“I think I remember you calling them by both names,” Juliette said, and then she looked at me. “How can I help?”
I filled in Juliette with what had happened with us since we were last on her station fighting the Black Heart mercenary group. I started off with hunting Madalena’s father down, killing him, and then becoming king of the Vaish Blood Overlord Clan. Then I talked about Sivaha coming to try to kill or manipulate me, but then I forced her to submit to me and took over her clan. Then we talked about tracking down my sister’s location on Wobbegong and running into the man who had experimented on and tortured me. I talked about capturing him and then fighting the emperor of that nation after he showed that he could transform into a dragon-man.
Then I told her about destroying all the Black Heart’s ships and traveling back to Ganymede so that I could try to find my mother. I didn’t get too in depth with the run-ins I had with the Yakuza, but I summarized that I was able to get my mom and sister back to my battle fortress, and then I talked about traveling to Idonan space so that I could try to push my armada against their forces in an attempt to get their king to surrender. It hadn’t worked out quite how I planned, and I ended up having to chase down his daughter on another planet and then challenge six of the skilled Valkyries before Aasne would submit to me.
“I’m gonna need to stop you for a second,” Juliette said as she took the unlit cigarette out of her mouth and gestured to Sivaha. “She tried to kill you?”
“That was one of my contingency plans,” the silver-haired woman said with a shrug.
“And now she is your wife?” Juliette’s eyes narrowed until they were slits, and I could almost see her brain struggling to put together the pieces.
“Yes,” I said with a nod.
“I love him,” Sivaha said. “He is my soul. The gift Odin gave me and my people.”
“Uhhh, yeahhhh,” Juliette said as she inhaled through her teeth, and then she pointed to Elana, “and he killed a bunch of old warrior bitches and made you marry him?”
“No,” Elana sighed. “That is Aasne. I came to my husband eagerly and willingly once he killed my father during my wedding to her.”
“To who?” Juliette asked.
“Aasne,” Elana answered.
“Wait,” the redhead sighed as she rubbed her eyes with her finger tips. “Didn’t you just say ‘she?’”
“Yes,” Elana said. “I was pretending to be a man.”
“I’m so fucking lost,” Juliette laughed.
“My father wanted me to marry Aasne so he could kill her father and take over his clan.”
“But then Adam just killed everyone before they could kill each other, and then you all decided to marry him?”
“Yes,” Elana answered, “but it was maybe not quite as simple as you made it sound.”
“How could it possibly be more complicated?” the cop asked.
“Well, a lot more people died,” Sivaha laughed.
“Where is she?” Juliette asked as she leaned off to the side of her chair as if she was trying to spy someone hiding behind Elana.
“Who?”
“Aasne!” Juliette moaned with frustration.
“She is back on Persephone making me dinner,” I chuckled.
“So you kill her dad, and she makes you dinner?” Juliette asked as she shook her head. “Just how big is your dick anyway? Damnnnnnnnn.”
“It is wonderful,” Sivaha sighed happily.
“Okay.” Juliette cleared her throat and then leaned forward a bit over her chair so she could quickly glance at my crotch. “Soooooo, how many wives again?”
“Just eight,” I said.
“Just eight?” she laughed, and my other wives also let out light chuckles. Even Madalena smiled, and the mood in the room seemed to lighten.
“There is one more clan to conquer,” Madalena said. “The Jotnar. They are the most powerful after the Vaish.”
“Sounds like they are the only crazy space vikings left,” Juliette said as she popped her cigarette back into her mouth. She still didn’t light it, and I wondered if she had quit the habit for good.
“They need to fall under my command,” I said.
“So you are gonna kill their king and take his daughter for a bride?” Juliette asked as she raised an eyebrow.
“It is the most efficient way,” Madalena said. “The Nordar submission ceremony reduces the chance of betrayal since the bonded feel each other’s emotions, and the one who swears submission will die if the other dies.”
“Yeaaahhh,” Juliette sighed. “Sounds like a lot of work, and I’m not even talking about the whole going to war with another clan stuff. Just dealing with eight women all the time that are probably going to end up on the same menstrual cycle sounds like a horror vid.”
“That’s a topic for another time,” I said as I grinned at her. “We need your help.”
“I’m always eager to help you,” Juliette said. “Oh, that reminds me, I sent the seed and food supply ships to both Your-ass-enn-hole and --”
“Uraniel,” I corrected.
“Whatever.” She shrugged. “And Gliese 87 something or other.”
“876 B iv,” Zea corrected. “That’s Jatal’s moon, and they have rhodium.”
“Both of them were very grateful for the supplies,” Juliette continued, “but what can I help you with today? The way I figure it, I owe you my life a good three or four times.”
“We need a ship,” I said, and then I briefly explained our plan to try to get onto the Jotnar battle fortress in order to kill their king.
“Hmmm.” Juliette sat back in her chair and put her boots up on her desk once I had finished explaining the plan. “And all of them are going with you?” she asked if she gestured to my wives.
“No,” I said. “Madalena and Sivaha will return with Persephone to Nordar 13. We are concerned that they might be recognizable by our enemies.”
“What about this whole bond thingy you just talked about?” Juliette asked. “I thought you mentioned that they need to be close to you or something.”
“We will be uncomfortable,” Madalena explained. “As will Adam, but there is a point of distance and time where it becomes easier to bear.”
“And what if he dies when he’s out on this Jotnar fortress?”
“There is a possibility we might die,” Madalena said with her usual nod. “But again, time and distance.”
“Our husband won’t die,” Sivaha said. “He is the avatar of Odin and impossible to defeat in combat.”
“Yeahhh,” Juliette said as she looked at me. “So you are taking Eve, Blondie, the twins, the cross-dressing girl, and cooking girl?”
“I can explain,” Elana hissed. “I pretended to be a man because my father--”
“Save it for someone who cares, Sweetie,” Juliette snickered, and I leaned forward as I held my hand up to keep Elana from reaching for her gun.
“Juliette,” I said. “You are my friend, we have helped each other dozens of times, and I’m hoping you can help me again, but please do not insult my wife. When you insult her, you insult me, and I know that isn’t what you intend.”
The red headed cop blinked at me a few times, and then she nodded quickly. “Yeah, sorry. That was shitty of me. Elana, sorry about that. I’ve got a sharp tongue, and I’m used to cutting everyone around me with it.”
“Thank you,” the slender warrior said, and then she elegantly bowed her head in acceptance of the apology.
“So, back to your plan,” Juliette said as she smiled at me. “You need a ship?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Something unmarked--”
“No,” Zea interrupted, “something branded would be better. If it doesn’t have any tag or ID, the Jotnar might be suspicious. We need something that looks, smells, and acts like a trading or supply ship.”
“And what planet are you going to?” Juliette asked as she turned to her terminal keyboard.
“Nseling - 24 - f,” both Paula and Elana said at the same time, and the two women smiled at each other from across the room.