Bethany Anne

Death Becomes Her Alt Cover

### Appearance

Bethany Anne is described in the novels before her change as being around 5'3" with legs a little short for her height and a longer upper torso and has long, straight, jet black hair. She has a muscular build from martial arts training. Post transformation she is around 6 inches taller, mostly longer legs.

### Personality

She has a strong sense of justice and of right and wrong. She will unwaveringly stand up for those who can't defend themselves.

Bethany Anne believes cussing was an excellent way to release stress, and should be morally approved. She loves to curse and punishes everyone who curses without imagination or uses the same word too often. And she loves to make the "Bitches" do pushups.

She will ask TOM to alter my emotions or pain level occasionally. But if I do it too much, she's concerned that not only would reduced pain levels possibly become habit-forming, but it would lower situational awareness.

In multiple parts of the series Bethany Anne shows her love of high-end shoes (size 7) and clothes. However, she is also very sensitive about the number of shoes and amount of clothes she has even to her closest friends/allies. As the team leaves the Sol system John reveals she has 5 shipping containers of shoes going with them.

While for the most part Bethany Anne is strong believer in freedom of choice, she is fascist in her preference for Coke over Pepsi and denying Pepsi to people who want it. It is never clear if the edicts against Pepsi are an outlet for her teams and friends to have a safe outlet for their whatever times they need to run counter-authority but is possible.Bethany Anne got up from the table. She needed to get herself clean and go shopping. She would use some of the money Nathan had taken from Petre’s house to get herself some clothes that fit appropriately. She didn’t know if Brasov had a fashionable shoe store, but she hoped no ladies were wearing a pair of Christian Louboutin size sevens on her way to the store. She didn’t need that kind of temptation right now.

Bethany Anne believes that pain is a great motivator. The bigger the lesson she feels you need to be taught, the more a sparring session with her hurts.

## History

### Early Life

Her mother Meredith Reynolds died when she was very young of a rare blood disease and she was raised by her father. Her father raised her as a warrior so from a very early age she had training in:

Hand-to-Hand
Bethany Anne is a practitioner of martial arts though it is never stated explicitly which discipline she is trained in.
Marksman
Bethany Anne is a deadly accurate marksmen and has pinpoint accuracy while dual wielding pistols.
### Middle Life

Part of a Semi-Black ops group but sentenced to die by doctors before Michael claimed "Debt of Honor" and Bethany Anne was the only candidate. He made her a "vampire" using the same source that changed him, and thereon, she met TOM, a Kurtherian and her adventure began.

## Bethany Anne's Rules

1. Bethany Anne is Queen of the UnknownWorld and members will kneel or die. No one, even Michael's direct children is exempt. The oath she required si "I am the Queen Bitch. I am the only one you will kneel to until you die or leave my service. For some, that means on your shield. For others when your agreement is up. Until that time, you are forbidden to answer to anyone but those I appoint. No outside interest controls you, commands you, or summons you"
2. Vamp-on-vamp violence has been outlawed (unless it is taking out the Forsaken)
3. Queen forbids torture, It accomplishes nothing, and stains those who wield it.

## Activities

### The Kurtherian Gambit

#### Death Becomes Her

Bethanny Anne worked in a semi black organization when she discovered she had the same disease as her mother and would only live for about 6 more months. At this time the Vampire Bill died in an operation and the Patriarch Michael was woken up by Carl. He claimed the debt of Honor from the US government and Bethany Anne was the only suitable candidate. But Michael decided he would not make her one of his children or grandchildren, instead, he would make her a Vampire using the same source which changed him; she would become the Matriarch. They traveled to Romania where he showed her the UFO he discovered over a thousand years ago and she got into the Pod-doc thinking just after a few days she would wake up and be a Vampire.

Upon waking Bethany Anne discovered over four thousand three hundred hours (about 179 days) had passed since she stepped into the Pod-Doc although via being in stasis her body only experienced 15 minutes. Another surprise awaited her, as the Kurtherian pilot, later named TOM, responsible for the Change had grafted his consciousness into her own. In addition to changing her height and appearance Tom made other modifications including eliminating periods or the mood swings from them.

Before leaving the ship Bethany has TOM give her another round of Pod-Doc treatments to increase bone compression capabilities by a factor of seven, tension abilities by a factor of twelve and sheer abilities by a factor of eighteen.

After her initial shock, Bethany Anne ventured out of the crashed ship and ventured through Romania; where she would eventually meet Nathan Lowell and Ecaterina

After a visit to Switzerland Bethany takes control of the assets Michael left for her. It amounts to few billion dollars and over a trillion in assets.

