Boy's Adventure Tale - Part 1

This is a boy’s adventure tale.

Not a boy’s adventure tale prepared by a stuffy old man in a tweed jacket with elbow patches and a smelly pipe. No, this is a story that a bored boy might imagine for himself, filled with mystery, derring-do, a red-hot space princess, and no hint whatsoever of precious moral instruction.

Well, maybe there is some moral instruction. But this is Reversed Black Maria. Nothing is as it seems, and the thread-well, you’ll just have to read to find out if it breaks.

Boys Adventure Tale

A Reversed Black Maria Novelette in Several Parts

Blonde, bluff Oskar Winter’s heart pounded as he jogged the long streets that climbed to his grandfather’s home. The little tract house high in Old Oslo’s West End wasn’t his usual after-class destination. Any other day, he’d meet his friends from the squad at the nullgrav gym. But tonight, he’d been invited to dinner at Farfar Hendrik’s. He didn’t mind. His grandfather was a hero of the Edge Wars. His rooms were crammed with war memorabilia and strange artifacts from a dozen planets. To a young man aspiring to join the Legion and see the galaxy, it was a little slice of paradise.

Oskar took a corner too sharply and collided with a woman. Her shopping bag went flying, scattering expensive cosmetics across the printed cobblestones of the smooth pedway.

“Oh! Excuse me,” Oskar said, and gaped. He’d inconvenienced a young giantess. His eyes didn’t even come level with her chin. She was a striking beauty, with raven hair bobbed at the shoulder, a delicate, heart-shaped face and amazing silver eyes. Her brief dress marked her as a tourist, and it revealed a great deal of her cantilevered body when she knelt to pick up her property.

Oskar scrambled to help. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going. Please. Allow me.”

The giantess paused and rested on her muscular haunches. “No harm done,” she replied. “I wasn’t paying attention either. I was enjoying the view of the city.”

Oskar crammed her belongings into the bag as best he could. Offering it back to her, he extended his hand. “Please, let me help you up. I’m Oskar. Oskar Winter.”

She accepted his hand with a delightful little smile–one that an older man might have realized was full of mischief. Her grip was potent, and she arose lightly, as if gravity had no power to retain her. Moreover, she seemed familiar, but Oskar couldn’t think of where he might have seen her before.

“I’m Inna,” she said, her rich voice tickling all the way down his spine. “It’s nice to meet you, Oskar Winter. I just arrived in the city. Could you tell me where I might find a good cup of coffee?”

Intellectually, Oskar knew that Inna was parsecs out of his league. She was several years his senior, half again his size, and by far the most attractive woman he had ever met, seen, or even heard of. The sensible course of action was to point out the coffee house at the bottom of the hill and say polite good-byes. But the dazzling sun–sparkle in her mirror eyes enticed him to foolishness.

“Inna, it wouldn’t be right for me to leave without making it up to you. Please allow me to buy you a drink,” Oskar offered, hoping he sounded gallant.

To his barely-concealed astonishment, she readily agreed.

He led her down to Mutti’s coffee shop, happily pointing out landmarks on the skyline as they went. Though it was the busiest time of the afternoon, there were no people about, and the streets were devoid of the ubiquitous Oslo autocabs. The only movement was the flashing lights of a cordon of politietbots far downhill, at the Haakon station roundabout. But Oskar had eyes only for Inna.

When they arrived at Mutti’s, Oskar made a beeline to the counter and ordered two lakkris lattes. Belatedly, he noticed that the coffee house was empty. But he also realized that he’d made a potentially devastating error.

“I hope you like anise,” he said to Inna. In his rush to impress her, he’d neglected to ask her preference.

“I like anise very much,” she replied graciously.

Oscar swallowed a sigh of relief. The local girls were rarely so forgiving.

Their beverages came up immediately, having been prepared—quite unusually—by the shop owner instead of the baristabot. Oscar led Inna to a cozy table in the back. They settled in on opposite sides.

Raina raised her frothy mug. “To Oskar Winter, brave rescuer of my makeup kit!”

They laughed, and toasted. But now that Oskar’s plan had come together, and he was ensconced in a quiet nook with the most beautiful woman in the universe, he found himself at a loss for words. The first sparks of anxiety ignited in the small of his back.

Inna let him off the hook. “So, what were you thinking about when we met? It must have been very important.”

Oskar blushed. “It’s nothing, really. I was going to my farfar’s house for dinner. He lives at the top of Glipping Street, where I ran into you. He’s a famous war hero.”

“A war hero? Please tell me about him.”

Oscar’s heart skipped a beat. No member of the female sex had ever shown the slightest interest in his grandfather’s military career before. “Farfar Hendrick served in the Legion. He signed on right out of University and stayed in until the end of the Second Edge War. He...”

Inna cut in. “Is your grandfather Lieutenant-Commander Hendrik Winter?”

You could have knocked Oskar off his chair with a feather. “Yes. That’s him.”

