THE VROL TRILOGY (149 page)

"So, you felt you were protecting her in some
manner?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And was there anyone else who knew of your
relationship to her?"

"Oh, of course, Commander Alicia Vasquez, my
fiancé."

"Another rule broken?"

"Ahem… another rule changed, Madam Speaker.
In fact, once we have eliminated the Vrol I would like for limited
numbers of families to serve on starships. We are a defensive, not
offensive force. And with the advent of faster-than-light travel we
are now poised to become explorers."

Corning nodded her head and smiled. Then,
standing up, she approached Bagatelle and said, "Rear Admiral Luigi
Bagatelle, in the absence of any higher authority, I hereby grant
you the commission of Admiral of the Navy. God bless you, Admiral,
and God bless the people of Azul System."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker," responded the
Admiral.

"I just made that up, but Jorgen, can you
record it in the archives, please?"

"Sure, Sarah. We shall do so
immediately."

Bagatelle then turned to Max and Jennie and
said, "You two - the promotions I gave you in the Rhönen are now
official."

Jennie got a cute, whiney expression and
asked, "What? You mean you aren't gonna make a nice…"

She was cut off by Bagatelle's glare, which
then turned to a smile as he went and hugged his little sister.

"Madam Speaker, shall we inform Congress that
Azul Federal Government is intact and that we shall fight the Vrol
together?"

"Yes Admiral, I believe that is an excellent
idea," she responded.

The selected delegates all stood to leave
when they suddenly stopped in place, gaining dazed expressions.
Jennie looked at them, then at Draagh, Michael and Gabriel who all
also seemed surprised. The only Azulian without a clueless look was
Sarah Corning.

"What is wrong with my people?" she asked,
seeing Max turn around and say, "Madam Speaker, we revealed too
much to these people. I have modified their memories slightly. They
will remember everything about our meeting except for the parts
about archangels and magic."

"Oh… my. Are you going to… modify my memory
also?"

Max smiled and held out his hand, taking hers
into his, "No. Someone needs to know, and in the future we shall
have need to discuss things of a higher order."

"Well then, I am honored. Is it, perhaps,
because I was Catholic?"

"Why do you ask that?" inquired Gabriel.

"Well, because I was a terrible
Catholic."

"So was I!" laughed Michael, gaining a
curious look from Corning as the group left the meeting room.

"Madam Speaker, I assume you are going to put
the governmental reformation to a vote, am I not correct?"
Bagatelle inquired.

"Oh, of course, Admiral. But rest assured,
you will receive a unanimous vote. Especially now that you have
removed the most annoying elements in Congress, for which I must
thank you."

"And there's one other thing… we need a
President. We need one quickly. Per the Constitution, if the
President and Vice President are both disabled or otherwise
eliminated, then the responsibility falls upon the Speaker of the
House. Ma'am, that's you," added Max.

Sarah Corning had long dreamed of leading her
worlds, but not like that. She wanted to run a fair and robust
election. She shook her head and stopped in place.

"No. Not me. We need an election in Congress.
In fact, I am nominating Jorgen. The majority of our Presidents
have been either from Oz or America, with two from Nueva Argentina.
It's about damned time we have a Swiss President. He's a good man,
and he's one of these … lycans."

Two hours later, the joint session of
Congress was preparing to vote on new leadership to replace the
tyrannical dictatorship that had temporarily taken over Azul
System. Max and his extended family stood on the wings, watching as
everyone took their seats. It was an unusual, hastily prepared
vote. Never before had both houses of Congress voted at the same
time in the same chamber, but their votes were going to be
separated, and then counted appropriately.

"All in favor of electing Jorgen Bierle to
the office of President of Azul System say aye," commanded Sarah
Corning. She received a resounding and thunderous response in the
chamber, followed by a standing ovation. It was a sure thing that
her sacrifice would garner her a top spot in the next election
cycle, which was what she truly preferred. Still, Jorgen Bierle was
not only happy - he was ready to get to work. He was a man of quiet
conviction, and had despised Johnson on a level like no other. His
mission in life was to restore Azul to greatness. He had no qualms
regarding being a temporary wartime President - he simply wanted to
win the war.

