Chapter 7:The Aftermath 1

This takes place right after the end of the Princess and the Captain part 3, I suggest you read those first then read the Black Willow series

Jim was floating, the twins were a delight to be around, the fact that no one knew he was the father made things a lot easier for him. With the help of Mary all the traitors had been revealed and taken care of, though she didn’t need the money she accepted the position of second in command. Feeling a little like back when they were in the war both Willow and Jim returned to the lab. There they had managed to increase shield intensity even more, decreased the power usage on the cloak and increased the amount of power that the MTM could hold. All this was done within a month’s time shocking Mary; she could see that Jim had thrown himself into it till it was all he had.

“Hello Dickie,” Mary said, “Is Jim here yet?

“Yes Ms. Willow, as a matter of fact he’s been here all night, he was working on a new device he thought of yesterday, I have no specifics to it as he hasn’t asked for help,” Dickie replied almost in monotone. Mary walked to the lab door punching in her code, waiting a minute she punched it in again, still nothing. Beating on the door Mary was getting pissed, finally activating her MTM she was inside looking for Jim. Ah! There he was passed out on the cot in the back. “Jim, hey wake up!” Mary yelled, jumping away as Jim almost caught her as he woke up swinging, “Good to see you’re still as fast as you were during the war.”

“Sorry Mary, habit of sleeping with one eye open even with all my tech,” Jim groaned as he stretched getting up, “Been working on something, new idea came to me last night after we finished up with the MTM improvements. I kept thinking that it’d be easier if we had a way to be pushed through the wall, also we could move over great distances. Don’t get me wrong the MTM is probably the best when it comes to short distances, this would cover miles.” Mary could see he was extremely excited, as excited as he was when he thought up the MTM hell he’d almost killed himself perfecting that idea.

Mary listened as he told of the idea he’d come up with the day before, it did sound like a long distance MTM, hmmmmmm interesting concept. Working all day with Willow’s help, Jim had the start of the apparatus that could cause the molecular destabilization confined in an energy beam and pushed through a solid surface. Having tested it a dozen times Jim was even more excited not wanting to leave, Mary reminded Jim that the babies would miss him if he didn’t return soon. Plus there was the fact that his lover was pregnant and would probably be pissed if he was gone another day. Sighing he knew she was right, as soon as he was gone Mary went on the comp and started looking into the families that were removed from the records in a official decree to protect them.

Having paid a great sum for the hacking program, Mary started to sift through the over 200 families that were listed, Damnit! Did almost every other family have a Jimmy for a son? Looking at the time Mary only had an hour at the most as the imperial comp system had the best blocks and alarms, time almost gone she’d narrowed it down to four families, she knew all 4, the Doms, the Jilias, the Muklas and the Stocks. Thinking it could be any of those 4, problem was the Stocks had been wiped out repulsing an invasion with highly advanced tech. If she remembered right there was only one surviving member left alive, the mother, and the second wife of a baron or duke she couldn’t remember. It was a shame too she’d heard that they were really decent people for semi-nobility. Clicking off the comp Mary decided to visit the hospital where the mother was.

Mary left an hour later, caught up in her thoughts she didn’t see the figure creeping back into the lab. At the hospital Mary had to wait for a chance to sneak in it seemed that the woman was comatose and had been since the attack years ago. Slipping in Mary was unprepared for what she found there in the bed, she had almost walked out of the room through the wall. There laying in the bed was an almost exact older image of her sister. The shock shook her to her core, was this woman related to her and her dead sister? Looking at her charts it appeared she was suffering the attack years ago seeing her husband, sons and daughter killed had caused her to retreat inside herself. It seemed she had been on the only working gun left, the others taken out, after over half the invaders fleet was destroyed. The whole family was heroes of the empire, sighing Mary looked at the woman again, Mary had something she might be able to use but it took time to set up and if she were caught even her connection with the empress might not save her, damnit, she had to know.

Heading back to the lab Mary came across Amber walking in the garden, “Mary, have you seen Jim? I haven’t seen him since 2 days ago when he left for the lab.”

“I think I know where he is, he was like this years ago, when he gets an idea he won’t stop till it’s done, come with me,” Mary said as she took Amber’s hand and led her to the lab. As she suspected the door to the lab was locked and of course Jim had the only key. Switching on her MTM she grabbed Amber’s hand as they phased through the wall. Yup, there he was asleep slumped over the table; looking over everything Mary was shocked that he’s gotten even further with it. Amber stepped up and gently whispered in Jim’s ear, “Jim hon, you need to come to bed.”

