by Viola Grace
“The building seems new. How long has it been open?”
The dining room was half-full and the lazy conversations spoke to a lack of crowding. It was refreshing after the cramped commissary on Resicor under the governing buildings.
Yinfa smiled, “I believe it is three years now. There has been some rotation in staff as things settle, but, in general, we are a happily slow-growing facility.”
Vesa smiled as well. “Iyanna and I have hopes of starting a family here, but we need to decide which of us gets to be pregnant, and, of course, we have to choose a willing donor.”
“Of course. Would you go with your own species or settle for one that is compatible?”
“I think we would find a worthy man with good instincts and work from there.” Vesa had a glow in her eyes.
Ainora knew that look. Vesa was going to make her decision soon.
Yinfa wrinkled her nose, and it did split when she did so. “I can’t imagine having a little one. Well, not until I am at least seventy. I am just getting the hang of my body without handing it over to another creature for two years.”
Ainora blinked at the amount of information in that statement. Yinfa’s people lived long lives, had long gestation and had prolonged adolescence. It was fascinating what one outburst could tell her.
She began to listen to Yinfa and Vesa, but she focused on every detail of their conversation until Vesa looked at her and laughed.
“You are analyzing our speech. It is amazing; your aura turns purple with flashes of blue that matches your hair.”
“And you are analyzing my analysis. I can see it in your posture.” She laughed and then yawned.
Her body began to crash; it wanted to sleep and the clock was ticking.
“I think I need to get to bed. I have left it a little too long. Please excuse me.” She rose to her feet and fought to stay up.
Yinfa was at her side in a moment, putting her arm around her shoulders and supporting her.
“Come on, Master Lenz. Let’s get you some rest in that nice, comfy room.”
“I am very sorry about this. It hasn’t happened since I was a teen.”
“You have used your talent fairly constantly today. You are entitled to exhaustion. Stamina will come later.”
A new voice entered the conversation. “I will take her. Come on, Ainora.”
Hands lifted her and she smelled pine. Her lids were too heavy, but she rested her head on his shoulder. “Hello, Lyon. You seem to be doing better. I thought you would be sleeping by now.”
“I was on my way to my quarters when I saw you crushing your guide.”
Yinfa’s voice was indignant. “I can easily hold her up.”
“She is staying a few doors down from me. This is not a problem.” He shifted her against his chest.
She patted his body with one hand. “You were hurt.”
“I was, and I am very tired so no fussing. They gave me an adrenaline shot so I could get to my own room, but I won’t be too far behind you heading into sleepy land.”
Ainora was rapidly losing her grip on being awake. She felt Yinfa grab her hand and open her bedroom door with it. As a group, they headed inside and Yinfa tried to scatter Lyon.
“Master Tacks, please leave now.”
Ainora heard him thud into her wall.
“I am sorry, but I think I am going to have to rest here. I will leave when I wake.”
Yinfa sighed, and Ainora felt Lyon fall on her bed. She didn’t care; she was gone.
Ainora sat bolt upright when her body had shaken off the fatigue. She looked around, and the dim light of her windows showed the broad bulk of Lyon in her bed, fully clothed. She checked herself, and aside from the robe being removed, she was still dressed.
Sighing with relief, she headed to the lav and took a quick shower, only remembering her guest after she had put the bodysuit into the cleaner. Ainora used the dryer and wrapped herself in a length of towel before sneaking out of the lav and heading for her wardrobe.
She groped around and found another suit, tiptoeing with it back into the lav. It took some contortions, but she got the suit on and got her hair up in its normal loose bun high on her head. Feeling armed for whatever happened next, she crept out of the lav and went back to bed. She hated going to bed dirty.
Lyon rolled toward her, and she stifled a squeak when he put one of his deadly arms around her and pulled her back against him. She lay perfectly still while he settled his body to hers. When he resumed his even breathing, she relaxed and tried to get used to the feeling of someone holding her.
It took her the better part of an hour, but eventually, she felt sleep claim her again.
When he left the bed, she woke immediately. The chill against her back and waist was surprising. Ainora got up and went to her dispenser, calling for two cups of tea. Tea seemed to be the default beverage of the Alliance and it tasted all right, so Ainora decided to get used to the blend.
She sat at her small table and sipped at the tea, debating whether or not she was up to attacking breakfast.
Lyon came out looking toward the bed. He blinked and refocused on her when she cleared her throat. She lifted his cup of tea with two hands and he smiled.
“Good morning, Ainora.”
“Good morning, Lyon. Take your tea.”
He stepped forward and took his tea with two hands. “Thank you.”
He sat on the chair opposite her, and she was amazed that it could hold his weight.
He sipped at his tea and he gradually became more alert. “I will be able to return to my quarters after this.”
“Good. I have an appointment at the Guard base today. I wouldn’t want to cut into your beauty sleep.” She winked and sipped at her tea.