#### Queen Bitch

She finally contacts Frank Kurns and he begs her help with the forsaken in the FL everglades, when she agrees he arranges *fast* transport for her. Once there she meets for the first time, the four men that become her *Bitches* and stays with her *ad Aeternitatem* as her guards and friends.

Her first challenge to her authority in America is with the American wolf packs. Suspicion that Michael is gone and his replacement being a new vampire has given some of the Alphas the hubris to believe they can take her out and be out from vampire authority. Bethany arrives with her four man team and easily subdues the uprising with minimal deaths to the weres, a change Bethany encourages as she does wants to show she is different than Michael. They will know not to cross her as she and her team will not accept disrepect.

#### Love Lost

The attacks against Bethany from the unknown source continue. Her mentor from her previous life is kidnapped, tortured and murdered by Adrian.

Bethany begins to acquire the core of her core support team. In addition to her 4 guards + Peter she begins the transition of Frank Kurns to a younger age. Ecaterina Romanov-Lowell becomes her secretary/aide and Dan Bosse becomes her tactical advisor. Her father, Lance Reynolds, retires to become to operations manager.

She also acquires equipment (Gulfstream and helicopter) and a mobile base. The mobile base is a super yacht that she acquires from a sheik who not only is a leech on his family, he is sadistic killer. Bethany negotiates a price for the yacht and its support ship with the royal family who win by selling the ships as well as not paying him $120 million per year. Bethany and her team neutralize the crew and execute the security team for not protecting the last victim the sheik murdered.

#### Bite This

Bethany takes John, Eric and Garbrielle to Romania to recover TOM's space craft. Even before they leave Gabrielle agrees to go into the Pod-Doc to correct her nano-cytes so she can walk in the sun (along with other minor enhancements).

Eric's description of Bethany Anne - “A scary motherfucker? Death with the legs of an angel? The last beautiful smile you see before Hell takes you?”

#### Kneel or Die

Bethany Anne begins following the breadcrumbs that lead to David. She begins a new method of execution for the people she finds guilty enough to be executed by pushing them into the Etheric. Even TOM has no idea what will happen to the people she randomly pushes in when they have no means to escape back out.

Bethany Anne and Michael go on a date, to David's Castle in Germany. David is hosting a dinner for what remains of his cadre after Bethany Anne and Stephen's reign of revenge on his minions. Bethany Anne starts the attack and kills most of the cadre until David shoots her with a large bore gun. But before David can finish Bethany Anne off Michael tears out David heart and Ashur kills the last of the cadre.

#### We Will Build

Bethany Anne continues ADAM's education about considering the consequences of his actions. He must learn that even when probabilities are low the impact can be on millions of people. The instance about ADAM threatening the Chinese government hackers who are trying to spread their backdoors/viruses across the globe. In hindsight this may be the genesis of the Chinese virus that triggers the World's Worst Day Ever WWDE in the future after ADAM and Bethany Anne have left Earth to battle the Kurtherians.

Bethany Anne is frustrated with Michael. In her mind she had laid out a perfect plan to lure Michael into a romantic relationship. All the steps had worked out up to the point he didn't jump. Finally she took the initiative and essentially jumped him.

#### It's Hell to Choose

TQB and Bethany Anne have gone public. There is pressure from both nations and from large businesses for TQB to make its technology and resources available to them. There is cabal who go by the name of Advancement of the Human Race. They represent 16 countries Identified members are:

* Stephanie Lee (unknown to the group she is the Leopard Empress)
* Johann Pecora (United States)
* Eugene Guaran
* Anna Elisabeth Hauser (Swiss)
* Beatrice Silvers (UK)
* Terrance Burrens (France)
* Sean Truitt (United States)
* Davey Bajorly
* Others not identified

The group votes to get the technology by any means necessary. Anna warns them they will regret there action and permanently leaves with group with the warning "Don't Screw with the Archangel".

Bethany Anne has Nathan recruiting the Wechsalbalg and Cheryl Lynn the humans. Recruiting Weres is fairly straight forward but screening humans is more complex. Cheryl Lynn comes up with the idea of prioritizing injured military and first responders who meet the criteria for needs and have limiting injuries. They will be given Nanocyte enhanced blood but done in a many to make the recipient believe it was complex machinery. In addition the humans will be treated on a hospital boat at sea to limit the potential of spying and attacks.

