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Stories from the Verse
In Version
Chapter 95: Beam 184
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Slade 237
As the white-haired man approached the door to the room in which Acting Captain Norax had his headquarters, Bob’s thoughts reached him.
They will ask that you surrender weapons.
Yeah, fat chance, he thought back, and as he passed through the door he glared at the first guard who looked at him. The floor, which had been a slick yellow metal, was now purple beyond the doorway. He stopped a dozen feet into the room and surveyed the situation as his team formed around him. Ten aliens awaited his arrival.
“I am Emperor Beam,” he said. “I now rule this ship and its occupants.”
He heard Bob’s mentally broadcast echo of his words barely behind his speech. Then the one he had identified as the ranking officer spoke back, and Bob obligingly translated again.
I am Acting Captain Norax, and I declare you have no right to this claim. He wore a black uniform, and a quarter of his chest was covered by obsidian gems.
“I believe,” Beam extemporized, “that I was told your effort to conquer this planet was lawful, and had you defeated its occupants you would rightly be rulers here. By that logic, as my people have defeated you, I am rightly ruler.”
We do not accept defeat. Kill him.
The soldier that raised a weapon did not pull the trigger, because Dawn put two bullets in its face. The black-vested brown-clad soldier fell over. Between the suddenness of her attack and the report of the rifle, the room seemed to be in shock, and Beam took advantage of the situation.
“Dawn, prepare a grenade. Bob, let’s explain to everyone what that is. This is an explosive, not unlike what destroyed your bridge. Make a move against it, and we will destroy this room, killing all of you.”
You would kill yourselves, Norax objected.
“We are immortal. We do not fear death, and it does not claim us.” He took a step back. “We’re leaving now; but apparently you want a war. You will be executed for treason, along with any who remain on your side in this conflict.”
His companions all backed out through the door until it was only Dawn and himself, and as they left he closed the door behind them. “I guess we can’t lock this,” he said, and no one suggested otherwise. “So, Lieutenant, we’re going to need a defensible space for our headquarters. Where do you recommend?”
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with eleven other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #491: Verser Ventures. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
