Chapter 94  Gino still hasn't tasted his food  

It zapped next to him, and Teheen sank onto the couch in futuristic sportswear and held the handheld out to Luke.

"Why is the game telling me I can't go any further? "

" Because you have to level up with the corporation, with money." 

She looked thoughtfully at the handheld. 

" But I spent all the money on production ... " 

She clicked around.

"Oh, look at that girl from the holo window." 

Teheen looked up at Luke's father.

"And who are they?"

"His father." 

She laid her head to one side and looked at him.

" Ah, you can see the resemblance." Sue pushed herself forward.

" Liz meant you enslaved him?!"

Teheen looked up from her handheld.

"Sure, he's my property," she replied with a grin.

She tried to grab Teheen, but one of the extra arms that were free grabbed her hand.

"Now the question is, who are you to be so upset?"

Sue smiled pissed off.

"His mom."

Teheen looked to Luke, who was busy with his handheld himself.

" What? I told you I had one. You didn't want to believe it."

"Uh-huh." She looked at Sue.

"Hhmm, then I know where your stubbornness comes from. As for your question. What do you know about what he did off this planet?"

"Only what was told about the moon," came from Liz.

Teheen clicked on her handheld.

"So pretty much nothing. He's killed for kartels, syndicates, kingdoms and empires, fought in arenas and gotten himself banned. Even the illegals. Ripped people off in casinos, boarded ships, filled his bank account as a masseur. "

She paused clicking, looked up, turned the handheld over, which showed a picture of Luke as Specter.

"That's the most harmless thing he's done, so..."

She smiled.

"He's mine. "

" Why? You have an army," Sue asked.

" Beat my family to it, just like that. Can I see his army records?" 

" Why?" 

"Well, it says here in the game that Specter is a soldier... was and he," she looked at Luke.

"Don't say anything big."

Luke grinned and took a drag on his cigarette. 

Liz activated the holo system and called the Ai, who looked at Liz questioningly.

"Do you still have access to Luke's military file?" 

" It's confidential. "

" And why is his file confidential?" asked Teheen.

The Ai looked at her. 

" In other words, is there a file I can see? And can see more than you've shown me?"

The Ai pondered and called up a file, Teheen looked at the photo, which was still the one they had taken of him in the military hospital. 

"Hmm, why were you demoted?" 

Luke played on.

" I executed someone in public."

" Thrown out the window of a skyscraper, rather, and he landed on a busy street."

Luke nodded.

"I told you, I executed someone, and the bosses didn't like it. So I was demoted and relieved of my command." 

"I see. And what was his command?"

"The last squad of exo-soldiers at the time. His adjutant at the time took over command."

"I see," she looked at the file. 

"And what happened to the troop?"

"Some of them died in a nuclear reactor explosion, the rest died in a bioweapon attack that ate through their suits. " 

"Says the one who was with both to get his people," came from Liz.

Luke looked at her.

" Right." He pulled out his cell phone, pulled up the picture gallery and handed it to Teheen.

"These lumps here, this was squad one and this here, this was squad two. The stuff has eaten into the bones."

Teheen looked at the pictures. She clicked on overview, looked at the pictures, clicked on a video that showed the impact from Earth orbit. 

"Hhmm," she looked at her handheld.

"Can you do the same here? "

"Yep. Level seven." 

She hummed. 

" Luke, aren't you going to fight back?" 

Luke looked at his mother.

" Huh? Fight back? "

"Yeah, that?" 

Luke considered.

"There are worse things, like working for one of the noble houses. "

" She's nobility ..."

" Yes, but " he patted Teheen's head.

" Teheen's ideal woman is a bodybuilder. All her heavyweights and brothers are pure mountains of flesh. That's why she's a regent. She's categorized as hhmm yes hhmm looks by them. Then her tendency to harem fuck meat is also different from her siblings. Apart from the wear and tear. "

" So so and why isn't she in her harem now?" 

"Gotta fill up first. Luke's been there the longest right now," she mused. "Yeah, up there in the hierarchy. "

Sue looked at her dumbfounded. 

"Please..." 

Teheen smiled. 

"I have a question, too. If you're so worried about his safety, why did you marry him off? And a bad marriage at that."

