My attention was drawn away from them when Spike came trotting out into the bay, whimpering. I had to blink as my brain processed what I was seeing. Graz was riding the little dog, grasping its ears in her hands, and seemed to be steering the mortified little thing.
“Graz! Get off of the poor thing!” I blurted.
She buzzed up to me and hid behind me as she said down to it, “Not so tough now, are you?” Then as she looked up to Max. “Nice try, but next time get a bigger beast.”
The man scooped up his mortified pup and pointed at the door, telling Graz, “Out, flying rat.”
It was so very hard not to laugh when Graz flew into my helmet and tugged on my hair as she whispered in my ear, “Can we get one of those? It's like having my own Tac-Bike.” Space me now.
I muttered as we marched back into the office, “I swear I don't know why I put up with your tiny ass.” Then to Max, I said, “I apologize for the buzzing jerk. And thank you for your help today... and the tour, it was surprisingly enlightening.”
He cocked a finger and fired as he winked. “Not a problem. It's a refreshing change of pace.”
We got out to the bike as I chastised Graz, “Would it hurt you just to be civil for like two minutes?”
She thought on it, held a finger up and said, “Yes.”
Mother fairy humper. Whatever. Time to get back to work, “Mother?”
She seemed disappointed as she said, “There are no records of any crews sent out to the vicinity of the repair. And no coms traffic in that area except the engineering corps when they placed and sealed the airlock repair dome.”
I saw a glaring problem with that, and on a hunch, I asked, “Is there any record of a dispute between the Fae Courts and any of the skin jockeys? And while you're looking, can you give me a list of all the crews assigned to this depot? The skin jockeys have to be involved if there is no record since somebody had to repair the scorched skin.”
“On it.”
Graz teased, “She doesn't ask for much does she?”
“Shut up. You terrorized that poor pup.”
She flexed a muscle in my peripheral vision and blew some glittering dust off of it while grinning at me, the unrepentant mini-jerk. Ok, so she's funny sometimes.
As we flew toward home, the Tac-Bike on autopilot, I reviewed Daniel's reports on the investigation on his side, and he had even less than us.
“Mother, play some of that antique music crap Knith likes. It gets boring when she starts digging into data and reports.” Graz asked.
I snorted when a silly tune called I Wanna Be A Cowboy by a group called Boys Don't Cry started to play.
Chapter 9 – Smooth Operator
Rory was waiting at my quarters when we arrived home. My day was looking up. Her arms were crossed and her foot was actually tapping as she stood in my main room, Graz's children swarming her hair, braiding it and putting flowers in it.
I opened my mouth but she asked, a little tersely, “What? No Commander Udriel?”
Ok, I tried not to smile at that, but failed and prompted, “Jealous?” Then I added, “How did you get into my quarters again?”
The little ones buzzed up to me and answered in unison, “We let her in!” Then they tittered over her as they went back to work.
She almost pouted, “No I'm not jealous. It just seems you're spending an awful lot of time with your ex.”
“I didn't call her. And besides, I'm courting someone.” I replied.
My cheeks quirked when she looked to almost ask who, when she realized I was talking about her. She lifted her nose regally. “And don't you forget it.”
I set my helmet down and leaned forward to rest my forehead on hers. “Wouldn't ever want to.” Then I kissed her on the nose before I trudged past. “Let me get out of my armor and we can talk.”
She looked pleased with herself as I went into my bedchamber while Graz zipped around to corral her kids and usher them into the nightstand. I stepped behind my changing screen and pulled off the armor and pulled on a civilian shirt. I needed to buy more. I've been leaving my quarters more frequently since I met Rory, and I think I liked it. Though I have been spending less time training and sparring.
I walked back into the main room, and Aurora was setting some teacups on the fold-down table in front of the used sofa. She smiled and motioned for me to sit. I glanced at the kitchen area and didn't see the teapot. How had she... just don't ask, Knith. A beautiful woman just made you tea, shut up and sit down.
I sat next to her and she furrowed her brow and looked around the space. “You know, you've had these new quarters for weeks now, you can personalize it you know. Even just some real furniture would make it feel more like a home than a barracks.”
Looking around I shrugged. It was pretty spartan, with the sofa I bought so that she would have someplace to sit other than the two fold-out chairs I owned. I guess it did look a little spartan. But after college, I moved into the academy dorms, then the Battalion barracks. They were all pre-furnished with the bare minimum to make them livable spaces. This was the first place I had ever lived that was a civilian space, even though the FABLE office footed the bill.
I pointed out to her helpfully. “I have my changing screen in my bedchamber.” It was really the only thing I owned that could be remotely considered furniture-ish.
She furrowed her brow then moved her new silverish braided hair to her other shoulder. “I've meant to ask you about that. It seems out of place for an enforcer, and it is heirloom quality.”
She sipped at her tea, the steam tracing the delicate lines of her face and curling around her perfectly sculpted brows. I shrugged and said, “I saw some pictures from old Earth, a family preparing for a picnic, and the mother putting on a robe behind one. It fascinated me, so when I moved from student housing at the Battalion Academy and into my private quarters in the barracks, I found a woodworker in Beta-B, the first time I had ever been to a B-Ring.”