QBS builds 3 mining ships on Earth, QBS Hephaestus, QBS Ptah, and QBS Vulcan. They appear to be ocean container ships but as soon as they leave port on their maiden voyage they rise out of the ocean and head for space. Even though the ships are in international airspace the French government sends 4 armed Mirage jets after them. Bethany Anne pulls pods and Black Eagles for the QBS Polarus and confronts the French jets. The French flight leader receives and follows orders to strafe the mining ships which, due to the gravity generators lifting the ships bounce the bullets back and actually damages one of the Mirage fighters. The pods grab the Mirage before it can crash and deposit the plane and pilot at the Eiffel Tower.

The cabal plans to force a reaction from Bethany Anne with multiple attacks including 2 sets of children, one in Colorado, the other in Europe and an attack on QBS Ad Aeternitatem and QBS Polarus. Bethany Anne calls on Michael to save the American children while she stays in Europe. In the asking she finally verbalizes to Michael how much she loves him and part of her fear comes from her mother dying and leaving her.

* The European attackers are a group of Chechen rebels who see themselves as revenging the deaths of their families by the Russians not realizing they are being played by the cabal. Bethany Anne, Akio and the Elites ambush them outside the school and kill all of them.
* In Colorado Michaael faces a group of mercenaries including Boris the Were-bear who Michael had spared 3 centuries before. Before Michael can arrive Boris has already decided he will protect the children from harm by the mercenaries. Michael takes out the mercenaries as Boris protects the children. Before Scott and Darryl arrive to clean-up Michael Mysts Boris back to the base.
* The Aeterniatem and Polarus are being approached by multiple ships. They position themselves to protect the Consanesco. The attack ships are destroyed before they can damage any of the TQB vessels.
* While Michael was protecting the children there was an abortive attack on the base with casualties on both sides. Lance tells Michael there is a backpack nuclear bomb and that if Michael can get it too a valley outside of the base. The mercenary rally point is in the valley and as he approaches them they manually detonate the bomb. Michael has just started Mysting and the blast impacts him, but does not kill him. However, it takes him over 150 years to recover.

In the aftermath of the assaults the Colorado base is stripped of all proprietary technology and mothballed. A memorial service is held at the site for the Michael and the others who were killed defending the base.

#### Release the Dogs of War

Bethany begins her reign of justice on the cabal. Sean Pruitt is the first to die as the bomb that killed Michael came in on Sean Truitt’s personal airplane from Russia or China.

Barnabas "confesses" his Time of Disgrace to Bethany Anne as preparation to swear allegiance to her. Unfortunately for him he implies her commitment to Michael is not strong and ends up needing 4 bags of blood to recover. Once he recovers, Bethany asks him to become Ranger 1. Rangers will be like the Texas Rangers where individuals are charged with investigating injustices. He would have a cadre of Rangers to help him. In the future the Rangers will be dissolved and a group of Magistrates established in the Judge, Jury and Executioner series to perform the same function.

The Illuminati in the US try to trap Bethany Anne and kill the Bitches when she is on her way to visit the US president at the direction of Joshua Guildenstern. Almost all the attackers are killed except one, advisor to the president who is shot and released. The president is told Bethany Anne was ill rather than say she and her staff were too covered in blood. Barnabas and Bethany Anne join Joshua on his private jet as he attempts to escape. He is interrogated and executed dying alone as they leave with a disk drive containing information on the Illumanati.

The Chinese escalate their attacks on the TQB ships. They send a submarine which is pulled from the water by its stern and deposited on land. This only infuriates the Chinese military and leadership more and they to escalate attacks both militarily and economically.

#### Sued For Peace

The book starts with an ultimatum from Bethany to the Chinese “There are two ways to stop my vengeance. You can kill me, or you can sue for peace. But you had better decide soon, or there will be nothing left of your military except machines blackened by fire and people praying for the souls of your dead.”

The leadership of the Illuminati meet in Paris. They consider 3 choices. Align with China, escalate alone against TQB or backoff. Cynthia tries to convince them to back-off but only George Thourbourah follows her. Once outside its revealed Nathan Lowell was a business associate and based on the information they had gotten from Joshua understood her role in the Illuminati. In return for staying alive she and George were to turn themselves in authorities within 72 hours and confess her crimes. Bethany Anne and Nathan then join the meeting and Bethany Anne pushes the remaining members of the meeting into the Etheric to die.

