says not to be alarmed, but he must continue to fire until he has destroyed the last of the nuclear mines.”

“OK, fire away.”

Leona grabbed the hand radio and called Gunny. “That ship is the
Vengeance
, Mergnot’s ship. They’re here to help us repel the attack. They are going to shoot some more of those nuclear mines.”

“Yes, Captain, we finally saw that they have already been shooting the mines. We also have two shuttles on approach—more help?”

“Yes, a complement of wolves to help us with the boarders. Please have a combat team meet them and escort them to the breached decks. Oh, and Gunny—keep an eye on them.”

“I’ll keep two eyes on them, Captain,” replied Gunny.

Leona decided to head back to the Battle Bridge. She watched as her guards positioned themselves in a phalanx to guard her.

Looking at the trio of wolves reminded her of Thor, who had appointed them as her bodyguard. As they jogged together through the corridors, Leona took a moment to wonder what was going to happen with her and Thor once everything settled down, or
if
everything settled down.

She wondered if she and Thor would have the same easygoing household that they used to, back on the farm. Would the horses let him near them, smelling and looking like a big predator? And probably Thor would have to find an alternative beverage to coffee, which the werewolves found too strong-smelling.

But more than just that, what about their marriage? Would they be able to resume cuddling at night? She wondered how Mary, her mom, was finding the conversion to werewolf form. Heh! Her parents seemed to be happy together as wolves…

Lost in her musing she hardly noticed when she reached the Battle Bridge. She entered and walked over to her son, who looked like he had something to report.

“Mom, I just got word that Mergnot is coming over on the next shuttle. He asks if you can meet him on the Shuttle Deck.”

“Sure, I guess I can consider all this running around part of my exercise program.”

“That’s the spirit that every old person should have!” Will said, grinning.

He ducked, expecting a swat. Leona did not move, but one of the guard werewolves gave him a tap on the head.

Leona glared at the wolf; John Lewis shrugged and lifted his paw-hands, palms up.

“What? Thor said to give the kid a swat when he needed it—seemed like he needed it.”

Will climbed back in his seat, still grinning but rubbing his head. He didn’t seem bothered at all to have received his father’s swat by proxy.

Men
, Leona thought.
If I live to be a hundred
…

Then she left the Battle Bridge on the way to the Shuttle Bay.

It took over thirty minutes to get there. Leona had been stopped numerous times and asked a host of questions by people trying to get a minute of her time. Finally her trio of guards had to sternly push people back so the captain could get through.

When Leona arrived at the Shuttle Bay, Mergnot was already on the deck waiting for her. His image had been telepathically transmitted to her by Admiral, so she recognized him instantly. He was not red-furred like the other werewolves, but was silver-furred. The difference was hard to miss.

When he saw Leona, Mergnot hurried over to her. A small group of other werewolves accompanied him in a way that Leona had not seen Admiral’s or Frosty’s wolves do.

“It is wonderful to finally meet you, my queen,” Mergnot thought to her.

“Queen?” Leona was very surprised. “It’s Captain, not Queen, Mergnot.”

Mergnot smiled and then conferred with one of his werewolves. The other wolf nodded and hurried off.

“I am keeping the enemy boarding party contained for a while. It will give them time to think about their predicament, which will make them easier to deal with later.”

“Right, stewing in their own juices, so to speak,” said Leona.

“Stewing? Oh, yes: hot, cooking, an interesting metaphor,” thought Mergnot. “You humans do have a fascinating culture.”

The silver werewolf wagged his tail slowly. Leona wondered why he wanted to speak with her privately. She could tell that her bodyguards were warily wondering the same thing.

“Please permit me to explain the importance of this meeting. On my planet, before the Masters came, we did not elect our leaders, nor were they the leaders by birthright. All our kings and queens were victors at war. Sometimes they were long wars, sometimes short, but leadership was always as a result of conflict. That was the only way to ensure that the leaders were fit to lead. After all, no one can win a war that cannot convince anyone to fight and follow.”

Leona’s bodyguards tensed up a bit. Was this the preamble to a physical attack?

“The vanquished normally became subjects of the new sovereign until that victorious ruler got old or died, and a new war would start. The generals and war chiefs that had followed the defeated leaders were given positions of authority, and they swore allegiance to the victorious leader as their king, or queen.”

Leona’s bodyguard, John Lewis, pricked his ears and took a more relaxed stance. Barry Santarelli had one ear up and one down, but Joe Daszko was still wary and was watching Mergnot closely.

“I was the king on my planet before the Masters arrived in our star system. We fought battle after battle with them. They won by sheer numbers despite our valiant fighters. The Masters never seemed to run out of ships or troops. They triumphed over us, and their victory was crushing.” Mergnot put his ears back. “As the king, I was the first one converted to a werewolf, one hundred fifty of your years ago—so that the Masters could glory in victory and torment my people in our defeat. To add to the insult, they made my fur—only mine—this color of silver, and the Masters that dealt with me usually taunted me by calling me ‘Wolf King’ or “Silver Ruler.’ But my faithful subjects that were also converted—they remembered what had been.”

