The Misbegotten

It was five Earth Rotations later when the Aegis Synod arrived at Draxis Corporation’s secret shipyard. They had the dock constructed deep within the sprawling industrial complex of the Deep Core Mining Company.

Deep Core itself was, to put it in simple terms, vast. It was one hundred kilometers in length and breadth. And, it towered an impressive one thousand decks above its’ lowest deck, the one facing the dark side of the moon.

Thus, Deep Core swallowed Draxis, which was a mere two cubic kilometer block of factory buried within its’ guts. Draxis might’ve been tiny when compared to its’ mineral guzzling cousin, but it had made its’ owner rich beyond belief. Draxis manufactured all the Aegis Synod’s Null-tech, where came one-third of Keeper’s wealth.

With offices in New York, Rome and Tokyo, Draxis world headquarters were in Angel Free Town. No one would’ve suspected the Keeper’s most prized technology wasn’t constructed on Earth at all. Space was the place, behind the shadow of the Moon, away from prying eyes.

Aegis 1 was the name of Deep Core’s mega-works. Thus, the tiny space docks owned by Draxis the Synod termed, Aegis 2. It was built within the northeastern quadrant of the complex of Aegis 1 (relative to the surface of the Moon).

The pilot of the Null-ship eased the bulky, misshapen craft into the correct collection sleeve. Ten minutes prior, the ships’ stealth defenses lifted. It was all the notice operators of the external docks of Aegis 2 had before receiving the Keeper and his Synod. There had been a mad scramble to find proper accommodations for the unique needs of the Null-ship. But, ever efficient, it hadn’t taken Estefan’s people too long to figure out what to do. The unexpected and the unusual was what they had come to relish working for the Solar System’s most powerful man.

Standing at the Bridge, Estefan watched the intricate dance between the ship and the collection sleeve. The many connector units and hoses crept about the outer hull of the spacecraft. They were autonomous, programmed to search for their individual plugs, nozzles and fittings on their own.

“We have hard dock,” announced the Pilot to the front left of the Captain’s cocoon-like chair.

At the same time, the Null-ship vibrated, becoming one with the station.

“Very well, synchronize all systems to Aegis 2’s ‘Swarm, initiate symbiosis,” ordered Captain Edward Covington. He waved away his ‘Swarm, coming to stand next to the Keeper. “We are ready, m’Lord.”

Estefan nodded. “Have my wives meet met at the main airlock. We will take our leave of you and your crew, Captain.” The Keeper’s face brightened. “They have performed with excellence and deserve commendation. Please provide me with a complete manifest. I would like to give them my personal thanks for their hard work and care of my family. And, of course, you too, Captain.”

Captain Edward nodded, allowing a thin line of a smile. He knew how generous the Keeper could be at times. He was already looking forward to the gifts, the perks and the women (and men) his overlord would soon be showering upon him and his crew. A few of days in bed with a couple of flexible young girls seemed just ticket. He could almost feel their supple skin and flexible bodies rubbing against his own. His smile thickened.

A harsh warble, followed by a continuous claxon ripped him from his train of thought. It was the emergency master alarm!

“Report!” shouted the Keeper, his ‘Swarm activated in a flash, conducting a system-wide query.

Reyna’s seductive voice replied within five seconds. “Ships inbound, from vector 2.225 degrees off the elliptic…

“…Tracing origins… stand-by, stand-by, stand-by…

“…Origin – the Kuiper Belt. Destination – Luna Prime.

“My Lord, it is the returning fleet of Jacob Rodriguez, Chief of Security, and High Commander.”

“Mother help me!” exclaimed Estefan. “Run life-search. Is Commander Rodriguez on board any of the ships returning?”

The Neuro-Nanoswarm swirled and flickered above his head. “Negative, my love. He is not present on any of the returning ships.”

Estefan sighed. “Hail their new commander and have them dock here at Aegis 2, inform him, or her, I want a full report as soon as possible.”

“As you wish, my love.”

He waved his ‘Swarm away. “Captain,” he said inclining his head.

“M’Lord,” was the cyborg’s reply, but the Keeper had already vanished from the Bridge.

*****

Estefan arrived at the main airlock. Tucked under his arm was a small teak box with ornate hinges and an undefeatable, poison locking mechanism. He dressed more casual today. He was clad in self-stitching jeans, a tight-fitting black knit shirt and matching black, thick-soled work boots. It was the sort of outfit he wore when he had a lot to do. This day, he’d forgo pomp and circumstance, opting to leave his priceless suits and shoes in his armoire for the day.

All eight of his wives were already waiting for him, milling about, nervous. By now, they’d heard the news that Jacob’s fleet was inbound – without Jacob. They dressed casual as well. Having dawned shorts or mini-skirts, or skin-hugging tights with a variety of blouses and tops, they were a wide array of color before him.

To a one, they wore either flats or sneakers, most of them of the accelerator variety. If they needed to move fast, they could.

His eyes lingered over Mena and Ruby, who’d been kind enough to come to his bed the earth-night before. Their expression of sexual prowess still tantalized his mind.

Ruby was being coy and glanced at him through her eyebrows.

Mena, on the other hand, stared right back with a smoky cast to her face. She had never been shy. She liked for him to remember it was her who’d fucked him as good as she had. Whenever one of their trysts got especially steamy, she went out of her way. Usually, he didn’t need her to do anything to help with his memory, because Mena was a goddess in bed.

“What have you heard, Effy?” asked Ramona, wringing her hands. She had known Jacob years before she had been his girlfriend and later, his wife.