The Chinese take option 1 and increase economic and physical assaults on TQB. The attacks on QBS Ad Aeternitatem and QBS Polarus are sufficient that they must be pulled awary from Earth. The death of a pregnant mother at the Indian facility is the last straw. ADAM and the hackers break the Chinese firewall and target the governmental and government officials accounts. Bethany Anne leads an assault on the Chinese black ops center and wipes out the entire cadre there. The QBS Defender is sent to puck the Kunlan Shan Mountains into rubble. The Chinese sue for peace and are willing to pay the reparations.

#### We Have Contact

The Chinese after action review of TQB's assault on them establishes a number of facts:

* The kinetic weapons TQB has are beyond anything China can develop nor can they defend against them
* TQB could have taken out the leadership in China but chose not to as a strategic decision
* Someone other than TQB kidnapped General Sun Zedong so they 2 opponents they need to be concerned about.
* The official report of what caused destruction will be natural causes (earthquakes). The actual damage was twelve navy ships, ninety-two planes, close to seven hundred troops

Other nations continue to plan strategies on dealing with TQB although the US and Australian strategies are to stand down. The US based on discussions with Bethany Anne with the US president. Australian based on Aussie General Goddard visiting the TQB Australian base. In addition to getting actual footage of what happened against China, General Lance Reynolds passed along Bethany Anne's message that if any action was taken by them against TQB resulted in even one child or fetus being killed TQB would execute one quarter of Australia's military cadre.

Bethany Anne hosts a conference with 14 representatives and their aides/body guards from across the world. Notably not invited are China and Russia. The trigger is the Yollin have entered the Sol solar system. The goal is to clearly what she plans to do and what she expects of Earth's leadership. She plans to fight alien army that will come to Earth. She has no desire to run Earth and be the world police force. Her companies and forces will stay withing legal bounds as long as there are not unfair economic or military action against her as she prepares to leave Earth. BMW give a high level technical review to the conferees more as a warning than as a sales pitch. They also let the conferees know about TOM/Thales of Miletus and that he is not available to them.

Bethany Anne and Cheryl Lynn meet with the Pope at the Vatican to make him aware that the knowledge of aliens will soon be widespread. This is to prepare him for an a message to the faithful; She asks him to relay the message to other faith leaders.

When it rains it pours. At the same time ADAM finds Stephanie Lee so has the Chinese and they seek to destroy her first. Also Terry Henry Walton is under assault in the Middle East and Space Station 1 is under attack by the Yollins. Bethany Anne continues after Stephanie Lee while Akio goes to the help Terry. The QBS ArchAngel leaves Earth and heads to the space station.

China prepares to attack the Sacred Clans and the Leopard Empress. Bethany Anne’s people discover the plans and alert Bethany Anne to the location of Stephanie Lee and that the Chinese military is enroute to attack her.  Since Bethany Anne wants retribution, her and her Bitches scream out in Black Eagles to try and beat the Chinese to her.

Stephanie, expecting the Chinese Military attack, breaks up the Kurtherian technology into separate packages for the Kings of the Sacred Clans to remove to separate locations. No one of them would have all of the parts and only someone knowledgeable in the Kurtherian language could put together or use the technology. The Clan has 4 of the twelve boxes containing their Kurtherian ship out the temple when Bethany Anne attacks at the same time the Chinese military attacks.

When Bethany Anne and team arrive at the main temple, Stephanie’s father in his tiger Pricolici form meets them and Bethany Anne takes on the challenge as a “warm up”.  With just a few swipes, he died and she turned her attention to Stephanie. Under the urging of her Kurtherian symbionts she bats Bethany Anne to get rid of her swords then changes her hands to claws to attack her.  But without any physical training, she quickly looses her heart and her head to Bethany Anne and her two Kurtherian hitchhikers die with her..

The space station team realizes they are under attack just before the assault begin and have alerted all personnel for an assault. The assault craft hits a container and self-seals the breach. They encounter feeble resistance from the space ship crew against their armor, but frustrated with the defense Kiel powers up his armor and crushes the head of space ship captain. The acquire Ivan but when Yollins start to gather more they are called back to the G'laxix Sphaea because the QBS ships and pods are returning. Bethany Anne orders 2 empty pods to ram G'laxix Sphaea and goes after the ship to get back Ivan,

After the disappointing assault on the space station where they only get one human, no technology and are damaged, Kael heads toward the annex gate to get back to Yollin and come back with reinforcements. As he approaches the the gate he finds active "sonar" covering the approach and the QBS ArchAngel and QBS Defender guarding it. The are lead into a trap and fired upon.

