This is a boy’s adventure tale.
But this is not a boy’s adventure tale prepared by a stuffy old man in a tweed jacket with elbow patches. This is the sort of story that a boy might imagine for himself, filled with action, mystery, a red-hot space queen, and nary a whiff of precious moral instruction.
Well, maybe there is some moral instruction. But this is Reversed Black Maria. Nothing is as it seems, though the thread is mended. But what was Fate’s price?
###
Oskar came awake all at once, roused from a dark dream by someone tugging on his ear. He was back in his stateroom aboard the Galaxia, and a pair of beautiful, silver eyes were looking back at him. A child’s eyes. It was Nils.
“Hey squirt. You made it okay,” Oskar mumbled sleepily.
The little boy pointed. “Tante Inna! He’s inside Tante Inna!”
Suddenly, Nils was flying, swept up into his mother’s arms. Aunt Karina alighted on the edge of the bed, dressed in full powered armor and sporting a brace of heavy gauss pistols on her wide hips. “Oh, I know he’s been inside Tante Inna,” she said. “But your breakfast is getting cold. Why don’t you go eat, and give me a few minutes alone with your cousin?”
Nils nodded, and vanished into the corridor. The door slammed behind him with a bang. Aunt Karina shook her head. “I’m sorry about that. He sees too much.”
“No problem. But what happened to you? I was worried. Is Farmor okay?”
“She’s back on Earth and doing just fine. When we got ejected things were a little dicey, but the cutter held together. I triggered a beacon and we were rescued within an hour. Miriam arrived with the First Majestätischeflotte, and we went searching for you. There was nothing for three days. I’d almost lost hope when Inna’s mayday hit the realtime network. I should slap her for what she put me through. I saw the navigation plot. She took the longest route!”
Oskar’s brain struggled to work out the timing. “Three days? We were hijacked only just yesterday.”
“Not according to the calendar. At any rate, after what you went through, you’ve got a right to be confused. Inna told me the whole story–well, most of it, anyway. Oskar, I salute you. Your cool head saved the day. Well done.”
Coming from a Legionnaire, her compliment was the highest praise imaginable. But Oskar was anything but proud. “I only did what I had to do, and nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done. But what did Inna leave out?”
“Oh, just the sex. Don’t bother denying it. I’d have known it even without Nils’ second sight. Inna wanted a taste of you in the worst way, and I'm sure she got it."
“She takes what she wants, you know.”
“And who she wants. No one knows that better than I do.” Aunt Karina laid a parcel on the bed. It was his street clothes. “Get dressed. You’re wanted on the bridge.”
“By Inna?” Oskar asked hopefully.
“Who else? Don’t get your hopes up. Playtime’s over, and she’s got a score to settle. If I had to guess, it’s going to be goodbye. Miriam will escort you when you’re ready. I’m going to collect Pappa. He’s down in sick bay trying to convince the medtechs to remove his new arm.” She slid off the bed and left the room.
Oskar rolled out of bed and stretched. The view out the window gave him a breathtaking shock. Galaxia was flying in formation with a fleet. A stately file of rapier-sleek Imperial battleships stretched into the immeasurable distance, their black and white dazzle livery gleaming by reflected drivelight. Oskar had no idea this many warships existed, let alone seen them gathered in one place. The Empress was preparing an almighty stroke.
Another surprise awaited him when he removed his robe to dress. From his collarbone down, Oskar's body was flushed salmon pink. He ran his hands over the rosy skin of his chest. It was smooth and hairless as a baby’s bottom. Strange though his change of complexion was, it didn’t bother him. Considering the events of last night, he’d gotten off light.
Oscar was no stranger to lovemaking, but his tryst with Inna bore little resemblance to it. There was no foreplay. She’d sucked him in like a black hole, an irresistible, insatiable implosion of voracious lust. He’d done things with her that he’d never heard of before, and done them longer and harder than he’d imagined possible. When at last he collapsed, wrung dry and gasping for breath, she’d taken his cheeks in her strong hands and given him a small, sweet kiss. It was the last thing he remembered.
Oskar’s stamina must have been enough, for he was still alive.
Miriam was waiting for him in the corridor, dark and inscrutable as before in her silver dress. But there was a change in her posture, a tilt of her head, a slight aversion of her eyes. Whereas yesterday she’d been aloof, today she was deferential.
“Hello again, Miriam,” Oscar said.
“Hello to you, Oskar Winter. This is a portentous morning. You should rejoice in it.”
“How so?”
“None among the airy bear the signs you have gained since last we met. They are beautiful and terrible. All who see them will know that you have passed through death, hell, and the grave. But my mistress is wiser than she knows. That which is consumed and yet endures is no longer meat. Congratulations, Oskar. Your enslavement is past. You are a free man.”
Oskar chuckled. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Her eyebrow went up. “Really? Stalwart you are, or a liar. Her Imperial Majesty might prove you if she wished, though I doubt she will. She favors you most appallingly, now more than ever. But even her darlings may not keep her waiting. Come, Oskar the doughty.”
Miriam led him to the bridge. Oskar shuddered as they crossed the landing, spotless though it now was, and the hatch was hateful to behold, even though it stood open. Inside, the big compartment hummed with activity. Grim raumfahrer in the steel-grey suits of the Majestätische Marine lined the consoles, and Imperial retainers of every description surrounded the central dais. Some were beautiful, others frightening, and one a wispy, fish-faced Loyal Arzenekoi in a gravity cancelling exoskeleton. They all faced the Empress, who stood with her back to the door. She wore a floor-length indigo gown cinched high across her broad back. Though beautiful, it was not in keeping with her usual rough-and-ready wardrobe.