Sue looked at her aghast.

"He was..."

Teheen raised a hand.

" I saw his ex out of the car yesterday, that can't control him. "

"Yeah? And you can him?"

Teheen looked at her.

"No, just better keep him in the fence and why did you let such a monster off the chain and I say monster. Because it is one. Locked army file, the public only fine clean stuff. Let's face it according to the record he's a war hero and multiple times over. Medals and badges en masse. What I got from the trade alliance as a company soldier. "She put the handheld in her lap. 

"Your son fought his way through the aptitude test of my race guardian and then went on to rage as a guardian just like before, and they're all hardened aliens. What did he say when he came back to you? Huh?"

Sue pondered.

"War..." 

"Right, by enslaving him, people only see the name I gave him or the name the others gave him. Not him as a person. " 

She looked at her fingernails.

"Then why aren't you married?" asked Sue. Teheen looked at her with a smile. 

" It's not my decision, marriages are decided and made by the emperor's mother at the imperial court. Mine was also decided, it was mainly a political matter." 

Sue stared at her.

"Yes?"

Sue snorted and stomped off, dragging Luke's father with her. Liz looked after her, irritated.

"First time I've ever seen you walk away beaten."

Teheen grinned. 

Luke switched over to the TV station, where the reporter was now sitting in the studio. 

"The displeasure with Gino is growing, more and more people on social media are reporting their experiences and more and more celebrities are distancing themselves from him." 

Nad zapped around the room.

"It's finally freedome! " She looked at Luke, her gaze lingering on Teen.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the core system?"

"Long range teleporter."

"You took his ship."

"It's in the shop, replacing power cores and fixing a few scratches. "

Nad looked at her silently.

"Then it's time for you to get in the pool." 

She reached for Teheen and pulled her along.

"What, pool? No. Why?"

" Because it's good here." 

Luke looked after them and stubbed out his cigarette. Liz plopped down next to him.

"Are you sure you don't mind her doing that to you?"

"Well, I have my peace. Which is worth more to me. Look, I have a living unit in the central system. For me alone, except that she comes in from time to time. But the others have to live in crew quarters. I can slip away at will."

"Yes, except that she follows you here."

"Oh, that'll pass again. It's just a phase, then she'll need the palace again, all that tam tam. "

" Hmmm ." 

"Liz, I can just be me there. Just like you can just be you here with me. No annoying neighbors complaining when something's in the garden. No family standing around looking at the houses."

Liz fell silent.

"But ... this is your house ... " 

He patted her head.

"You and George have been looking after me all this time. You're my family Liz and I'm not letting them down."

" Hhmm, then what about Nad and that elf there?" 

" Oh Nad is in heat like most of her kind when they find something suitable and Lynx. No idea."

"What do you mean, no idea? You were fucking her when she was here."

Luke nodded, continuing to click through the game.

"Yep. Like I said, no idea. After all that shit with Kia, I don't know what I want anymore. Teheen, when you get right down to it. Could be considered married. "

"Yeah. But why?" 

Luke grinned.

"Because I treat her like a wife. She's not used to that and it opens up the most opportunities for me."

" I see what you mean." 

" Liz Teheen is too intelligent, she plays because it's a challenge. The company here in the game she started, no sooner did I say she has to make products. Well, it's a game world. But everything that is made in the game coldly exploits the demand. In Paar she has a monopoly on most things. "

" Yes, and from what I've read, the others can raid..." 

" Well, they don't dare anymore. Raided the big guilds too much." 

He turns the handheld in her direction, where the message comes up again that he has reached his daily limit. 

" Aha... why did I never see you charge that thing?"

"Put an energy crystal in it. Will replace the battery eventually. "

He looked at Liz, who just laid her head on his lap.

"Please ... It doesn't work on Dad anymore and George is always gone lately because of John ..." 

He stroked her head.

"Luke, how did you meet her?"

"She came for a massage one day. And because I was a rolly at the time and hooked up with alien chicks. Now we've had a happy ending."

"Alien brides? " 

"Yup." 

He turned on Tischholo, clicked on the beach channel where alien chicks were walking around in bikinis.

"Well, Teheen kept showing up after that, even when I was on other planets. Not until I was at the Imperial Court and had to take off my helmet. Well..." 