When Bethany Anne and the Bitches board the G'laxix Sphaea Kael recognizes he is in a no win situation and surrenders. He asks to shoulder all the blame and have his crew go free. Bethany Anne agrees if he accepts 7 years of service to her and excludes Kiel who killed her crewman. Kiel must fight Bethany Anne which Kiel comes to understand is a significant punishment.

#### My Ride Is A Bitch

There are multiple groups across Earth who are hunting for more alien artifacts, some less scrupulous than others. Bethany Anne receives a letter from a young girl in Las Vegas whose father is being pressured to steal data from an undefined source. Bethany Anne sneaks away from the Guardians and arrives at the home with Ashur to find the situation has escalated and the girl is on her bed with explosives set to go off if she moves off the bed. There are four men watching the family to make sure they stay with the girl and don't call for help. Bethany triggers the trap but saves the Anne and her father and sends the three men into the Etheric to interrogate later. She also finds John Grimes did follow her and was available with a pod but she chooses to go back through the Etheric. The men are executed after she finds the location of the mother but they did not know who paid them.

**Bethany Anne** takes Kael-ven T’chmon to the Thule stronghold in Antartica to take the Thules out of statis. Frank and Patricia have found a German scientist, April Keelson who has both medical and engineering expertise to perform the task. Their sixth successful effort was Maria Orsitsch.

Kiel is challenged by Peter Silvers to actual combat. Kiel is very confident his raw physical capabilities will easily overcome the human when the human does not have armor and weapons. Additionally on the line for Peter's fight is **Bethany Anne**'s side bet with Kael-ven T’chmon that is Kiel wins she will drop a year of Kael's servitude and if Peter wins Kael needs to help her with her strategy to fight king. Peter fights in Procilini form, a surprise to Kiel meaning during his other fights with the Guardians none of the Wechselbalg had changed. The fight is short, violent and ends up with Kiel and a number of his supporters unconscious after Kiel's trip to the ceiling and down into the crowd.

At the same event Marcus Cambridge challenges Royleen, the lead scientist on the G’laxix Sphaea to scientific combat rather than physical combat. Marcus chooses gravitic drives and Royleen picks old alien languages. Marcus uses TOM/Thales of Miletus as his second. Bethany Anne asks Kael to go double or nothing the bet and after clarification he agrees. Once the Yollins know a Kurtherian is Marcus' second they know they have lost.

#### Don't Cross This Line

In the aftermath of the awakening twelve delegates from the United States including Majestic-12's Dr. Abesemmins with orders to see if Kurtherians are involved. Barnabas realizes something is up with Abesimmins when his mind cannot be read and he asks Maria about Kurtherians.

Maria confronts Barnabas about Bethany Anne not being fully honest with her. Barnabas lets Maria know that even though the Thule have advanced technology there is nothing the Etheric Empire actually needs. The Empire is there to protect the Thule and make sure the technologies do not fall into the hands of other countries causing mass destruction. Maria realizes the only sensible course is to go the stars with Bethany Anne with their technology.

Bethany Anne is still taking care of Michael's home in downtown NYC. She had been offered seven million dollars for the forty-two-room mansion through an intermediary when those responsible for cleaning and maintaining it had shared that no one had been in the building for years. Bethany Anne had quickly fired the cleaning crew for talking and now allowed small groups of her people to visit from time to time, always staying in the front few rooms with everything else off-limits. She had never personally been to the house, preferring to not see anything that reminded her of his absence. Tabitha and the Tontos check out the home and find an old IBM laptop that they clone to take back to Bethany Anne for review. The home is still secure when he does return in Akio Revelations and is still secure when Valerie is in what is left of NYC.

The current US president hates Bethany Anne and the TQN with a passion. He continues to harass them where possible only to be slapped down. The US claimed imminent domain over our property down there, Bethanny Anne grabbed their satellites in orbit and moved them to useless orbits. When they gave it back, they got their satellites back.

One of Bethany Anne's enemies has set a bounty on her of twenty-two and a half million dollars. At a meet and greet meeting in Belgium she, Anna Elisabeth Hauser, the ex-president and John Grimes are attacked by well equipped terrorists funded by Majestic-12. They even have SAM missiles to hold off the five Black Eagles that arrive to help. John raises the rating on his Jean Dukes Specials to 6 and then to 8 as more and more terrorists flow into the room. The line is crossed when the ex-president's body guard David shots Anna Elisabeth and tries to shot BA. BA stops only long enough to give Anna Elisabeth and then goes after the terrorists. John feels Bethany Anne release fear and ramps the Specials up to 10. Between them and the Black Eagles the terrorists are wiped out. They determine David was under mind control and take his body along with the team back to QBBS Meredith.