“I have heard that he is a great man, and proud. Is he still missing his arm?”

Oskar was dumbfounded. His reply was a bit squeaky. “Uh, no. Farmor insisted that he grow it back after he retired. She wanted him to be able to pull his share of the housework.”

Inna giggled. “Ah, how the mighty men fall! I shouldn’t be surprised. The greatest power of all is a woman.”

“Do you mean the Black Queen?” Oscar asked, not perceiving her philosophical segue. The Black Queen was what children and the impolite called the Empress of the Galaxy. Thanks to politics that Oskar didn’t pay any attention to, while the Empress was th ultimate power in the universe, human affairs were governed by the Universeraat. Ensconced in unapproachable Eisenhimmel on the far side of the galactic core, the divine Empress wove her mighty webs of power and left the mundane worlds of men to themselves. That suited most people just fine. The Empress was terrifying.

Inna burst out laughing. “I meant women in general,” she said. “But I’ll bet the Black Queen could still learn a thing or two from your grandmother.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. We hear rumors about her.”

Inna leaned close, her argent eyes glinting. “Do tell?”

“They say she she’s the size of a yearling meatpanzer, and she fights Arzenekoi warriors with her bare hands. Some say that she eats them alive.” Oscar had heard other rumors about the Black Queen’s anatomical extremes, insatiable appetites, and peculiar tastes. But he dared not speak of them with Inna.

“I’ve heard the same. But I’ve also heard that she cherishes her friends above all things.”

“I can’t imagine she has many.”

“She doesn’t,” Inna agreed. “Enough about her. What about you? What are your plans?”

“Me? I’m a first-year postgrad, building my portfolio for a plebian citizenship. It’s probably just a formality. I want to join the Legion.”

“If you join the Legion, it’s definitely a formality. A Legionnaire’s franchised pension is better than a plebian citizenship, anyway. Are you having second thoughts?”

“It’s dumb, really. I’m on the geeball squad. My coach thinks I could qualify for the leagues. But Legionnaires aren’t permitted to have professional associations. If I enlist, I’ll have to give it up.”

“That’s not dumb. Always follow your heart. Do you think you have a chance in the leagues? Are talent scouts calling?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid they might lose interest. I’m almost maxed out in my position.”

“What position do you play?”

“Forward. I’m strong in freefall, but weak at passing in inverted gravity. All of this season’s formations require it.”

Inna gulped down the last of her coffee and shoved the mug aside, clearing the table. Next, she produced a holostylus from her tiny black clutch. “Forward's my old position. I might have just the thing for you. It will make more sense if I sketch out a couple of formations.” With quick sweeps of her stylus, she filled the air above the table with a diagram. When she finished, she gestured to Oskar. “Come here, so you can see what I’m doing.”

Inna plays geeball!

Inna wants me to sit next to her!!

Oskar scrambled to comply, and pulled his chair as close to Inna as he possibly could. She smelled of cedar balsam, and he could feel her body heat through his thin shirt. Hot blood rose in his cheeks.

Inna noticed. “What is it?” she asked, a faint grin spreading across her face.

“Sorry,” he said, flaming with embarrassment. “I guess I’m a little distracted.”

There was a smile in her voice when she replied. “Distraction is part of the game.”

Inna’s clutch was again called forth, this time to demonstrate a pass. In a moment of overextension, her chair tipped. Oskar steadied her with a firm hand on her thigh. He didn’t remove it when all four legs of her chair returned to the floor. But Inna continued her demonstration as if nothing was amiss.

Oskar’s instincts took over. His fingers followed the slope of her finely sculpted quadriceps all the way to the hem of her skirt.

“What the hell are you two doing?” roared a female voice.

Oskar spun in his seat. A familiar woman stood in the center of the empty cafe, her furious red face perfectly matching her red hair. It was his aunt, who no one had heard from since before the Arzenekoi war.

“Tante Karina?” he stammered. “We, we all thought you were dead!”

“Oskar, shut up! Goddamn it, Inna, what is this?”

“We were discussing geeball,” Inna replied nonchalantly. Her naughty grin told another story.

Aunt Karina wasn’t buying it. “I don’t care what you do with your man. Hell, I don’t care if you fool around with mine, if you give him back in one piece. But my nephews are off limits!”

“You mean there’s another one? Is he handy? Maybe this trip won’t be so boring after all.”

“Get your ass up to the house!” Aunt Karina shouted.

Laughing, Inna rose from the table. “It was good talking to you, Oskar,” she said. “I’ll see you later.” She sauntered from the shop, pausing to lay a credit chit on the vacant counter. “For your lost business,” she called.

There was no reply. The owner had abandoned her own shop.

Aunt Karina hauled Oskar out of his chair. “Come on,” she growled.

“What’s wrong, Tante? We were just chatting.”

She twisted his arm hard enough to hurt. “Don’t you know who that was, Oskar?” she whispered angrily. “You just felt up the Empress!”

Part 1