"And how is life with the aliens?"

"No different from here, they look different, but like us they have a shot."

"Hhmm..."

She remained silent.

"Is there also a race channel? "

"Of course." 

He switched to a racing glider thundering across the landscapes of a planet.

"You have to make a rag for something like that, if you wanted to do that with our technology, the cockpit would be fuller than an airplane. Everything is simplified and computer-controlled, just steer and accelerate."

"I hope that one day I'll be able to fly one of those things..." she looked at the holo.

"Luke... I miss him."

"Huh? Who?" he looked at her from his handheld.

"Uther, the others don't care. Some are happy, like John and Dad now, sometimes I feel like he doesn't realize it."

Luke smiled and stroked her head.

" Yeah. He was the greatest. I never told anyone because, well, everyone teased me about why I didn't want Kia back. I think it was after your birthdays. Well, he was the umpteenth person to tell me to see what I could do, weigh up what I could get for it. "

Liz fell silent.

"Grandfather, only you are now and and but Uther. No, he didn't care if it came to an alliance."

Liz laughed.

"That's just the way he was, and unlike Dad, he was on the move. When I ran away from the mission, I had to cross three districts to find him and as soon as I got there. His bloodhounds were after me. They grabbed me and took me to him. Without grumbling or complaining and what was never reported in the media was that his bloodhounds had also disappeared with his disappearance. No trace, that drove John crazy. John had speculated on using the power of the group."

"I remember him calling it the biggest kick in the ass Uther had given him. Just like the fact that he couldn't access the technology database."

Liz looked at him.

"What kind of thing?"

" Well, Tes told me sometime in training. Uther has plundered and exploited so much technology and created a gigantic database, The Omegas were the first and only ones to use teleporters. Weapons, exos, next generations of exos and so on and so forth. He made the deal with the trade alliance. "

Liz looked at him.

"Did you ever fight him?"

" Yeah, he kicked my ass. Only after that it was worse than showing Tes where my faults were. Tes said when she asked him why he never enters tournaments. It's not his thing. It's more of a philosophy of life. I didn't really understand it then, but I do now." 

He looked at his hand. 

"When I train, my brain relaxes, I forget my feelings and so on. I've been through so many wars where I was just angry. The whole thing with Kia, every time I was on the moon and Ai showed me Holo, only then he didn't call back. Just made me angry. "

"And what's changed?"

" The crash landing of a captured ship on a tropical planet. It took the Alliance a month to find me. But seeing the sea calmed me down, then the training."

He holoed out and pointed forward through the patio door, from where you could see the sea.

"I can see the sea here too. "

"Right, that's why you sleep here."

"That too, but the main reason is that I'm too lazy to go upstairs and go to bed." 

Liz fell silent, then they heard her snoring. Luke stroked her head, turned on Earth's holo-TV, flipped through the channels and watched a few movies. 

At some point, Teheen came in wrapped in towels.

"Brr, the sea is just cold where you are."

"Well, it's classed as warm, there are colder regions."

She looked at him.

" Colder? " She came closer, looked at Liz.

"What about her?"

" Hmm, hit an emotional low. " He stroked her head.

"How can she have that? Lives in a mansion, is warm here..."

Luke looked from Liz to her.

"It's more like you had a low point, snuck in and used me as a pillow."

She looked at him silently and sat down next to him.

"Your mom doesn't seem to like me."

Luke grinned.

"Well, she likes you. There aren't many who can stand up to her. Mine has enslaved him in a way. "

" Hmph ..."

" Why, is my ship actually under repair?"

" I stepped on the gas and flew through a few asteroid fields. "

" Well then."

Teen looked at the movie.

"And what's that?"

" Entertainment, but it's not really my thing." 

He walked over to the movie theater.

" I'm more into old stuff, from before the first outbreak."

" Uh-huh ..."

Luke grinned and clicked on an old movie, an action movie.

With the result that she fell asleep almost halfway through the movie. Nad sauntered in, took in the scenery, watched the movie.

"Oh ha, if only the competition knew, putting Empress to sleep with bad movies."

"Not everyone can love it like you do, Nad."

She smiled. 