While BA and John are fighting the terrorists on Earth another Majestic-12 funded group attacks QBBS Meredith Reynolds . The gravitic defensive shield goes up at 4 kilometers outside the base. The terrorists were launched 5 days earlier and other than one of them they are suicide bombers. Before they can even be effective all but 5 are destroyed. The five get mooned by Team BMW. Gabrielle and Bellatrix just before Lance orders the the terrorists pushed away to die in space.

The Yollins are very envious of the Jean Duke level 3 armor BA and the Bitches have. BA tells them they may get upgrades to their armor depending on how well the Yollins do. Once into the battle BA selects Kiel to be her wingman in assaulting the various level of the base. He sees first hand what BA and her team can do.

After the battle Kael-ven comes to BA with a commitment of him and all of Yollins to join her in the attack on the Yollin King.

#### Never Submit

Since the Yollin King is a four legged variety and Kael-ven is the only four legged Yollin she can practice on, he has the honor of being his sparring partner. His reaction is “Head into space, search the universe for other races, find their planet, meet them, and get your ass kicked all afternoon”.

Theodore Cleusah aka Ted contacts Tabitha from NYC asking her to help him on a case he is working on that he cannot trust to the local department. When she arrives Ted admits it is a trap, "they" took his girl friend and forced him to contact Tabitha. Mercenary Franklyn W. Sahvt leads 4 other mercenaries to capture Tabitha. After she takes out the initial set of mercenaries she realizes the trap is far more expansive and calls for support. BA brings John along and they work with Tabitha to attack the warehouse where Vic Kingston is managing the opposition with over 50 mercenaries and black ops specialists. Within seconds of the assault on his position he realizes he is outgunned and with ADAM shutting down access to the President and air support surrenders. He reveals to BA the goal was to use Tabitha to pull in TQB, forcing the president to escalate with more forces including air cover.

While the president wasn't involved in the planning, his attempt to react is blocked by ADAM and reinforced by a video call from Lance Reynolds letting the President know BA was coming to visit and any successful attempt to counterattack would be meant with extreme prejudice. BA does visit him in the DUCC and impresses on the president the next action against her people either directly or in coordination with other countries will result in massive destruction. She predicts the actions already taken by the US and China will result in what is known about WWDE. The president immediately cancels all actions and collaborations.

## Misc. SubSeries

### Frank Kurns Stories of the Unknown World

#### You Don't Touch John's Cousin

John's cousin in Texas was being threatened by her soon to be ex-husband Mark Lindell aka Timothy Spickels. Cheryl Lynn and her two children, Tina and Todd had moved out when she had documented Mark's philandering. While he exudes the appearance of a successful marketing executive ADAM uncovers Mark is diagnosed as having narcissistic issues that result in a lack of psychological awareness, difficulty feeling empathy for others, and hypersensitivity to insults real or imagined.  Mark cares nothing for the children and is upset as much by Cheryl Lynn's factual accusations as the half of his wealth he would lose if the divorce is finalized.

Mark hires 3 thugs to assault Cheryl Lynn but she fights them off and gets home just before John and Bethany Anne arrive. They set up an ambush for when the 3 thugs, at Mark's direction, come after her again. They barely survive and even if Cheryl Lynn and kids had stayed in Texas would not have been a problem.

Bethany Anne and John have a heart-to-heart with Mark inflicting terror on him as retribution for his attacks. Bethany Anne has ADAM arrange for legal force to the divorce and monitor Mark. If Mark comes after Cheryl Lynn or the kids ADAM will provide evidence of his illegal dealings to law enforcement and if they don't act to empty all of his accounts.

This is definitely a deference from Michael (from before the series) who would have killed him and Cheryl would have been collecting from Mark's estate.

An interesting potential is about Frank Kurns. Frank had notified John of the situation that triggered the events in the book. Does this mean Frank is monitoring a swath of people who are associated with key members of Bethany Anne's teams? Or was this just a specific request from John because he had never trusted Mark and John and Cheryln had been close when they were young?

### Bellatrix (book)

In the European shifter underground that Stephen dissolved, shifter Emilian plans are to remove a business rival Theodor Dimitru while he is skiing.  Emilian knows Michael is missing and has little respect for BA. But Alec fell into the trap by accident and was kidnapped instead.