Max walked up to Bierle to congratulate him
on his new position, finding the man most concerned with selecting
his replacement in Congress. Max could feel the man's goodness and
made a decision to restore something taken. He touched Bierle on
the shoulder, causing the newly-minted President to blink for a
moment and then turn and look at Max with wide eyes. He then broke
out into a great smile and nodded his head.

"I remember, and I understand why you did
what you did."

"Congratulations, Mr. President. We shall
need to work together in order to defeat the approaching alien
fleet," said the hybrid lycan/Primulus.

"It shall be my pleasure, Captain. Just let
me know how I can assist."

"Well, first off, how would you like to
awaken you nascent lycan skills?"

"Oh my, that's right. I am of the lycan
genome. How would we do that? Will it take long? Is it
painful?"

"Whoah whoah! It's okay!" laughed Max. "It is
a simple inoculation, it is painless and almost instantaneous. Plus
you will have much sharper mental acuity, greater strength, and
your five senses will be off the charts. But, as an added benefit,
you'll be able to communicate telepathically with Admiral Bagatelle
and myself, as well as other command-level officers."

"Very well, then. If those are the positives,
what are the negatives?"

"Well, you'll have to spend a couple of days
away from Azul training to learn your new abilities, and… the full
moon is kind of a bummer, but you're the President, so we can move
you out of its influence for the time being."

"Two days? How much time do we have before
the invaders arrive?"

"Oh, two years? Maybe a bit more?"

"Very well," he laughed, "I shall go forward
with the process. Where shall we do this?"

"Oh, this part you're gonna love. Grab some
warm clothes," said Max.

Zermatt, Switzerland, 4268

"I cannot believe this. It was nearly a myth
in my country. We have images, vids, even holographs, but I am
actually here," gasped Jorgen Bierle, seeing an ancient wonder for
the first time in his life.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, isn't it? You know,
I could conjure some ski gear for us and slip us up to the top if
you'd like. Gornergrat still has many natural and skiable slopes
even after all these centuries."

Jorgen pulled his gaze away from the
Matterhorn, one of the most famous mountains on Earth, and gave Max
a kind and appreciative smile. He had actually dreamed of climbing
that peak when he was a child, knowing it only to be a dream - an
absolute impossibility. But there he was, looking at it from the
abandoned and nearly disintegrated town of Zermatt. Still, his
better judgment took hold and he responded to Max.

"No, Captain. We are here for a purpose, not
pleasure. However, may I take a… rain check on your offer?"

"Of course, Mr. President. Let's go to the
Rhönen Dominion and start your training."

Chapter 22 - Welcome, Mr. President

Rhönen Dominion

Captain Max Gunnarsson and Jorgen Bierle,
President of Azul System, walked across a massive castle
drawbridge, entering into the courtyard area of King Krynos'
castle. It wasn't moments later that Jennie and Liliana went
running out to greet the man of their lives. However, Jennie
stopped and held Liliana back once she noticed her husband was with
the new Azulian President.

"Hi Honey, welcome home. You could have told
me you were bringing company!" exclaimed the lovely dega.

President Bierle elbowed Max and said, "Don't
hold back on my account, son. You should see my children when I go
home."

Max bent forward and held his arms out for
Liliana, knowing he would have plenty of time for affection with
his wife later in the evening. The little girl ran into him, nearly
knocking him back with the force of her forward momentum.

"Papi! Papi! I achieved a global 3D slip!"
she exclaimed breathlessly.

"Lili! Serious? That's amazing! But you did
it with your great-grandfather's assistance, right?"

"I was only there to supervise, and she
wears the tracker, so she was safe, my boy," said the ancient mage
as he approached the small group. "Congratulations, Mr. President.
And welcome to the 43
^rd
century."

Bierle extended his hand, shaking Draagh's
firmly, but looking down at the little girl who had made an
incredible claim only moments earlier.

