Now it is your turn. What do you think? You can go to the web site to see it full-sized:
Entry 4-285: October 7, 2016
Lacy Henry - Part 1 of 5
The other day, I introduced you to my new collection of short stories entitled The Vuduri Companion. Now while I want you to buy the book and read it and enjoy it, I thought I'd give you a little taste by presenting one of the short stories in serialized form. This particular story is Chapter 5 entitled "Lacy Henry" and it is about Jack Henry's mate.
No one knew she existed until I got to The Milk Run. I added her to the story because in Rome’s Evolution, the Overmind of Earth informed Rome that she was descended from Hanry Ta Jihn (Jack Henry) who was one of the most revered figures in all of Vuduri history.
Well how could Rome be a descendant if Jack Henry died before having a child? So this story is how I unpainted myself out of that corner.
Year 2671 AD
Location: Earth
Southern Part of What Had Been New Jersey
Lacy sat in her favorite wooden chair, one leg tucked underneath, rocking back and forth, holding her extended abdomen. Even though the chair creaked, it was a soothing sound. She stared out the window, not really focusing on anything beyond the groaning chair and her self-massage. The room itself smelled musty. Pa had tried to fix the leak in the roof so many times but nothing stopped the inevitable bloom of mold and mildew right after it rained. And it rained a lot. But Lacy was not even tempted to open the window. The wavery illusion of the air rippling across the fields told her it was another blistering hot day. The piercing must was vastly more tolerable than letting the blast-furnace heat into the darkened room.
Lacy lifted her eyes to the sky. She held her hand up to block the sun and tried to imagine if Jackie was doing the same thing right now. It had been over a month since the love of her life went off to wage war against the Ark Lords and he should be coming home very soon. Normally that thought comforted her but as the days wore on the comfort was slowly being replaced by a sense of unease.
Tomorrow, Lacy receives a visitor but it is not who she thinks or wants.
Entry 4-286: October 8, 2016
Lacy Henry - Part 2 of 5
The other day, I introduced you to my new collection of short stories entitled The Vuduri Companion. I thought I'd give you a little taste by presenting one of the short stories in serialized form. This particular story is Chapter 5 entitled "Lacy Henry" and it is about Jack Henry's mate. No one knew she existed until I got to The Milk Run. I added her to the story because in Rome’s Evolution, the Overmind of Earth informed Rome that she was descended from Hanry Ta Jihn (Jack Henry) who was one of the most revered figures in all of Vuduri history. Here is Part 2 of 5:
The gentle stirring of the baby growing inside her drew her attention back down to her stomach. It was as if the baby was telling her, Mommy, don’t worry, Daddy will be home soon.
Lacy smiled. How could one so young be so wise? She shook her head. She just had to be patient. She looked up again and saw a tiny cloud of dust off in the distance. It might have been just a dirt devil but it did not dissipate. Instead, the cloud grew larger and resolved itself into a single man atop a horse, heading their way.
Her heart froze for a moment. She leaned forward. Could it be Jackie finally coming home? She put her hand over her eyes trying to peer harder. With a start, she realized it wasn’t Jackie. The rider was too tall and wore all black. Jackie always favored white shirts, especially in the heat of summer. As the rider pulled up, she could see it was Red June, Jackie’s best friend and first lieutenant.
Lacy sat back heavily in her chair and closed her eyes. Her sense of dread was now fully formed. If Red were here, that meant Jackie was not. She heard Red knock on the front door. Pa answered. There was a brief exchange and the sound of two sets of boots led up to her room.
Pa knocked softly on the door. “Lacy,” he called out gently, “Red’s here.”
“Sure, Pa,” Lacy answered back. Tears were beginning to flow from her eyes. She unraveled herself and stood up. She turned to face the door as Red entered the room.
Red June was a large man, well over six feet tall. It only took him a few strides to close the distance between them. He took off his hat and placed it down by his side. Wordlessly, Lacy stared up at him and Red shook his head side to side, very slowly.