Once at the sky resort she runs into **Bethany Anne**, John, Peter, Ecaterina, Eric and Ashur who are there to hunt the rogue weres. Peter can sense she has were ancestors but they are distant and they all sense her distress. Bethany Anne locates where the rouge weres are staying and Yelena insists on going with her as she continues to feel Alec’s pain as he is tortured. Bellatrix convinces her they can be trusted and she goes with them to search for Alec. They rescue Alec in time, but Bellatrix is shot so Eric rushes her to a medical pod to fix her with Yelena going along.

Once Alec and Yelena go through the medical pod, their nanocytes were upgraded, as it turns out they both had nanocytes inherited from the Wechselbalg ancestors on their mother's side of the family, though neither of them had enough to shift.

#### Challenges

Challenges the book has 2 short stories, Payback and Seed Vault. They take place before Tabitha is enhanced but after Michael was presumed killed in the nuclear blast.

##### Seed Vault

BA proposes and Ecaterina seconds building a seed vault after seeing an article about the Svalbard seed vault in Norway. Each member of her inner circle goes off to collect seeds, each with a higher priority:

* Nathan, Ecaterina and Christina go to Romania to help Alexi hunt down trappers who are after wolves.
* Stephen goes with Jennifer because they can have together time without worrying about killing or people trying to kill them.
* William goes to a monastery in Hainut, Belgium to find a secret ingredient to win the BMW best beer contest.
* Bobcat goes to the Midwest to find out about farming methods. He meets a family farmer and in conversing they grow to understand each other. The farmer promises Bobcat the seeds he wanted.

### Trials and Tribulations

#### To Hell and Back

ADAM asks BA why she doesn't resolve the issue with Hugo Mascari and the kidnapped Wechselbalg wolves. She explains it is important for her to empower her teams and trust in their ability to solve it without her.

BA has decided she is going to take a supply of shoes from her favorite designers with her when she leaves earth. The supply ends up being 3 shipping containers of shoes. Team BMW goes to Earth to eliminate any tracking devices and safely lift them to the QBS ArchAngel. In addition to the Spaniards, the Chinese also try to capture the containers. BA wonders why all her enemies want her shoes, suspect the enemies would not believe the containers are just shoes. Bobcat takes the opportunity on the mission to procure some special hops for the beer competition but when he has to show why he is late to the rendezvous site Marcus and William claim a share of the hops.

### Etheric Adventures

#### Etheric Recruit

Bethany Anne is called in to help when Jinx decides Anne Jaydon is her person and gets kicked by Anne's mother, Sheila, who does not like dogs. Ashur and Bellatrix are about to attack Sheila when Meredith notifies BA to intervene. By a quick read of Sheila's mind BA realizes Sheila has trauma from being unwillingly pulled from Earth because of her husband and she really doesn't like dogs. BA gives Anne the option of becoming emancipated. Faced with staying home and losing Jinx, Anne chooses to leave. Since Anne is only 16 BA asks Tabitha to be Anne's big sister and help Anne learn how to live independently.

By happenchance, Anne meets Christina Lowell when she is trying to stop some were teens bullying a human boy. Later she encounters Christina again in the park and discovers that she is trying to change into a Pricolici form, but can't do it. This gets Anne to thinking about it and how they go about changing, which she determines is that they need more energy, not extreme emotions. She asks Christina to come and visit her and gives her some of her own blood, not realizing the effect of mixing were and vampire blood. But the dose of blood did help Christina change forms. When Ecaterina calls Christina's tablet and Anne answers it, she is concerned so Anne tells her the truth, and Ecaterina sees and hears Christina singing "Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf". Ecaterina isn't happy and takes off for Anne's apartment but TOM realizes that there may be proglems when she gets there, so explains to **Bethany Anne** what is happening. Bethany Anne intercepts Ecaterina and they both arrive at Anne's apartment together.

Once Anne has explained the sequence of events to them both and is reassured that Christina is young enough that they probably wont be any long term effects, Ecaterina and Christina leave. Bethany Anne is intrigued by Anne's experiment and explanation for how she came up with the idea.

Bethany Anne asks Anne if she thinks that there is a lot of misinformation about the abilities created by the Kurtherian's and Anne explains her theory that most of what they think is based on assumptions that were made without any real understanding.

Anne will be paid a salary but is expected to continue going and finishing school. She has never really bought into learning to fight and once again tries to get out of it, but Tabitha catches her at it and has Peter talk with both Anne and Jinx about their training. Peter explains to them about the consequence of not being prepared if someone tries to kidnap or even kill Jinx or her.