"Captain, I assume this is your
daughter."

"Yes she is. Liliana, I would like for you to
meet the new President of Azul System, Jorgen Bierle."

Liliana curtseyed and then extended her hand
to Bierle, surprising him with her greeting.

"Es ist mir eine Freude, Sie zu treffen, Herr
Präsident [It is my pleasure to meet you, Mr. President]."

"Captain, are you and your wife not natives
of Nueva Argentina? Your daughter has an uncanny mastery of
Deutsch."

"Mister President, I was born here in the
Rhönen Dominion; in this very castle, in fact," responded the young
lycan.

Bierle gave Liliana and odd look, obviously
attempting some form of mathematics in his head. He saw a girl,
roughly eleven years of age, yet Max Gunnarsson was a fugitive from
his world for less than two years. Noting his confusion, Liliana
offered an explanation in which she had great pride.

"Mr. President, I am the adopted daughter of
the Gunnarssons. Still, we all love each other very much," she
whispered to the man.

Bierle leaned forward and whispered back to
the girl, while saying, "I can see that. You know, just because one
is adopted does not mean they are loved any less; rather, sometimes
more because they have been chosen and were not a result of nature.
In fact, one of my own children is adopted."

"What do you mean by
result of nature
, sir?" a
puzzled-looking Liliana asked, full well knowing what he meant, but
wanting to see his reaction.

"I… um… erm. What I meant was… um…"

"It is fine, Mr. President. I know what you
meant," she responded with a wink.

Very well, shall we meet with the king of
this castle? I would like very much to thank him for his
hospitality." Bierle was happy to get moving along, so he turned
toward the obvious entrance into the castle and followed Max,
Jennie, Liliana and Draagh.

The group walked into the castle, maintaining
a straight line to Krynos' offices where he would hold private
meetings. The door was open and the king was seated, with his heir
apparent, Donus, standing at his side.

"Ah, greetings, my friends!" exclaimed
Krynos, standing and holding his arms out wide. Jorgen Bierle had
briefly seen the lycan king earlier in New Sydney, but didn't have
the opportunity to meet the massive leader. Krynos walked around
from behind his desk and shook Bierle's hand with a generous amount
of strength, knowing the man was an inactive lycan. "So, you have
come to avail yourself of the gifts of your blood. I say welcome!
We shall have a celebratory dinner this evening, and you shall be
my guest of honor. After all, it is not often that one has the
opportunity to entertain the leader of an entire world!"

"That would be plural, as in
worlds
, my liege," added Liliana,
dangerously correcting her king, as she so often would do with
anyone.

"That is what I said, young one," the king
responded with a glare. "Do you not have some Youth Brigade duties
in which to attend, hmm?"

Liliana's face lit up, as she completely
ignored the fact that she managed to correct the king in public,
which was a rather rude thing to do. "Oh yes, my King! Tomorrow
night we are to practice crossbow accuracy in total darkness. It
shall be in preparation for the day when we battle the putrid
covens of our vampire enemy."

Liliana curtseyed yet again, and then ran
over to her parents, hugging each one. "I have schoolwork to
complete. I shall see you all very soon. And again, Mr. President,
welcome to the Rhönen Dominion." She then did something that nearly
shocked Bierle - she disappeared from sight with a light popping
sound.

"Where… where did she go?" he asked, amazed
at her sudden disappearance.

"Aside from being lycan, our daughter is also
a mage, Mr. President," responded Jennie.

"And quite a fine one too. Extremely rare in
this or any other world, I might say. Yes, extremely rare," added
Draagh.

"So is she a Primulus like you, Captain?"

"Oh no. She is what is referred to as a minor
mage - a human with magical abilities. Well, a lycan with magical
abilities, in her case," said Max.

"Please! Have a seat, good sir!" said Krynos
as he pulled a chair over for the newly minted system leader.
Bierle took his seat and Krynos went back around behind his desk.
"Oh, and I would like for you to meet Prime Commander Donus, my
military leader and heir to the throne of the Rhönen Dominion."