Lacy’s knees buckled. Red grabbed her under the arms before she fell. Lacy’s whole body shook as she wailed with great, wracking sobs. Red gathered her in, wrapping his long arms around her, holding her close while she cried.
It kind of breaks your heart, right? Well, we always knew that Hanry Ta Jihn had to die in order to be a martyr. We never thought about the loved ones he left behind. Tomorrow, Red tells Lacy about the Battle of Chicago.
Entry 4-287: October 9, 2016
Lacy Henry - Part 3 of 5
The other day, I introduced you to my new collection of short stories entitled The Vuduri Companion. I thought I'd give you a little taste by presenting one of the short stories in serialized form. This particular story is Chapter 5 entitled "Lacy Henry" and it is about Jack Henry's mate. No one knew she existed until I got to The Milk Run. I added her to the story because in Rome’s Evolution, the Overmind of Earth informed Rome that she was descended from Hanry Ta Jihn (Jack Henry) who was one of the most revered figures in all of Vuduri history. Here is Part 3 of 5:
Although her sorrow did not diminish, after a time, she stopped her crying. Somehow she had already known it would come to this. Red sat her down on the bed and kneeled in front of her so he could look up into her eyes.
“What happened?” Lacy whispered.
Red took one of her hands and cradled it between his. “We beat them,” he said. “Jackie figured out a way. We found a weapons cache that belonged to the Ark Lords and we used their own weapons against them. We killed every last one of them.”
“And Jackie? How did he…” Lacy’s voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry, Lacy, but you have to know. They had something. A disease weapon. If they had gotten to it, they would have used it to kill us all. Jackie died preventing those bastards from getting to it. And they never will. Jackie made it so they’ll never be able to find it again.”
Lacy put her hands up to her face and started crying once again. It was quieter this time. Red waited patiently while this bout passed. When he felt she was ready, he reached over and lifted her chin so she would look at him again.
“Lacy, you have to know he died a hero. He sacrificed himself so that all of us, everyone on the Earth, would be safe now and forever. He’ll go down in history as one of the greatest men who ever lived.”
“I should have gone with you,” Lacy said grimly. “I could have helped.”
“No,” Red replied. “There’s no place for a pregnant woman near a battlefield. And you’re carrying Jackie’s child. You have to stay safe so his legacy lives on.”
Lacy rubbed her abdomen with both hands. “It’s a boy, you know,” she said obliquely.
Red cocked his head. “How do you know?”
“I just know,” Lacy said more firmly. “It sounds crazy but he talks to me sometimes. He tells me things.”
“If you say so.” Red shrugged. He stood up and reached behind him and withdrew a revolver that had been tucked into his waistband. It was one of the M9 9mm Berettas that Jack Henry and Red had liberated from the armory they found deep beneath the Tevatron.
He pressed a button and the clip ejected. He pulled the chamber back and a single round popped out.
Does Lacy's unborn child speaking to her sound familiar? It should. It was meant to remind you of Aason and Rome before Aason was born. Tomorrow, Red June teaches Lacy how to use a pistol for her protection.
Entry 4-288: October 10, 2016
Lacy Henry - Part 4 of 5
The other day, I introduced you to my new collection
of short stories entitled The Vuduri Companion. I thought I'd give you a little taste by presenting one of the short stories in serialized form. This particular story is Chapter 5 entitled "Lacy Henry" and it is about Jack Henry's mate. No one knew she existed until I got to The Milk Run. I added her to the story because in Rome’s Evolution, the Overmind of Earth informed Rome that she was descended from Hanry Ta Jihn (Jack Henry) who was one of the most revered figures in all of Vuduri history. Here is Part 4 of 5:
Red caught the round and set it down on the bed, along with the clip.
“What is that?” Lacy asked, her voice sounding hoarse.
“It’s kind of a miniature firestick. We call it a handgun.”