He gave her a narrow-eyed look. “Do you often fall over like that?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I have been using my talent more than usual. I had a flashback to when I was a teen. It used to drain me then, too.”
“Are you recovered?”
“Yes, it is just a muscle that I haven’t stretched in a decade. I will have to work to raise my stamina.” She didn’t mention that that event would probably happen today. She had a funny feeling about meeting with a woman who could change matter.
As they parted ways, he took her hand and kissed it again before disappearing out her door. She stared at the appendage when he couldn’t see her. Her skin tingled and her senses were trying to remember that soft warmth.
She went to the dispenser and dialled a simple breakfast, sitting with a data pad and catching up on news of Morganti while eating.
When Yinfa knocked, she was ready to go and they walked outside and stepped into a skimmer. Yinfa flew them across the empty, dusty plain and Ainora asked, “Can I learn to fly this?”
Yinfa smiled. “Of course. I can teach you or one of the other acolytes can.”
“I can really learn how to fly myself?” It was a freedom she had never imagined.
“Of course. You can learn whatever you wish. That is the beauty of the Citadel. It is a private school first and foremost, using its graduates to earn its way. We work for it and it works for us.”
“I am beginning to like the idea of working for the Citadel, but don’t tell anyone I said that.”
Yinfa laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”
They landed on the tarmac of the Guard base and Ainora’s day began.
Chapter Seven
Fixer was a pale woman with eyes that sparkled and her long, dark rainbow hair filled Ainora with envy.
“Good morning, Master Analyst Lenz. I am Mala or Fixer if you prefer. I will probably end up calling you Lenz, so feel free to call me what you like. Yinfa, good to see you again.”
“Good to see you as well, Fixer. Oh, here is that toy that the Master Analyst Lenz found.”
Fixer sighed and smiled. She waved the cuddly toy at Ainora. “Thank you for this. His sister made him a replacement, but he knows that it isn’t the real one.”
Fixer lifted a block of wood and transformed it into a copy of the stuffy. “Like this. Radin would still know the difference.”
“Where did the first toy come from?”
Fixer turned the toy back into wood. “He was a present on his second birthday from his grandmother. She works at the Citadel training folk with a combination of etiquette and espionage.”
Ainora grinned. “I might have to take that class.”
“It is invitation only, but I am sure that Equilar can be persuaded.” Fixer rubbed her hands together. “Now, I am going to test your endurance by asking you to help out on a few things. As a member of the Citadel, you will be compensated for your efforts and any alterations you make to an existing machine. We are on the fine edge of discovery here. Many of the machines that started in this room are spreading around the stations of the Alliance and are coming into common usage.”
Fixer walked with her to the doorway of a separate workshop. “These are all designed with a purpose, but they are falling a little flat. I was hoping for some kind of diagnostic. Since they have never existed before, it is hard to get the baseline that I need. I was hoping that you could help.”
Ainora shrugged. “I will do what I can. Show me the first patient.”
Fixer led her to a unit designed to heal broken bones and reinforce weak ones. “It can heal minor fractures, but it can’t laminate the bones the way I intended.”
“Let me take a look.”
Fixer showed her a bone sample taken from the kitchens, and she spread her attention between the displays and the bone. The crack in the bone healed, but when the reinforcement protocol kicked in, the bone shattered.
Ainora flinched and leaned back. “I can see that you have a problem.”
They brainstormed and Ainora came up with tweak after tweak to refine the healing portion of the mechanism. She had a few ideas on how to work the reinforcement of the bone, and by the time they had gone over all the possibilities and had lunch, Fixer was Mala and Ainora was Ainy. There was no place for formality when you were lying on your back under a control panel with a light emitter wedged in your cleavage and the woman beside you was doing the same.
The kids came by to meet their mom’s new playmate. Radin squealed when his toy was returned to him. He was a chubby toddler with deep grey skin and his mother’s hair. His sisters were light and dark skinned, respectively, and they kept a close eye on him as he ran around the workshop. A nanny watched them all, and when Radin moved too close to something that could fall on him, the nanny was there in a blur of movement.
Mala handed Ainora a cup of tea and said, “Chahlok has been a welcome addition to our family. I would never be able to manage the kids without him and remain on active duty.”
“Super speed is necessary to take care of your children?”
Just as she said it, one of the girls disappeared and reappeared next to her mother. Mala grinned and stroked her daughter’s hair. “It helps.”
Chahlok grinned and kept a watchful eye on his charges as they ran out toward the tarmac. “I will take them out for their exercise. Junior is joining us, so it should be a fun afternoon.”
A small creature holding the hand of a much larger adult came into the open doorway. As one, Mala’s children squealed and ran toward the little person. Chahlok led the way out of the building with his short herd moving ahead of him. He had a pack on his back and water bottles lined up in an exterior pouch.
Mala grinned as the adult that had brought the small child came in. “Hello, Kale.”
