The Commander (35 page)

The Bakkui advanced in her direction. It held a weapon in its free hand.

“Can that thing hurt me?” Annie asked.

“Your personal shield will block any shot fired from a distance. Attack quickly when you get close.”

“Okay,” she shouted.

Annie held up the cutting tool and advanced on the Bakkui. It fired several shots but they bounced off her shield. It increased its rate of fire and Annie came to a stop. The force of each blast stung through her shield like a hot zap of electricity.

“Don’t stop,”
Sadie
warned. “Your only chance is to attack.”

Annie twisted the depth of the blade to maximum and raised the cutter over her shoulder like a baseball bat.

“Here goes nothing!” she shouted and charged.

The Bakkui fired repeatedly as she approached.

Five feet from the Bakkui she leapt into the air and brought the blade down on its shoulder, slicing off the mechanical arm that held the emperor. She crashed into the machine and lost her grip on the cutter. The robot tried to wedge its weapon against her body and she threw herself to one side, covering the old man.

“Kill it!” she shrieked.

Sadie
’s left chin gun fired once. The explosion buffeted Annie, but her personal force field kept most of the blast away. The remains of the Bakkui robot covered the ground.

Annie felt like she was in one piece. The emperor grunted underneath her and she stood quickly, helping the elderly gentleman to his feet.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

His expression was puzzled but strong. “I believe so. Thanks to you.”

Japanese soldiers appeared and rushed forward. Several shots were fired and the bullets bounced off Annie’s shield. She put a protective arm around the emperor’s shoulders and drew him inside her shield. The emperor pushed Annie’s arm aside and stepped in front to face the advancing soldiers. He barked out a harsh order in Japanese. They came to a stop instantly and bowed.

The emperor turned back to Annie. “It’s been a confusing day. Forgive them, please,” he said.

Annie brushed aside the apology. “It’s understandable. It’s been rough all around.” She retrieved her cutting handle and turned off the blade.

From the corner of her eye, she saw more people approaching.

“Uh oh,” she said.

The emperor followed her gaze and smiled. “Uh oh, indeed. I am afraid the media are not as obedient as my guards.”

It wouldn’t do to cut and run, leaving the emperor to fend for himself, so Annie stoically stood by the monarch’s side while he gestured for quiet. The more he gestured, the louder the shouted questions became. Dozens of video cameras were capturing every nuance.

The soldiers came running once again, this time to establish a barrier between the newsies and the emperor. They managed to restore a bit of order but the reporters’ loud entreaties grew even more urgent.

Her implant translated the jumbled cacophony. Most of the questions amounted to “
Who is this woman
?”

One of reporters stepped forward suddenly. The guards pushed him back but he held his ground.

“I know who she is. Don’t you recognize her?”

There were a dozen cries of “
Who
?” Some of the comments were not so polite or restrained.

“She’s…”

The crowd fell silent.

“She’s the
commander’s woman
!”

It took every ounce of self-control for Annie to keep a blank expression. Once upon a time, she thought the appellation was cute. After the first two weeks, it had started to grate. Now she hated it. But some nicknames haunt a person forever.

The announcement brought another series of questions, many of them inappropriate.

Another reporter made himself heard. “Are you here because of your alliance with Japan?”

Annie started to say ‘Yes,” but paused. Did that mean she sacrificed the American and Chinese premiers because they hadn’t signed? No matter what she said, the heat would be intense.

The crowd fell silent again, sensing she was going to answer.

“The Bakkui struck without warning,” she said clearly. “We lost many lives before we could mount a counterattack. I wish we could have stopped them in space but they overwhelmed our defense. This will be a long and difficult war and we ask all nations to join our cause. And yes, we came because of the alliance. But against the Bakkui we fight for all mankind, alliance member or not.”

“But what about…”

“Can you explain what…”

“Does this mean you’ll…”

Annie ignored the reporters and turned to the emperor. “I’m glad you’re okay, sir. Please say hello to Ambassador Yamamoto for me. I met her in Nevada a while back.”

The emperor took her hand. “I shall. Can you stay? I would like to thank you more properly.”

“Sir, I would love to, but many of my people died today and I must attend to them. Perhaps another time?”

“I understand, my dear. Let me just say thank you.
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu
. You are forever welcome in this house.”

Annie bowed politely to the emperor.
Sadie, come get me. Carefully.

The shuttle lifted a few inches off the ground and floated forward slowly. The crowd of reporters melted away before the fierce-looking machine. Annie moved clear of the emperor and waited until the door opened. She stepped inside quickly and
Sadie
rose into the sky. Annie had time to wave once to the emperor below.

The door closed and all the energy left Annie’s body. She collapsed in her favorite chair. “Do we need to start rescue operations?” Annie asked?

“Negative,”
Sadie
answered. “All controls have returned to our remaining ships and they have begun recovery procedures.”

“Head straight to Moonbase, then.”

“Course set, Miss Daniels.”

# # #

Sadie
shouted loudly, “
Arriving
at destination!”

Annie woke up. “Okay, I’m up.” Still, lethargy filled her body. The adrenaline rush from the battle had vanished leaving her spent. She felt like a wet noodle.

The display showed their final approach to the once familiar hangar at Moonbase One. A small crowd had gathered in the bay for her arrival and Roth stood at the front. He had a wide grin across his face.