“What is a firestick?”
“The Ark Lords had these weapons. Long sticks that fire metal bullets, Jackie called them. And this is a version that fits in your hand. It’s just as deadly, though.” He reached down and picked up the cartridge. “When you fire the weapon, these things come shooting out and can tear through anything. Especially flesh.”
“Why are you showing it to me?” Lacy asked, her voice trembling a bit.
Red turned the gun around and handed it to Lacy who took it from him. She wrapped her delicate hand around the handle and her index finger naturally found its way to the trigger.
“Jackie insisted I give it to you personally and teach you how to use it. To protect yourself.”
“Protect myself from what?”
Red looked out the window. He stared off into the distance for a while then turned back to look at Lacy.
“Once the Ark Lords find out we captured one of their war wagons, all of Jersey is going to turn red with blood. We want to make sure it’s their blood and not ours.”
“What is a war wagon?”
“It’s a horseless carriage. We can use it to recharge the lightsticks we’ve stolen from them. And it has a cannon. Incredibly powerful. It can destroy a whole village in a single shot. It never occurred to them that we would be able to use their own weapons against them. We already know they have no defense. We have the power now. And we’re going to use it to wipe them out once and for all.”
“I still don’t understand why I need this, then,” she said, holding out the gun.
“Because they know about Jackie. And if they ever found out about you, that you were carrying his child, they’d sacrifice everything to kill you. We need to keep you a secret and failing that, we need to keep you safe. You only have to use this weapon as a last resort.”
We saw all of this action in The Ark Lords. Tomorrow’s finale will tie it all together.
Entry 4-289: October 11, 2016
Lacy Henry - Part 5 of 5
The other day, I introduced you to my new collection of short stories entitled The Vuduri Companion. I thought I'd give you a little taste by presenting one of the short stories in serialized form. This particular story is Chapter 5 entitled "Lacy Henry" and it is about Jack Henry's mate. No one knew she existed until I got to The Milk Run. I added her to the story because in Rome’s Evolution, the Overmind of Earth informed Rome that she was descended from Hanry Ta Jihn (Jack Henry) who was one of the most revered figures in all of Vuduri history. Here is the final part of that story:
Lacy nodded her head. “I understand.” She turned the gun left and right. She held it up to her eye and looked down the sight. She lowered her arm and placed the gun on the bed, next to the clip.
“I need to know something,” she said.
“Anything,” Red responded.
“What did you do with Jackie’s body? Did you bring it back with you?”
“We couldn’t,” Red answered sadly. “It just wasn’t practical. We buried him underneath the rubble of the Ark Lords palace.”
“What do you mean rubble?” Lacy asked.
“Jackie’s dying wish was that we use the cannon and level the place. He made me swear that after we defeated the Ark Lords, we would bury them and their vehicles and their spaceship and their weapons. Every place they’ve ever been on the Earth. He wanted to make sure that there would be no trace, not even a hint that their race was ever here. I swore to him that even if it took a thousand years, we’d erase everything, like they never existed.”
Lacy took in a deep breath then let out a long sigh. She nodded sadly.
“Thank you, Red,” she said. “You are a good friend and a great man.” She stopped and looked out the window. “Can I ask you for one more thing?”
“Anything, Lacy,” Red answered.
“Some day, when this is all over, will you take me and our son out there? To where Jackie died?”
“Absolutely,” Red replied. “I’ll take you to his grave. We’ll make sure he has a proper headstone. The whole world will come to revere that place as where the Rebellion against the Ark Lords truly began.”
We never heard anything more about Lacy until we met her in Heaven near the end of The Milk Run. We do know that Rome and Rei found Hanry Ta Jihn's headstone while they were searching for the Ark Lords' weapons cache. Here is what it said on his headstone:
John (Jack) Henry. 564 – 589PR. He gave his life so that all men could be free.
Only 25 when he died. What a shame. But as Rei noted, he did not die in vain.