Mergnot’s ears flattened and his tail drooped. Then his ears pricked forward and his tail started wagging slowly again.

“
You
started this campaign against the Masters, whom you insult by calling ‘the Supes.’
You
freed and recruited Admiral to follow you. All who follow him also follow
you
.
You
liberated Frosty and appointed him to the command of Jupiter Station.
You
have now liberated me and put me in a position of authority. So by all the traditions of my people, you are my queen. I and all the people who follow me are sworn to serve and protect you with all our strength.”

Mergnot bowed low, as did his werewolves who were nearby. He and they then turned and walked away, leaving Leona standing, stunned, on the Shuttle Deck.

Her bodyguard wolves were at first as surprised as she was. But then they started wagging their tails and yipping softly. Softly, because Leona was still standing silently, looking amazed, with a crinkled brow and her arms crossed over her chest.

Mergnot made his way to Deck Four where the leader of the boarding party was trying to rally his troops. The smell of good food was a distraction. Gunny came up to Mergnot and introduced himself.

“How many Masters and werewolves are we facing?” Mergnot thought.

Gunny had a thought-amplifier communicator on his belt, so a fraction of a second later he heard the question.

“There are six Supes that we have seen, and about four hundred fifty wolves on this deck. There are only two Supes on the Deck Eight, and about five hundred wolves.”

“How many Masters can you kill at the same time with your guns?”

Gunny radioed to his troops and got the answer. “Only four Supes are visible right now, so we can kill all four.”

“That will do. When I lower my arms, have them all fire at once.”

Gunny relayed the request and the
Space Dog
fighters got ready.

Mergnot stepped forward with both arms in the air, so he could be seen by the invading wolves.

“Listen to me, brother wolves, you do not have to die here right now. You can join with us. Just kill the Masters that keep you as slaves, and you will be free to fight and die as you choose,” Mergnot broadcast strongly.

A Master tried to take control of Mergnot’s mind. Mergnot struggled against the invasion. He told the Master to stay out of his brain, but it was no use—the Master was winning. As the Master gained control of him, Mergnot’s arms dropped.

Immediately five rifles fired—four plus one for the Master controlling Mergnot, who had stepped forward into view to have a better chance of controlling Mergnot’s mind. Mergnot felt the Master die and instantly regained control of his own mind.

Numerous other wolves were released from being stunned at the same time. They immediately turned and pounced on the remaining Masters. Gunny received a message saying that the same thing was happening on Deck Eight as well.

On this news, Mergnot grasped the gunnery sergeant at the ribs and lifted him up into the air. The silver Alpha wolf looked him in the eyes.

“This is most excellent news! Come, human, lead me to food and I will tell you of my recent adventures.”

Mergnot set Gunny down and stood there waiting.

Gunny turned to his 2IC with a shrug.

“Handle the surrender. I am going to get the big guy some food.”

Sarah felt the shuttle land on the piece of rock designated as
Number 5 of 6
. It was not so much a landing on the rock, as it was the rock coming partway to meet them. Once the pilot had touched down, he engaged the shuttle thruster. The biggest danger was that the rock would break apart or start to tumble and hit another rock.

However, the acceleration went smoothly and the asteroid started moving in the right direction. Once it had moved far enough off its former course, Sarah smiled tensely at the pilot.

“We’re good! You can cut it loose. Let’s see how the others are doing.”

Three of the other shuttles were moving their pieces without trouble; however, one of the shuttles was having a difficulty. The asteroid fragment was too large and moving too fast for the shuttle to have much effect on it.

“Hang on—we are coming to give you a hand,” Sarah radioed.

“How much time do we have left?” the pilot asked Sarah.

She checked the calculation she had made. “Two hours and twenty three minutes.”

“We’ve been at this for two hours already. I don’t think we are doing this fast enough.”

Sarah rechecked her calculations and pursed her lips. “Oh my, you’re right!”

She then radioed the team of shuttles.

“I know, in the briefing I said that we had to be careful, but we are running out of time. My shuttle is going to help with
Number 2 of 6
. You other three shuttles take
Number 1
or
Number 6
—the big piece—and fly as fast as you can manage without killing anyone.”

Twenty-two minutes later, Sarah’s shuttle touched down on the rock. As soon as Sarah’s shuttle brought its gravity drive up to full power, both shuttles fired their main thrusters. Minutes ticked away as the rock slowly responded. Sarah kept a careful watch on their position, her expression tense.

“We’re good now. We have to help the others. Disengage and get over to
Asteroid Fragment Number 1
as soon as you can.”