She turned to receive him, and the reason for her choice became clear. Her formerly flat belly was vastly distended, as if she carried a long-overdue pregnancy. Despite it, and her retinue of menacing retainers, Oscar embraced her. Her jutting abdomen was hard as a stone.
“It’s great to see you, Inna,” Oskar said. “It looks like you’ve had breakfast, too. Are you finally satisfied?”
Inna's cheeks flashed red. “Barely. I gravely underestimated my appetite. But my meal sufficed, and there were leftovers, thank God. Oskar, you’ve suffered greatly at my hand. I am truly sorry. If you choose not to forgive me, I understand.”
It was Oskar’s turn to blush. “Why would I hold anything against you?” he whispered. “You and I shared the most wonderful night of my life. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”
“It was wonderful for me too, Oskar. I will cherish our intimacy always,” she whispered back, absently rubbing the parabolic curve of her straining stomach. “Nevertheless, it should not have happened and must never be repeated. I hope you will understand.”
“Absolutely,” Oskar agreed, though he was terribly dissapointed.
She sensed his unhappiness. “It hurts me, too. I have not gotten my fill of you. But is for the best. Definitely for the best. What are your plans? Will you join the Legion, and see the galaxy?”
Oskar shook his head. “I’ve had enough space adventure for a lifetime. I’m going to go all in for geeball. I believe I can still get a pro scholarship, if I work hard this season.”
She smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. Don’t worry. When you return home, you’ll find talent scouts lined up at your door.”
“Inna, I can’t accept that kind of help.”
She put a finger to his lips. “Hush. It’s nothing, literally the least I can do. Is there something you would have from me instead?”
Oskar could think of many things, indeed. But he asked for none of them, only a small thing that was near to his heart. “If I make the Leagues, will you come to one of my games?”
A shadow crossed her beautiful face. “Oskar, I’d love to. But considering our history together, I think you’ll admit that would be unwise. Will you forgive me if I demur?”
“Yes. You’re right, of course,” Oskar again agreed, and tried not to sound crushed, even though he was. He was losing his one, slim chance of ever seeing Inna again!
A fresh arc of holos flicked open around her. She studied them, and smiled carnivorously. “My agents have found the system where the Vizier is hiding! Their timing could not be better. I’m going to sortie immediately and repay him for my troubles. Chaoslords are heavy eating, but I’ll make room. After what I’ve been through, I may even have seconds.”
She returned her full attention to Oskar. “You must go before the fleet ghostrides. I’ve arranged transport to Earth for you and Hendrick. I have an offensive to plan, so Kari will see you off. I will not say that I will not miss you terribly, for I cannot lie. But may I have a kiss for good luck?”
Oskar decided against another awkward embrace. He fell to one knee and kissed her outstretched hand instead. “Good luck and good hunting, my goddess and queen,” he said.
“Long life and success to you, Oskar Winter, most coveted of my flesh,” she replied. “Together we have conquered our foes, slaked our cravings, and cheated fate of her wage. But we mustn’t presume on her future mercies. Please go, and forget me.”
“That is impossible, Inna. You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. I’ll never forget a moment of our time together.” Oskar met her dazzling eyes one last time–he found them wet with tears, just like his were–and left the bridge.
#
The cutter carrying Oskar and Hendrick back to Earth rose silently out of the Imperatrix Galaxia’s hangar. Oskar’s nose was pressed against the cockpit glass. It was his first glimpse of her from the outside, and she did not disappoint. Though she was shorter and beamier than her trim escorts, the massive imperial yacht somehow projected the same blunt, muscular power as her owner.
Aunt Karina was watching Oskar from the pilot’s seat. She smiled. “Galaxia’s a monster, isn’t she?”
“I’ve seen what she can do. Does she really outgun a battle fleet?”
“No, but she’s got the same weapons loadout as a Wotan-class superdreadnought. Inna likes big guns.”
“If you ask me, she’s nothing but a target,” Hendrick opined from the rear seat. “Proper space combatants are small and nimble. That cow of a ship wouldn’t have lasted a millisecond in my day.”
His daughter guffawed. “You’d never get inside missile range. We’ve got stuff you’ve never heard of. You can be glad you’re retired and don’t have to worry about it.”
“True, true,” Hendrick agreed. “I’d worry less if I knew what happened to me. The last I remember, I was boarding the other cutter with mama. The next thing I knew, I was coming out of surgery.”
“You really don’t remember?” Oscar asked.
“Not a thing. But my dottir here tells me that it’s been three whole days.”
Here was the time discrepancy again. An explanation suggested itself to Oskar. Only now, a frightfully awful explanation.
Aunt Karina spoke. “Pappa, you were in the surgery, growing a new arm from scratch. You don’t remember losing it because the machine erases recent traumatic memories.”
“I’d rather have my memory, and not this ignoble limb, thank you,” Hendrick harrumphed. “But maybe you can tell me. How long will it take for it to look like the other one?”
“A couple of weeks,” Aunt Karina replied.
“What do you mean, Farfar?” Oskar asked tremulously.
Hendrick raised his new arm and pulled down his sleeve, revealing pink, hairless skin.
“Ghastly, isn’t it?” he said, grinning.
Oskar passed out cold.
###
Please stay tuned for a brief epilogue, coming soon.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