Entry 4-290: October 12, 2016
The Monster
I know it seems like a long time since I showed you how Rei had become a man of action, especially when it came to the safety and well-being of his beloved wife, Rome. But I just wanted to tidy things up in the aftermath.
Remember, Rome had never experienced anything like this before. She was not prepared physically to fend off Edgar's advances but it was important to me that she not be too damaged psychologically. This is how she handled it:
“Rome!” Rei cried out, bending over to gather up his wife. “Are you all right?” He took her by the hand and helped her to stand.
Rome was shivering. “I think so,” she said. “He didn’t get the chance to really do anything.” Suddenly, she burst into tears.
Rei put his arms around her and squeezed her tightly. “It’s OK,” he said soothingly, “I’m here now. It’s OK.”
Rome looked up into Rei’s eyes. “Why did he do that?” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Because he’s an idiot,” Rei said loudly. He spat in the direction where Edgar was stirring.
Bonnie came running into the room. “What happened” she asked, taking in the scene.
“Your bastard of a husband attacked my wife,” Rei yelled angrily.
“Edgar?” Bonnie asked accusingly.
Edgar stood up, rubbing his jaw. “I just wanted to try some vook ass,” he muttered. “She’s so small and tight. They’re all mindless; I figured she wouldn’t even notice. And I think he broke my jaw, thanks for asking.”
“You don’t understand anything about the Vuduri,” Rei shouted. “None of you do. They aren’t like us. They are innocents. But they certainly aren’t mindless.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Edgar said, spitting blood. “You’re through, Bierak. Keller was talking about letting you in. Well, you can forget that. You’re dead meat now. And no more data slabs for your bitch, either.”
Rei glared at him then looked down at his wife. “Come on, Rome,” he said firmly, deciding to ignore Edgar’s comment. He tried leading Rome out of the shed but she shucked his arms loose. She spun in place and marched back to her attacker. She raised her hand up and slapped him across the cheek. Hard. Mullen grabbed his jaw and moaned.
“You are a monster. Don’t you ever touch me or speak to me again,” she hissed.
She turned around and walked back to Rei who draped his arm over her. He held Rome tightly as he led her out of the storage hut and into the cool night air.
“Sorry,” Bonnie called out after them but they were already gone.
Edgar, Bonnie, Captain Keller, all of them; they were not nice people. Although it will take a whil
e, they will eventually get what was coming to them. In spades.
Entry 4-291: October 13, 2016
Old haunts
One of my favorite things to do is to pretend that my characters and my future world of Rome's Revolution is just the real world. People go on about their business. Things grow and age. I thought it would be neat to take a visit back to the crash-landing site of the Ark II and see what had become of it.
During the middle portion of Rome's Revolution, we left the spaceship in the middle of the woods and never went back. Well now, two years later, I gave Rome and Rei an excuse to see what had become the ship that they spent a year towing. As you will see in the next section, time has not been kind to the "flying tin can" made of pig iron:
“Tell me what we’re doing here again,” Rei asked the next morning. He was holding Aason’s hand as Rome walked up the entrance ramp into the abandoned crew compartment of the Ark II. The rusting out hulk was perched on a ridge part way up the slope of the northern mountains. In its day, it was thing of beauty, partly because of its simplicity. However, its beauty was diminished by smashing into an asteroid, crash landing on a planet and having both of its huge delta wings and vertical stabilizers sheared off.
“I have never actually seen your Ark up close,” Rome called back to him. “My only views of it were when the salvage crew first encountered it in the Tabit system. I wanted to see it for myself with my own eyes.”
“Why?” Rei asked as he walked up the ramp. He was careful to make sure Aason could keep up with him.
“Because,” Rome answered, “I have so much going around in my mind. I need to sort it out. I need to see if things make sense.”
“What things?” Rei asked, joining her along the metal mesh walkway. He looked up. The ceiling was rusting so fast there were already a few spots where the sun was shining through.