" I'm all for it, today we're having buritos and chili and fish."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Teheen, said the food at the wedding was almost as bad as Gino's and she put Gino's on her list of places not to visit. "

Luke laughed.

"If he knew he was already banned from the galaxy."

Ned grinned. The doorbell jingled and could be heard from outside.

"Hey you wanker of a blondie! Come out so I can smash your face in!"

"Hhmm, he found out where I live pretty quickly." 

Nad nodded.

"I'll get rid of him."

"No. I'm not going to miss out on the fun." 

He carefully freed himself from the two of them and stood up. Went outside to the gate. Gino stood angrily at the gate. Luke stayed out of reach.

"It's your fault!"

" Me?" 

Gino snorted.

" Yes, you! You're the reason this started, the music futzes were the mega deal! "

Luke lit a cigarette.

" The question is, have you ever tasted any of your own food?"

" None of your business, you wanker! "

" Well. So what do you want? "

" Polishing your face, that's what I want!" 

Luke grinned and blew a small cloud aside.

" No, you go to your restaurant, taste your food."

"No way!" 

" Well then, have fun."

"You're a coward too!"

He ashed to the side.

"Gino, I don't give a shit. Your food was just bad. Get over it. My companion liked it 0 and she really wanted to go to your restaurant because she liked what you offered visually the best of all the restaurants on the island. I paid the ridiculous price you asked."

"Because of you!"

Luke looked at him.

"Because of me what? The people who are on the net? They're all people who are unhappy. Because of the label? That wasn't my decision, it was the decision of the label's main customer."

"Yeah? I'll smack that wanker!"

" Well... if you do that, you'll lose everything Gino. He's married to a daughter of a ceo. Means she'll call her dad, he'll get lawyers involved, I think they even represented you in court once." 

He stared angrily at Luke. 

"And then poof everything you've worked for. Be a professional, like you always say, instead of a bitch. Taste the food, see what's going on."

"I..."

Luke looked at him.

"Gino, how many years have you been out of the kitchen? When did you stop kicking the chefs' asses, giving them the best?"

He was still staring at Luke.

"I'll make you a deal, you cook in my kitchen here, I'll order the same thing in your restaurant and we'll compare notes. If I'm wrong, I'll make sure you do well. If not, you'll make a big mess of your restaurant."

Gino growled.

"Good, no fucking capisce?!"

"A deal's a deal!"

He opened the door and let Gino in, the Italian woman at reception stood aside and followed him. He led her inside. Nad was sitting in her bathrobe on the couch where Teheen and Liz were still asleep, continuing to watch the movie. She looked at Luke questioningly.

Luke led Gino to the kitchen, who gave it a scrutinizing look, then checked the contents of the fridge.

Luke reached for his cell phone and called the restaurant's order page.

"Right then. Gino, what's your specialty? "

" Pasta, lassange and pizza."

" Hm, she doesn't offer pizza, then lassange. "

Gino looked at the woman

" Gina? " came questioningly

" Uh, Alfonso, said, because noble restaurant, no more pizza ..."

" I make pizza and Lassange, order the house style."

Luke clicked.

"Will be there in an hour and a half."

"It only took me twenty minutes! " He looked at Gina, who shrugged her shoulders ignorantly. Gino rummaged around in the kitchen, pulling out ingredients. Examined the vegetables.

"These aren't supermarket vegetables..." he felt them. "Nor are they imported from the mainland. "

"Greenhouse here on the island, sell it, next to coffee." 

Gino took a knife and cut everything quickly, it really surprised Luke how quickly and cleanly Gino worked. 

" What is the knife made of? "

"Exo-steel, which they use for other things." 

Luke came closer, pointing at the kitchen utensils.

" That's it."

What he didn't say, he had invested a lot in the company. 

Gino remained silent, carrying on. Luke watched as he prepared the pizza and lassange and put it in the oven when it was hot. And then got to work on the vegetables. Gina stood next to him in silence, looking a little pale. Luke sat down on the couch and immediately put his head back down. Teheen woke up, blinked and looked around in confusion. 

Nad clicked on the documentary channel. Echoing footsteps boomed from the house speakers. Luke took a drag on his cigarette, Teheen looked at Nad questioningly. Gino winced.