“I let him know you were coming,”
Sadie
explained as she landed.

Annie pulled herself together and when the door opened she stepped out.

“You know how to make an entrance,” Roth said, enveloping her in his embrace.

Even though Annie felt drained, she mustered up a return smile. She was glad to see him and accepted his welcoming hug.

He nodded at
Sadie
. “So this is your workaround?”

“In part,” she said, serious again. “What’s our status here?”

“We’re secure for the moment,” Roth said. “But there could still be more Bakkui out there. If we get hit again, I don’t know if your workaround will fill the bill. Can we make more of these? I take it this is the new
Sadie
? Hi,
Sadie
.”

“Hello, Doctor Higgins. Nice to see you again.”

“First thing I have to do is change,” Annie said. “Is my apartment still available?”

“Absolutely. But I like your new look.”

“Don’t start with me Roth,” she warned. “Let’s meet in an hour.”

# # #

Clean and showered, Annie found some clothes in her closet that were both comfortable and casual. She looked in the mirror and groaned. She should have done something about her hair before today. Her blonde hair had grown out long ago but the bright red tips still remained. Now, still wet from her shower, it looked like a neon sign.

Sadie, can you hear me? Can you respond verbally?

“Loud and clear, Miss Daniels.”
Sadie
’s voice filled the room the same as if they were in her shuttle’s living room.

“Can you keep a connection between us while we’re here? I’m afraid if I speak to George, I’ll tell him to self-destruct. I’ve felt that way since we landed and it’s creeping me out.”

“To answer your question, yes. That’s not a problem. In your apartment, it will be a private connection. I can relay anything necessary.”

“Good,” Annie said, her voice filled with relief. “That makes me feel better.”

“If you don’t mind me saying so,”
Sadie
continued slowly, “you need to get some counseling. I’m a little worried about you hating George so much.”

“Good idea. See if there’s anyone here in Moonbase that’s qualified. And from now on, when we’re in private, call me Annie. You did on the shuttle.”

“Okay. Annie, it is.”

“Can you show me any highlights of today’s news.”

The living room screen came alive.

“Oh, my God.”

It was much worse than she’d imagined. The graphics on every news channel included spectacular pictures of her holding the flaming sword over her head, her firestorm-colored hair flying wildly. Clips of her charging the robot and slashing it through were available from every conceivable angle.

Annie noticed the clips were all Japanese.

“Show me some US news.”

“Those reports are not as favorable,”
Sadie
warned.

“Put them on. I need to be aware, if nothing else.”

Most of Washington DC had been wiped out. Almost every American commentator called for her immediate arrest. The reasons were varied, but the consensus was that she had deliberately allowed the US president to be executed and then stood by while the Bakkui attacked the capital. Several pundits suggested that during the attack on American soil she was engaged in a dalliance with the so-called commander, who was hiding in an unknown location.

It was a sad commentary. The fate of humanity was at stake and the media reported it as a sex scandal.

“What about the Chinese news?” Annie asked.

“About the same,”
Sadie
said. “Maybe a little worse. Beijing is gone, along with much of their government. However, the rest of the world is behind you. Video of the attack in space, the bombardment of Moonbase, your battle with the Bakkui, and the final hand-to-hand combat were streamed in real-time across the planet.”

“That’s good. So it’s just the Americans and the Chinese who still hate us.”

“As of now, that is correct. Your escort has arrived.”

# # #

Roth was waiting for her in the conference room, along with two familiar faces, Jared McGee and Lou Morrow. She was glad to see them both and told them so with warm hugs.

Roth updated Annie when everyone was seated. “Jared now runs our defense network. Lou still runs fleet development. He hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Never will, either,” Morrow grumped.

“And I would never want you to.” Annie replied, giving his arm a sqeeze. “Congratulations Jared.”

“And here comes our Mr. Riley Stevens,” Roth said disapprovingly. “Late as usual.”

“Sorry,” Riley apologized while taking a seat at the table. “I was talking to
Sadie
. How exceptional. Where did that design come from?”

Before Annie could answer, Roth cut him off. “We’ll get to that. My first question is why didn’t
Sadie
shut down? How did she get around the command from a level-two-device?”

“You can talk to your local AI about that later,” Annie said. “But for now, I can tell you that our analysis on colony planet C03, they call it New Hope by the way, identified the user ID of the level-two-device that attacked the
Marco Polo
.
According
to
Marco
, specific IDs can be excluded from any given AI’s hierarchy. Something to do with competing families of the Nobility—”

George interrupted. “I was unaware of that fact, Miss Daniels.”

Annie looked at the ceiling. “George?”

“Yes, Miss Daniels?”

“Do not
ever
speak in my presence again unless I ask you a specific question. Do you understand that?
Answer me!
”

“Understood, Miss Daniels. I apologize if—”

“Shut up!” Annie screamed, springing to her feet. “I didn’t ask you for an apology! Never interrupt me again!” She sat back in her chair trying to calm her heart rate. She was surprised by her outburst.

The silence in the room was thick with tension. No one ventured to speak.

Annie took a deep breath. “George and I don’t get along. You might not have known that.”

Morrow grunted. “We do now.”

Annie smiled. “Sorry. I guess that goes with my new image. Space Bitch.”