Chapter 769: False news.
While Sunshine slept, the underground bunkers of Fortress Four were anything but peaceful.
Hades couldn’t do it. He couldn’t just go to sleep knowing they had an actual Noxian in their back yard. The curiosity was eating him alive. He sneaked out of his house in simple clothes, threw on a heavy jacket, and drove to the secret bunker.
He found Carson and Poncho drinking fresh coffee near the observation glass. The men reeked of blood, some of it was on their shoes. And yet, they didn’t seem bothered. In fact, they appeared to be in a good mood.
"Sir, I thought that you were getting some rest," Carson said, without turning around. It was like he had eyes in the back of his head and knew the footprint sounds of every resident.
"With this thing here? That is impossible," Hades said, looking through the glass at the pale blue-skinned, four-armed alien strapped to the medical table. "Is he awake?"
"Just barely," Poncho said, scratching his beard. "We had to hit him with enough stims to jump-start a hover-bike. He’s talking, but it’s mostly just swearing in languages that sound like wet rocks rubbing together, even the animal translators cannot make out what he is saying."
Carson winced. "Really, Poncho."
Poncho laughed. "Remind me to say that again when Dominic comes over."
"As long as he doesn’t bring his better half." Carson replied. "But I doubt that Leah will miss the opportunity to see this thing. Ala might be coming too."
"Well, he is not exactly an animal." Hades said, rubbing his hands together. "Maybe Sunshine can figure out what he is saying, she is very linguistic even in alien languages."
******
Sunshine woke up with a groan, the system blinking an annoying green notification in her peripheral vision.
She shuffled to the bathroom, grunting at her reflection. You look like a zombie had a baby with a lightning bolt, she thought. While she brushed her teeth, her left hand awkwardly working the toothbrush, she turned on her notifications.
[Notification dump: 147 Unread messages.]
"Oh, for the love of..." she spat into the sink. "Summarize, please." She had cleared them all on the aircraft, yesterday. How could they have accumulated so quickly?
[Most urgent messages are from Vortan and Nine. They are requesting an immediate meeting when you get their messages]
Sunshine nodded, "They must be yearning to know if I was successful or not." She noticed a blue flashing notification. "And what’s this blue flashing one?"
[A direct line request from the Glacis King.]
Sunshine froze, her toothbrush halfway out of her mouth. The King? "Why is he calling?" she muttered, quickly rinsing. "Did he leave a message?"
[No host.]
She threw on some overalls and a t-shirt, not bothering with proper attire. The King was pragmatic; he wouldn’t care.
"System, patch the King through. Emergency frequency. Invite him into the space if he is willing to come."
The king materialized in the space where Sunshine was already waiting. She bowed the moment he appeared, "Your majesty sovereign of seas, what a pleasure to have you here."
The King answered by letting out a long, rumbling sigh of relief. "Sunshine Raine," he said, "You are alive. The news networks say you are near dead. I was so worried when this reached me."
Sunshine managed a wry smile. "Not true as you can see."
"I have heard about your Noxian problem," the King said, his booming voice vibrating the floorboards. "And how they attacked you on your home world, Earth. They are crude creatures, but persistent. I am glad you survived. It would be a tragedy if you died."
Sunshine rolled her eyes. "Because you would miss the shopping space?"
"That and the fact that you are Maximus’ granddaughter," the King’s voice turned serious. "That secret that you shared with me... about the Noxian’s weakness... is it really a fact?"
Sunshine’s demeanor shifted. This was why he was here. She nodded slowly. "It’s fact, Your Majesty. And yes, the proof exists."
The King leaned closer, his icy eyes searching hers. "You are sure?"
"I am. I even have pictures. I took them myself when I was on Noxis."
The King’s posture relaxed slightly. "Good. If you have this proof, then I can help you. We cannot let them operate with impunity any longer. The universe will be better off without them."
"I agree," Sunshine said, It was better for the King to deal with them than her.
She tapped a few virtual commands. "System, encrypt and send the Noxis sub-surface scan files to the King’s personal device."
[Yes host]
The King’s internal comms pinged. He looked at the device on his wrist, and as the data loaded, his face went completely still. The information showed the eggs that the Noxians were hiding. Sunshine had made the system doctor it to show millions of eggs. There were ten images, so.... enough motive for the Mosotoys to panic.
He looked back at Sunshine, and there was a rare look of approval in his icy gaze. "You have done well, Sunshine. This is powerful. I will reach out to the Mosotoys. They will deal with them and that threat will be over."
Sunshine bowed, a wave of genuine gratitude washing over her. "Thank you, Your Majesty. That is more help than you know."
"Do not thank me yet," he rumbled. "This is not a free favor."
Sunshine laughed. "You want to go shopping?"
"My wife has been asking for more Earth luxuries," he said defensively. "And I require some new... adult diapers, for my elderly parents. They are taking a trip to Salom soon. For some reason, I think they might need diapers."
Sunshine shook her head, smiling. "Feel free to take whatever you need. No charge."
She assigned a few robots to assist him by pushing his cart and driving him through the huge shopping area. The King left as soon as he was done.
The system alerted her of another request from Nine and Vortan to meet. Sunshine agreed.
"System, teleport Vortan and Nine directly to the space."
When they materialized, she was immediately nearly tackled by a blur of legs. Nine wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug. His huge, black, faceted eyes were red_ very red, and the protective membranes over them were swollen. He was actually crying.
"How long have you been crying?" Sunshine asked
"Long enough," Vortan said, standing behind Nine with his arms crossed. He looked relieved_ and even managed a tiny, rare smile. "Next time, tell us the plan before it starts."
Sunshine struggled to breathe. "Nine! Nine! Air! I need air!"
Nine quickly broke free, his mandibles clicking in distress. "My apologies! But we thought you had died! The news was all over the information network! The celebrity repairman has died while repairing the rift! Who the hell is spreading this false news?"