#### Etheric Researcher

Before following up on Jean's suggestion, Anne goes to BA to show her progress, review Jean's recommendation and get feedback. BA is impressed and recommends that in addition to BMW, Anne checks with Frank Kurns for potential candidates for her team. She also recommends Anne run the candidates by Barnabas for a final review.

Bethany Anne goes to Anne's apartment to get an update on Anne's progress. The two of them try energizes 2 Rubies that are in proximity of each other resulting in an explosion that destroys Anne's apartment. BA is able to shift everyone out of the apartment before anyone is injured and brings them back safely to the corridor outside the apartment. She decides Anne needs a research facility off the QBBS Meredith Reynolds before any more research on the Rubies. Seshat identifies a mineral rich asteroid that could be moved to a reasonable distance from the MR. Creating space within the asteroid would extract enough minerals to pay for cost of the equipment needed to establish Anne's research center.

#### Etheric Explorer

Dan, a Were at Anne's school, tries to poison Jinx for Anne rejecting his offer for a date. She is about to attack him when he defends his actions as not serious because Jinx is just an animal. Anne calls in Bethany Anne so adjudicate the question. Jinx demands trial by combat, Dan agrees and shifts to attack Jinx. Jinx thoroughly beats Dan and finishes the fight with biting off 3" of his tail. If the tail doesn't grow back he'll be Stubby, if it does he'll be Tippy. Anne sentences Dan to 5 years as a Guardian recruit working under Peter which BA agrees to.

### The School of Harder Knocks

#### She is the Principle

Bethany in her Baba Yaga persona has just taken over Devon is remaking it into High Tortuga, her secret hideout/ refuge from the Empire and those who oppose her.

Janet Voight, Kirian's mother, is desperate to find a total cure for his genetic disease. While she appreciates Jennifer Ericson's clinic but the changes are incremental. She hears of a clinic that is promising a revolutionary therapy based on Empire technology. Kirian asks Jennifer to look into it which brings it to the attention of ADAM, **Bethany Anne**, and Stephen. Kirian uses his hacking skills to track down the location of clinic. When BA and Stephen arrive they find the clinic is using nanocytes that were programmed for Ixtalis to bring them to Level One as a reward for their support in the war. The thieves thieves hacked the code to remove that parameter, and in the process, they altered the functionality of the remaining code. This is not only failing to cure the patients, it is killing them.

The primary perpetrators are killed and the rest of the clinic staff have those memories of the clinic wiped. The 7 surviving patients are taken to an Empire medical facility where the damage could be reversed.

**Bethany Anne** decides Lerr'ek will be her point person to help evolve High Tortuga from a criminal dreamland to productive society. She provides him with Level 2 Pod-Doc enhancements that bring him to his peak physical condition for a Zhyn.

BA decides Lerr'ek needs to step up because both she and Stephen are going to be consumed by the transition out of the Empire. She places him in charge of the Institute of Education-Focused Extrajudicial Foundational Studies. Kirian will be his first student.

### Magic Below Paris

#### Trading to the Deeps

The Mantids have come to Earth to escape the Ooken. They believe BA will kill the Ookens and save what is left of their society. They never to her by name, just call her Death.

## References

1. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Three: Books 15-21, Never Submit, Never Surrender, Forever Defend, Might Makes Right, Ahead Full, Capture Death, Life Goes On (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 3) (p. 10). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
2. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 92). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
3. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 342). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
4. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 241). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
5. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 1846). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
6. ↑ Russell, S.R.; Anderle, Michael. Etheric Adventures Boxed Set: Books 1-3 (p. 27). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
7. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 379). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
8. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 69). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
9. ↑ Grey, Natalie ; Anderle, Michael. Trials and Tribulations: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (p. 417). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
10. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 112). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition. ,
11. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 113). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
12. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 135). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
13. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 151). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
14. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 292). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
15. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) (p. 777). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition
16. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 636). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
17. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 848). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
18. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 1152). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
19. ↑ Anderle, Michael. WE HAVE CONTACT (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 12). Chapter 20. LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
20. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 1825). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
21. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Two: Books 8-14, We Will Build, It's Hell To Choose, Release The Dogs of War, Sued For Peace, WE HAVE CONTACT, My Ride is a ... Line (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 2) (p. 1848). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
22. ↑ Anderle, Michael. Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set Three: Books 15-21, Never Submit, Never Surrender, Forever Defend, Might Makes Right, Ahead Full, Capture Death, Life Goes On (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets Book 3) (p. 26). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
23. ↑ Anderle, Michael. You Don't Touch John's Cousin (Frank Kurns Stories of the UnknownWorld Book 1) (p. 25). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.