by Viola Grace
Rejection was the worst.
"My daughter Alsa wants to be in the guard when she grows up. It gives Tiergar white hair or the Azon equivalent." Kyra smiled.
"I can imagine. My parents pushed me into the guard, but I am enjoying it so far. Though, the constant reminder that I am risking my life is beginning to get tiresome." She smiled and pushed her food around a little before hazarding another bite.
The flavours were unfamiliar and she was worried about how her stomach would receive them.
Multi leaned over and whispered. "Try the bread, then some meat, then the orange vegetable. That should work."
"Don't you like Azon food?" Tiergar was concerned.
"I have never had it before. This week has been full of new things and I suppose I am reaching my quota." She tried Multi's suggestion and was relieved when the flavours blended into something she could tolerate.
"Understandable. I feel the same when I travel, which is why I have been only too happy to leave that to other, unencumbered, dignitaries." He grunted as Kyra elbowed him in the side. "I mean, men who are not as blessed by the stars as I have been."
His wife smiled and sipped her drink. "Nice recovery."
"Thank you. Years with you has taught me that swift words or swift actions have to be taken often and frequently." He gripped his wife by the neck and pulled her in for a kiss.
Kyra's hand on his wrist tightened for a moment before she relaxed.
Gravity watched them, amazed that they still showed passion after years of being together. Her parents still showed affection but nothing on this scale.
"Pardon that. The Azon believe in showing whatever emotion is called for. With Kyra at the table, I am frequently moved to display." Tiergar smiled and flashed his sharp and pointed teeth.
"What about you two? I have heard that most of the Guardsmen are paired due to compatibility."
Multi sprayed some water to the side. "It has not come up yet. We will tackle it when it is time."
Tiergar and Kyra shared a look. Kyra blushed. "I apologize, I don't have much tact."
"It's fine. We just have not discussed any of that sort of thing and my people require the intervention of a matchmaker." Dra smiled and pushed the vegetables around her plate, picking out the orange ones. "I have already put in a request to see the Sector Guard matchmaker, so for better or worse, I should know soon enough."
"A sensible approach, much better than being tossed into a cage with a rutting Azon." Kyra smiled and winked.
"That sounds horrid."
"And yet it is a story that our four little ones can't get enough of. How Mommy and Daddy met." Kyra's grin wouldn't fade.
"It was nice to see someone pleased with the way life had turned out. Back home, many couples resented each other after a few years. It seems like you two are finding new adventures together."
Tiergar lifted his wife's hand to his lips, "Every day."
The conversation turned to the summit and the other races that were attending. With good wishes for the night and a time to report for duty, Multi and Gravity left arm in arm, taking lifts and moving walks to get them to their rooms.
"That was a nice evening out. It did turn a bit tactical at the end though." Gravity tried to keep the tone light.
"It is an occupational hazard in the guard. We tend to focus on the matter at hand. Mind you, when I am back on Teklan, I enjoy helping Harusk build his home for Mayden. According to his traditions, they are not officially wed until he creates a home for her."
"That's a good hobby. I used to weave, but since my talent got attention, I haven't had a chance."
They moved through the halls, talking in low tones. He held their door open for her and followed her inside.
She had to know. If there could be anything between them, she had to know. As they passed the bed, she hopped up and leaned down to kiss Multi.
She was clumsy and her first attempt was awkward, but it told her what she needed to know. The press of his body against hers added to the intimacy of a kiss, sent her pulse pounding.
"Thank you. I needed to know if there was a future possible for us." She leaned back and bounced on the bed, leaving him standing, stupefied by her actions.
She flipped back the covers, crawled under them and peeled off her uniform without saying another word.
Drahali was amused when he stood in front of her and dropped to his knees.
When his frowning face blurted out one word, she knew the feeling was mutual. "Well?"
"I will tell you after I have spoken with Commander."
She rolled over and was quite surprised when he rolled her back. "Now."
He pressed a kiss to her lips that spoke of loneliness and desperation. She raised her hand to his cheek and he gentled his touch. With the covers and his uniform separating them, she wove her hand through his hair and responded to every touch her gave her, in kind.
When Remar lifted his head, his eyes shining, she smiled. "Answer enough?"
"It will do for now." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I am glad to know I can make you glow like that though. Phosphorescence is a nice indicator of mood."
She chuckled. "Well, unlike you, I need some sleep. It has been in short supply lately, so if I can indulge myself, we can torment each other tomorrow."
He laughed and levered himself away. "Deal. But don't be surprised if one of me holds you in your sleep. I can't resist."
She sighed and snuggled under the covers. "Whatever gets you through the quiet hours of the night, Multi. Just stay above the covers."
He chortled and one of his bodies curled around her while another went to work on the data unit. "Get your rest, tomorrow you face your first day as an active Guardsman."
She smiled as a kiss pressed against her temple, the room filled with a soft glow that came from under her skin as she closed her eyes to drift off until it was time to go to work.