Stirring Jim wrapped his arms around Amber kissing her deeply, “ok, as long as you’re there, no problem.”

Standing they all made their way out the door, back into the palace. Mary and Amber got Jim into bed Jim falling like a ton of bricks.

“I just hope I can keep him here,” Amber said a little worried.

“You might have to have sex with him to keep him here,” Mary laughed remembering back then it was a pretty woman that had gotten Jim out of the lab one day. Though it was only 2 hours Jim was a beast afterward; the tech he started producing was unparalleled and even Mary hadn’t been able to come close with her ideas. Taking her leave Mary headed to the lab, picking up the equipment she needed. 2 hours later she was outside the woman’s room ready to go. She had checked the nurses and doctor’s schedules. Phasing through with all the equipment Mary had everything hooked up in no time. Activating the machine Mary delved deep into her mind going back till she started to see things happening.

In the woman’s mind Mary was aboard a space station why did this look familiar, there were alarms going off then there was a shattering explosion a man, Mary saw from the woman was her husband, told all of them to go to their posts this was what they’d been training for. With the woman she saw the huge hoard of ships that dropped out of hyper space. Mary was amazed, she’d never seen a Krong ship before, no one had because the 5 people of this family had killed all of them but at a high price. For hours Mary and the woman fired, there were screams below first a young girl then an older boy, she thought she heard 2 more male voices yelling then it was quiet, only her gun still destroying the fleet of ships coming. Looking out almost all the fleet was gone the last 10 ships were on a suicide run she took out the first five but the last 5 collided with the shields. The station was rocked and pitched off kilter, the woman climbed down finding the bodies.

Screaming she clutched the 2 younger children’s bodies, Mary could feel the woman’s mind starting to slip at that point this was the second time she’d lost children? Going further back Mary saw the husband again he was leaving for a meeting with the emperor. Hours later she heard a boy yelling for the guards then she was there looking at the empty cribs uncontrollable rage flew from her she started screaming and cursing the boy, the boy went out with the guards returning an hour later with the man, she had interrogated him, torturing him in strangely familiar ways. Not getting the man to talk the rage grew till she started slapping the boy who stood there and took it till he was unconscious. About to hit him again Mary felt the arms grabbed by a powerful man one slap and she was falling to the floor. The man was calling her a whore and that he took her from the streets and could put her back again.

The woman sunk down into a chair bruised and defeated crying that she’d never see her little Ann or Mary again. What!? This hideous beast of a woman was her mother! Pulling out Mary was disgusted she had killed, yes, but never children, and she’d never beaten a child till it was unconscious. Disconnecting everything Mary made 2 trips, was heading out the last time when she heard the woman call to her. “Mary? Is that you? I feel you.”

“After what I saw and felt, I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!” Mary whispered, the woman not fully awake.

“Please Mary, let me explain,” she begged slurring.

“If I don’t like what I hear, I will kill you just for what you did to my brother alone,” Mary growled low.

“I loved your father, very much and he did me, I wanted so badly to provide children for him, and finally did; you and your sister. Your father and brother were so proud, that night was the end of a long week for us all. The emperor was about to strip your father of everything but your father talked him out of it. I lost control when you two were taken I almost blamed Jimmy, I beat him so bad, it was a week before he could talk, I thought your father was going to kill me.” The woman whispered.

“What I felt was pure hatred, an almost evil hatred, I have killed many people but I have NEVER harmed children nor will I ever.”

Mary was still disgusted. “If I feel I can forgive you, I will visit you again, but don’t count on it; I’ve already lost my sister, so I’ve no need for you.”

“Ann’s dead?” the woman on the bed started to cry.

“Yes and the man who killed her suffered, it took me a week to kill him, afterward I had wished I could have made him suffer more,” Mary said looking at the woman growling, Mary was gone within 2 seconds making the woman think it might have just been a dream. Mary loaded up the speeder still seething she was almost to the point of seeing only red. Taking off she was a mile away when she stopped, flipping on her comp she looked at her site. AH! Perfect an assassination! Calling her client she set up the meet, an hour afterward the mark was dead. Reading everything about this case she saw it would help a lot of people. Pulling right up to the back wall Mary walked all the way in right to the man. Slitting his throat she simply walked out and went to meet her client. Pulling up she saw that the man thought he could capture her. Calling him she told him that he had one more chance to meet her ALONE or he’d be her next mark.