“I had seen countless holos and waves of the upper rings and thought I had been prepared for the forests and all the nature that flowed in seamlessly into the towns and fields of various crops. It was almost magical to me, yet I knew what I was seeing was nothing compared with the paradises the A-Rings were.”
Sipping the tea and raising a brow at it, it was a rich and soothing blend that I wasn't familiar with, I wondered where she had gotten it since it wasn't anything I had in my kitchen. I took a second sip then continued, “I located the woodworker, an Elf named J'wald, and showed him what I was looking for. He explained it was called a changing screen or vanity screen from old Earth. He had a couple in his workshop to show me. The workmanship of the hand-carved wood was exquisite and they had what he said was rice paper panels.”
Lost in the memory I cocked my head and looked off into the past. “I remember almost choking when J'wald shared the price. He quickly assured me that he could recommend a shop or two down-ring that could fabricate one out of aluminum or plastic for me. He wasn't mean about it, like some of the up-ringers are to people like me, he was trying to be genuinely helpful.”
She smiled and placed a hand on mine, the heat and strength of it filling me with a calm I rarely had inside. “I asked about one less ornate, that I preferred something crafted by hand, than some cold computer cut and constructed thing. And wood... wood is so rare down-ring, it has a warmth that man-made materials don't possess.”
I shrugged as she laid her head on my shoulder. “So he asked what my budget was, I told him the extent of my bank balance, five years of savings and it still amounted to not even half the price of one of his screens. I remember what the Elf told me as he studied me. He had said that humans were always in such a hurry, probably because of our short lives, and rarely took the time to appreciate something an artisan pours their soul into. That it was refreshing to hear me wanting that over what was readily within my means elsewhere.”
I noticed that Graz and her family had come ou
t at some point and were all lining the fold-out table as I went on. “J'wald, looked at the picture again and told me to come back in a week, then shooed me out of his shop. I didn't know what he was doing since I knew I couldn't afford his work.”
She sat up to sip her tea before snuggling back into me, her lavender eyes peering up at me. I stroked her hair which felt like spun silk in my fingers as I smiled and shared, “I returned to his shop a week later. Then a man went into the back and brought out a screen that took my breath away. The others he had paled in comparison.”
I looked around at my audience who seemed enthralled by such a simple tale. “He told me to make sure to recommend his services to anyone in need of custom woodworking and asked if I needed help getting it down-ring, that he could have it shipped by courier. I had sputtered out something lame like I couldn't afford it, especially one so exquisite. And do you know what he told me? I carry it with me even today.”
The Sprites all leaned in, little Twinkle zipped over to sit on Rory's hand to look up at me with wide eyes. “What did he say?”
The memory was one I held almost as a mantra inside me. “He said that it was the wish of any artisan for their work to be owned by someone who truly appreciates it, not for its value, but for the joy it gives them seeing the art for what it truly is, an extension of the artist's soul.”
“Then he said simply, that money didn't matter. And that I could reimburse him by being the best version of myself in my short-lived existence before my flame burned out. And to 'Do for others what they cannot do for themselves, show kindness to those who may not be afforded it else wise. Lend aid when others cannot, and consider me paid in full.'”
Again I found myself shrugging. “So that's what I do. And that changing screen is my prized possession, if you look at the vines carved on it, they form my name in old elvish runes.” I waved a hand around. “I'm not used to having so much space, and the Battalion provided everything I needed, including furniture. It is just disconcerting knowing this space is mine to do with what I want. I just don't know who I am yet to be able to fill it.”
We all sat in silence for a minute, until Graz and her family quietly buzzed up into the cupboards in the kitchen to eat, giving Rory and me a bit of privacy. She nodded at me then sat up. “When all this nasty business about the fire is over, let's go out looking for furniture that fits you. We can make your quarters a home.”
I nodded. “I'd like that. I guess I just hadn't noticed how empty, cold and impersonal the place was.” I looked away from her, my eyes widening in sudden alarm. “Hey you dust sifting gatecrashers, keep out of the sugared cereal, the last time you were bouncing off the walls all night and I didn't get a minute of sleep.” Nobody answered. I groaned.
Rory chuckled. “Come on, Knith, they're adorable, and you're sweet to take them in.”
I mock grumped, “Like I had any choice.” Truth be told, I actually liked having Graz's family there. It made the place feel, I don't know, not so empty maybe?
Then I smirked and shared the story of Graz conquering a poor pup and riding it like a horse. It had her tittering, eyes watering, and I felt I had accomplished something great by making her laugh. I took the opportunity to kiss her and she moaned into it, returning it with heat.
Then like an idiot, I ruined the moment after we broke it off for some air. “Were you able to find your mother?”
Like a switch was flipped, all the heat in her eyes frosted over. “Did I find her?” Space me naked. I mentally pounded my head on the table and awarded myself the bonehead trophy.
I may be dense in some ways, but I caught her answering the question with another question since she would have only been able to tell the truth. That told me what I needed to know without implicating her in harboring a fugitive. I said, “Good. I'm making progress. I'm just one motive and a little physical evidence away from figuring this whole mess out. Then she can go home.”