Chapter Nine
Sentry work was boring, but the moment that the summit broke for meals or breaks, Gravity touched the unit on the marble table and created data crystals that weighed over a hundred kilos each. Anyone trying to steal them at that point would have crystals that would tear their way through any clothing.
Each time she touched them, she counted them and memorized their appearance. If anyone of the nine delegates tried to steal any of the conversations, she would know about it.
"Time for our food. We will eat in the outer room." Multi escorted her into the foyer in front of the meeting room and they took the trays provided by the Azon staff member.
"Councillor Tiergar was very specific." He bowed and made sure that Gravity had the tray meant for her.
She laughed when she uncovered familiar foods. "I thank you for the attention to detail."
He bowed again and backed away.
Eorghani cooking may not be the most flavourful in the Alliance, but it was a nice change of pace from the guesswork of her last few meals.
She was finishing her food and reaching for her water when a crash from the conference room sent Gravity and Multi to their feet.
The doors to the conference room swung open and Multi split into six, sweeping the room with arms extended. There was nothing out of place except the open lid to the crystal storage. When body number four stumbled, five and six lunged to pick up the invisible creature.
"I have an idea." Gravity grabbed one of the spare chairs from the corner and five and six pushed the creature into the chair. She reached out to touch the invisible creature and as her fingers encountered scales, nubs and warm dry flesh, she shuddered. "You can let it go. It can't get out of the chair."
Multi sent one of his bodies into the hall. Six informed her, "I am asking for a few things from the kitchen that will make finding the identity of this creature easier."
Gravity nodded and walked to the data crystal set. One was out of position, but it seemed to be the same one that had been there before. "I can't verify that this is the right crystal. Can you search
it?"
"Yes, but you will owe me one."
Multi came back in through the door with some small shakers. "Orfir are sensitive to salt. It disrupts their ability to keep the invisibility. If this is what I think it is, this should work."
He snapped into two bodies and one shook the salt while the other watched. A crackling hiss came from the creature in the chair and as the salt fell, a being out of Gravity's nightmares took shape.
Nubby skin, fangs and a completely nude body with the exception of a belt made of the same skin as the rest of its body, studded with small pouches. Steeling herself, she reached out and removed the belt. A quick search revealed a blank set of crystals. The count was complete. The crystals had not been switched.
Gravity sighed in relief. "He didn't have time to switch them."
Multi grinned. "Good. I will call security and have them take him away."
His other body wandered into the hall and made the call. The room they were in was proofed against transmissions and telepathic eavesdropping. Multi had an additional skill that she hadn't known of. He was a telepathic static generator. Not a skill she had imagined would go with a man who split into pieces.
The creature in the chair tried squirming, but he was just too heavy. "Mine. It is mine."
She realized that he was talking about his belt. "I will let them take you with it. Just a moment, though."
She left the room, opened a storage area in the foyer and dumped the contents of the belt into nine different compartments. She put a seal on it that would take a crowbar to break and returned.
Six different secret compartments were emptied one by one also. Grav smiled as it seemed a side effect of her talent to detect what things should weigh. When she thought she had gotten it all, she returned to the summit room.
The captive was almost catatonic. His eyes were rolling in his head and froth was appearing at the corners of his mouth. "Here is your belt."
She dropped it on his lap and his eyes widened and he glared at her. "Contents were mine."
"Contents will be returned to you after they have been determined not to be a threat." She smiled and it was not a pleasant smile.
The security officers came cautiously into the room and Multi split into eight to keep the men from approaching the data storage.
One of the officers looked frustrated, but he grabbed for the belt before reaching for the spy. Other officers didn't have that problem. They grabbed the spy and started tugging before Gravity remembered to release him. Suddenly three of them shot backward, but they quickly restrained the spy and marched him out of the room.
The officer with the belt looked as if he wanted to say something, but his companions shoved him back out the door.
Multi sent one of his bodies to stand in the doorway and he turned to Gravity. "Can you do a sweep for bugs?"
She nodded. This had been covered in her briefing on the flight in. Between sessions and before sessions, she was to check for any and all protrusions on the tables, chairs and any fixtures.
There was one bug near where the officers had been standing. She crushed it in her palm. Two others she found under the spy's chair. She crushed those as well.
The systematic cleaning continued with three more devices placed under the delegate's chairs. Gravity was shaking her head as she exited the room with a handful of destroyed tech just in time to watch the councillors come back.
Multi stood beside her as she discarded the listening devices with one of his incarnations guarding the door. "Battle stations, Grav. Prepared to be bored."
Three gruelling days, nineteen bugs, two infiltrators and one attempt on Tiergar's life that ended in a very violent death when Kyra grabbed the assassin's weapon. They had been meeting for tea after the summit and the Terran had leapt to her feet to meet the attacker head on.
Grav wanted to sign up for hand-to-hand combat training in that moment. All she was able to do was create a perimeter until the officers of the city showed.
Anyone who tried to enter the scene quickly found themselves on the ceiling. She had learned that trick on day two of the assignment when one of the councillors grabbed her backside.