“Nothing new, but I’ve instructed the captains of the remaining ships to rendezvous with us here on Aegis 2. We’ll know more soon enough. First, I want to get this thing stowed and secure.” He pointed at the expensive wooden box halfway hidden under his arm. The box with the ludicrous pair of sunglasses within it, he’d tucked it in fluffy swaths of velvet. He still found it unconscionable that the Europians hid the Shadow Spark within the lens of Ray-Ban Aviators. Every time he thought about it, all he kept thinking was what Maverick would have to say about it. With half a mind, he wondered how many years had it been since he’d last seen Top Gun.

He shook the stupid thought from his head and gestured toward the airlock. “Let’s get to the Corvette and put this madness behind us.”

The women moved as a unit.

He unlocked the air-tight aperture. It opened like a giant lens of a camera, spiraling open from the center outward.

They walked through it and the outer one beyond. It was the same only larger. They came into an attenuating umbilical, large enough for them to walk through three abreast. It wasn’t a long distance to the multi-deck terminal, but the way meandered, so it took longer than it should have.

They walked through yet another pressurized portal, stepping into the terminal proper. There they met Anthony Cardenas and Ellen Fernandez, two of Estefan's children. And, they were the CEO’s of Draxis Corporation and the Deep Core Mining Company.

Anthony strode up to Estefan at once, extending his hand. “Dad, it is good to see you,” he said as they shook hands, then embraced.

Estefan had to do so with one arm only. “I miss you, boy. How have you been?” asked the concerned father into the ear of the other.

“Good, good – business is steady, orders are steady. So there is no need to worry.” He broke their embrace, but not completely. He looked into his father’s eyes. “War can be extremely profitable.” His arched brow told Estefan he had heard something of the goings-on upon the moon, Europa.

“It is my contention to avoid it for the time being,” said the Keeper quietly to his oldest surviving child. “But don’t misunderstand me, son, if someone wants to pick a fight, I’ll oblige all comers with open arms.”

Anthony nodded and backed away as his half-sister stepped between them.

“Enough talk, I want to give my Daddy a squeeze,” said Ellen. She somehow managed to sound like a little girl despite the fact she was one hundred and fifty eight years old.

Estefan’s face beamed at the attention. He embraced his second oldest daughter (with Sandy) as tight as she hugged him.

Their heads arched back from their bodies after a time.

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before breaking away from him.

Anthony already had his mother in his arms. He engulfed her tiny frame. He spun her around in circles as though she were a Raggedy Ann and not the woman who had given birth to him.

Sandy came up then and placed here arms around both Ellen and Estefan. The others hung back for a second, letting the family groups enjoy a little “alone time”. Even if it was for only a few minutes, they welcomed it. The nature of their business sometimes kept them millions of miles apart.

“Are you alright, Dad? I heard things got a little hairy on the Jovian Moon,” inquired Ellen, more subtle than her brother.

Estefan bobbed his head. “We’re all fine thanks to your mother. If it hadn’t been for her, I don’t know how we would’ve got out of that mess.” He craned his neck to give Sandy a peck on the cheek.

Ellen glowed like she used to when she was ten, watching her parents express their love before her.

Even now, Estefan could tell it filled her heart.

Some things never change.

The immediate family members came apart. The extended members rushed into the fray. They all expressed much more warmth and animation than the last time they’d been together. Now, they were outside the strict traditions of a Gathering.

After the din had died down and the conversation slowed, Estefan looked toward his oldest living child. “So Tony where is this Corvette docked? I would like to get rid of this annoying piece of cargo under my arm and send it on its merry way.”

“It is one level up and two berths down,” replied Anthony.

They wasted little time. They made their way toward the newest – and fastest – spacecraft platform to have come from the Draxis Corp. shipyards.

They gave it the name Corvette after many of the sleek combustion engine cars and sea faring ships. Later, Grav-cars, Skycars and Spacecraft were called such because of the same reason. Earlier renditions boasted raw power and unadulterated speed, but this Corvette was different.

Yes, it was fast. Yes, it was sleek. And yes, it was much, much more than that. Its shape was more like that of a bullet than anything else one could compare it to. It had a pointed nose followed by a featureless cylinder. It was two hundred meters long and twenty-seven meters wide and completely smooth. It was stealthy as most ships were nowadays, but it was also Null-capable, so Celestes couldn't detect it. But, that wasn’t its only evasive feature.

It was the first to use what Draxis was calling a Chameleon hull. Chameleon wasn’t a new tech, but Anthony and his vast team perfected it. Thus, the ship was almost as good at visual concealment as was an octopus. It wasn’t just background color and tint it could replicate. It could duplicate texture as well, which was a giant leap forward in Chameleon capability. If it landed amongst pebbles and boulders, it outer hull would form like pebbles and boulders all along its surface. It would even give off the same ambient heat or lack thereof. It could just about disappear in plain sight.

Like all the Corvettes of the past it was fast as well. It was the only vehicle in the Solar System equipped with Grav-Jump 10-rated engines. This made it capable of reaching 99.96% the speed of light. This was a velocity unheard of, even in twenty three eighty-five.

Estefan walked down a similar umbilical he had traversed a few moments ago and entered the Corvette alone. Once past the outer airlock, he trudged through the ships’ armored Null-hold. This was in a basic sense a Null-field within a Null-field, concealment of the highest order.

He put the exquisite wooden box within without preamble. Upon locking the hold, he made his way to the automated Bridge. He set the Null-ship to “elusive-burst, random flight”, and then left without glancing about.

He came into the midst of his family, his mind set, his expression grim.

They all stood near an observation window. They watched the Null-Corvette glide away on impulse-mode until it was a speck against a thousand, thousand specks. A second later, it became a solid line, stretching across the cosmos for as long as the naked eye could see.

The Shadow Spark was safe, finally.

It was only a few moments later when Flavia’s Neuro-Nanoswarm chimed. The remnants of Jacob’s fleet had arrived.

It was time to get answers.