Trying to make up for bringing work into an intimate moment, I offered, “Dinner? I can whip something up.”
This put a playful smirk on her lips, “I'll pass. I know what you have in your cupboards We'll have to add grocery shopping to our list of things to do about your place.”
Then she got serious and asked, “What's going to happen to Ember and Flame when all of this is over? Are they going to... to...”
I placed a hand on her arm. “I haven't included any mention of Firewyrms in my case notes, neither has Daniel. It was sort of implied by the Summer Lady that we should keep it quiet. Since only she, Graz, and me had actually seen Ember. And the President... well for as badass as I used to think she was, she'd sell her own children to the Queens if they asked, so I'm sure there's going to be some sort of cover-up.”
She snorted. “Yes, President Yang is a completely different woman around mother and Titania, isn't she?”
“The word besotted comes to mind.”
She nodded and supplied, “I'd almost think they had glamoured her if it weren't for the fact I can't feel any magic emanating from her except her own.”
I sat up straighter. “Wait, what? President Yang has her own magic?”
Rory chuckled at my reaction. “Of course silly, she's half-Elf, and Elves are magic. All elves can manifest magic to some extent, but most are limited to embedding it into runes or objects. The most powerful Elf is only as powerful as the youngest of the Fae.”
Oh.
I shook my head then I shared, “I knew that Elves were 'born of magic' but I never knew what that meant. And I guess I should have put two and two together since elvish runes are everywhere, and they do help in the Magi-Tech industry. I've never really thought much of it since magic is such a part of life here on the world, and when you have none of your own, you never really look very deep into it.”
She nodded, that slight smirk I loved to see on her lips. “And that's how most magical beings like it.”
I wiggled my fingers. “Ooo... So mysterious.”
She crinkled her nose.
Graz groaned from the kitchen. “Mab's tits, I'm getting cavities from way over here just watching you two,” Then she whistled and her family all buzzed up to her and they left a streak of light and dust in their wake as they headed off to bed.
I grinned at our sudden privacy and her sitting so close, her scent enveloping me was driving my libido like a freight carrier. I leaned in just to find her finger on my lips, frosted steam drifted up making miniature snowflakes where Titania's mark interacted with Aurora's own icy magic. She shook her head coyly and said, “You missed your chance when you brought my mother up in an intimate moment, lady. Now you're going to have to work for it.”
She stood, and smoothed her gown, looking supremely pleased with herself. She sauntered to the door as I sputtered, trying to find words to convince her to stay. The cold water of disappointment was thrown on my arousal as she snickered at the look on my face as I joined her at the door.
Rory brushed my cheek with the back of her hand and said, “See you tomorrow? Dinner? Hopefully, you'll have the case closed by then.”
I nodded and she opened the door and leaned in to give me the lightest of kisses, our lips barely brushing, the fire and ice sizzling gently.
Then she was gone, and I was left there, holding the door, eyes blinking and lips parted in want. By the gods, I needed a cold shower or I was going to melt from the heat inside me. A moment later I was chuckling when her muffled voice called through the door, “And stop calling Commander Udriel.”
Mother took the opportunity to show that privacy was just an abstract concept on a living ship like her. Smooth Operator by an artist named Sade started to play in the space. I muttered to the nearest camera, “Nice.”
“Just a little mood music for you, Knith.”
“Yuck it up, Mother, you should be a comedian.”
She bantered right back. “With moves like that, I have a better chance at courting the princess.”
I
'd have argued the point, but Mother hadn't been the one to bring up Mab when things were starting to heat up.
I trudged back into my bedchamber, two things on my mind. Cold shower and sleep. I just ignored the slow clapping coming from the nightstand. Mab's tits, just kill me now.
Chapter 10 – Ballroom Blitz
The next morning, I was feeling surprisingly rested. And was streaming the facts of the case on my wrist console as I ate breakfast. It was like I was looking at it with new eyes and had Mother feeding more information on all the aspects of the case.
I knew what my next move was, and Mother and Aurora were going to hate it. I cringed when I asked, “Mother, I'm going to need access to a vehicle with EVA capability.”
She warned, “Knith...”
I shook my head, “I'd just go out the airlock there if it weren't damaged, and I've only got thirty minutes of air in my armor.”
“Knith...”
I grinned at the ceiling camera as I patted the bulkhead lovingly, “Come on, Mother, I'll get you a World's Best Ship coffee mug for your desk.”
She harrumphed, not having a desk nor being able to drink coffee. But the snarky tone she used when she said, “Requesting a vessel now,” had me blurting, “No! You didn't.”
She chuckled, “Commander Udriel was most amused at the request and will make herself available at eleven hundred hours, ship time. Where shall I have her pick you up?”
I thought about it then asked instead, following my hunch, “Not sure yet, depends on where the investigation takes us. Did you find anything in your data dive to show any animosity between the skin jockeys and the Fae Courts?”
She hmmed, sounding all too human, and said, “There's been a few cases of them butting heads, but it is the usual volatility when it comes to the External Maintenance Crew and their dealings with just about anyone with authority. There's only one thing I flagged for you that could go toward motive.”
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