He had been on the ceiling for nearly an hour when Multi had returned and talked her into letting the man down.
"Come on, Gravity, our work here is done. Now we go back to base." Multi put his arm around her waist as he had been doing during their down time.
"Fine. What kind of accommodations will I be treated to?" Drahali was getting the hang of this. It was going from place to place with only one constant in her life, Remar.
"There are nice houses with a link to the supply station, but we take our meals in the base for the most part." He was steering her onto the walk that would take them back to the shuttle bay.
The officer that planted the bugs stepped in front of them and he had a weapon in his hand. "Do you know how much I was going to get if I got that information?"
Multi tried to push her aside, but she increased her density and glared down the officer. "I don't care. You agreed to uphold the law when you put on that uniform and I didn't mention to anyone how you planted the listening devices. If you attempt to execute us, there will be another strike against you."
He snarled and raised his weapon. Gravity started to move toward him and the crowds scattered. She kept his attention while Multi split into twenty men at her back. The first two strikes on her uniform slowed her, but as he continued to fire with the energy weapon, she surged forward into the blasts. Before he could take aim at Multi, she touched his weapon and his hand, and he struck the floor. He lay there, twitching, while she slowly crushed his weapon and the spare on his belt.
The moment they reached the end of the sliding walkway, Multi got her to release the officer who was now so heavy he could barely breathe.
They handed him over to the shuttle bay officers, Alliance representatives who took peacekeeping seriously.
Multi spoke to their captain. "Take a look at the walkway footage. It will be enough to press attempted murder charges until we can send you the footage from our suits."
"Thank you, Guardsman. It is nice to know that you can do more than babysit the councillors." The captain shook Multi's hand and the officer was cuffed and escorted to a holding cell.
Gravity was still edgy. While everything seemed wrapped up, she wanted to pursue that officer to find out whom he was working for. To leave now seemed wrong somehow.
Multi came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist again. This time, two of him walked in front of them, two behind and one on her open side.
She was surrounded by a sea of the same male. It was strange but had the power to make her smile.
Tucked into the shuttle and back in her navigator station, she fidgeted while Multi ran a scan that he hadn't run before. "We are clean. No new tech has been added or removed."
"Will you let me run my own scan?"
"Certainly, we are not on a clock."
Grav sat quietly and let that peculiar sense run across the ship. "There is something in the exhaust port. The weight of the back of the ship is off."
Multi nodded and sent one of his bodies out to check. It came back, shaking its head. "You were right. Heavy explosive devices in the ass end. Good catch."
She raised a hand and continued her sweep. "The rest of the ship weighs what it is supposed to. We can go now."
"You are going to tell me how you do that one day." Multi re-joined himself and started the pre-flight checks.
"A lady needs her secrets." She snorted and gripped the arms of the navigator's seat as they rolled out of the hangar and into daylight.
She felt lighter than she had in years as they lifted off the surface and headed home. It was strange to think of Teklan as home considering she had never even slept there, but it was Remar's home and he was her partner. Where he was at home, she was at home.
Chapter Ten
Her palms were sweating as Teklan came into view. She was flyi
ng as fast as the ship would allow without going into jump, but it was still not fast enough for her. "This is Gravity requesting a lot of clearance on the Teklan tarmac."
Even having been warned that she was coming in hot, the com officer sounded nervous. "Gravity, I didn't know you could fly."
"I can't. This is a horrible dream that Multi will let me wake from any minute now."
The com officer tried to reassure her. "Reset is standing by. Has he really been poisoned?"
Grav fought tears. "They were trying to get me. They poisoned the Eorghani tea that Multi had on the shuttle for me. They had no idea I was going to try and learn foods one culture at a time."
"Reset will meet you on the tarmac. She will have him reset to perfect health in no time."
"If we don't die in a fiery shuttle crash before then. Okay, here goes. Entering the atmosphere."
Grav was running through the instructions she had been given, holding the controls in her hands and praying that she could walk herself through it. Multi was strapped to the bunk and trying not to distract her. Under Reset's instructions, she had given him the sedatives from the kit, but being alone in a shuttle was freaking her out.
She boomed through the atmospheric layers, the ship shuddered under her hands. Grav turned the nose to aim it at the base and began to decelerate.
"Keep it straight, not too slow or you will drop out of the sky." Commander Brodin was on the com. "Stay calm, this is under control and Multi will be fine. I swear it."
"Excellent. I will just let you take the controls and you can do this."
"I would if I could. Midnight is going to be shadowing you immediately. Let me know when you--"
"There is a dragon on the roof."
"Oh, good, he made it. Now, he will help you decelerate and you can go as slow as you like, he will steer you in."
Grav started landing gear and braking procedures. "Fabulous, just make sure he doesn't let go."
"You are doing fairly well on your own for someone who has never flown before."
"I remembered everything the com officer told me, plus everything Reset told me when she was walking me through the medical emergency."