“Mala. A new recruit for the base?” The man had strange eyes. Two colours were clearly visible.
“No. Ainora is a diagnostic specialist with the Citadel. She is helping me with the bone regenerator.”
The man extended his hand. “Ainora, I am pleased to meet you. I am Kale-Gant, the Avatar of Morganti.”
She put her hand in his and felt a wave of power run up her arm. “I am pleased to meet you. What is an Avatar?”
Kale blinked. “The ground beneath your feet is a world, and within the skin of that world is an active mind. Morganti is a living world, a living sentient world. I am the voice for the world. A portion of his mind resides in mine.”
She leaned back. “What?”
Mala smiled. “One in fifty inhabited worlds is a sentient world. In order to speak with those who have grown on its surface, the planet takes a host or an Avatar. When that Avatar communicates with others, they are speaking for the world.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
Kale-Gant smiled. “More than you would think.”
“And was that your child?”
“Mine and Carella’s. She is on assignment right now. Her call sign is Starbreaker.” His smile showed his pride.
Mala chuckled. “My kids love playing with Junior. They keep trying to influence it to choose their sex.”
Kale held up his hand before Ainora could ask. “My people choose their gender after they have reached an appropriate age. When Junior is ready to choose, it will be the right time.”
“Ainy, what would you recommend as a bracing substance for the bones?”
Ainora looked at Mala, all business again. “You need something that is flexible at a range of body temperatures and that does not contract with heat or cold. Where is Yinfa?”
Mala smiled. “She went to the commissary to get second lunch. I get a little peckish.”
Ainora nodded. “Do you have a list of possible bio-neutral substances that could be used inside a person as an implant?”
Mala handed her a data pad, and Ainora did her homework.
Two hours later, she had found six possible substances and Mala was working through every one.
Ainora watched and analyzed the result. She only swayed a little with fatigue. Kale had left them after a few minutes to take advantage of some rare alone time. Ainora didn’t ask what he was doing as he was never really alone, but she imagined it had something to do with running a planet.
“How many folks are here at the Guard base?” Ainora perched on a stool and watched Mala work by creating tiny shifts to the existing equipment.
“At any time, there are up to ten pairs of Guards. A few couples are stationed here permanently, like myself and Shade, Relay and Effin, Seer and Order, Morph and Thinker, and Fury and Beast. Commander and Pilot come and go, but they call Morganti home for now. The others are settled here until another facility makes more sense for them. Morganti tends to work on the interspecies events that take place on the surface.”
“Wow. All couples?”
Mala chuckled and ran the grafting portion of the program. “When we start, we spend a lot of time in shuttles. Being a couple makes the trips more and less stressful at the same time. We have a partner built in and it makes us more aware of the risks we take, as well as more willing to work to the edge of our abilities to ratify the situation. It is a complicated dynamic but less damaging than having fleeting relationships that disconnect and reconnect over time. Those cause more stress in a team.”
Ainora could see the point. She couldn’t imagine being in a ship with any of her ex-boyfriends knowing that they were sleeping with someone else.
Mala watched the filaments creeping along the bone via the display. The filament extrusion was better, but Ainora suddenly remembered what she needed for the bones.
She went into the main workshop and dug around until she found a length of rope. She returned to Mala and watched as Mala worked at breaking the bone. It was solid but that led to another problem.
Ainora smiled and held up the rope. “This is the weave I couldn’t describe. According to my high school biology, you need your bones to create new blood cells. The bones are porous and need room to get the new cells into the bloodstream.” She pressed on the rope and exposed the weave. “This shape might work for you.”
Mala smiled. “I will have to run the final past Effin, but this looks good. The ex
trusion has coated the bone, but it has made it rigid. You are right; it won’t be practical. The healing unit is ready for dispersal though. Thank you for your help.”
Ainora smiled and she swayed in place. “Great. Before I go, I would like to ask if there is anything you can do for my clothing options?”
Mala tsked. “I am so sorry. I forgot. I have a basic armoured suit for you when you are on assignment. You would be surprised how many people try and reverse repairs when they caused the tampering to begin with. Step one of that is taking out the tech.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you will feel the joy of a successful repair, but there will be danger involved. Have they assigned you a bodyguard yet?” Mala gave her a sly look under her lashes.
“Not that I am aware of. Today is only my second day at the Citadel.”
“Things move fast once you are on the roster. They will want to put you to work as quickly as they can. You have skills and are able to travel. This makes you valuable.”
Mala beckoned and led her into a third segment of the workshop. The walls were lined with uniforms for males, females and things that were neither.
Mala gave her a look over her shoulder and nodded. “I think you are going to need Udell Masuo. It is the best option if you don’t like to have dirt show, and it will defend you in case of attack, all while still letting you wear the white of the tech sector.”
The folded fabric removed from the lit drawer was a soft grey. “How will that turn white?”
“There is a screen over there. Put it on and find out.”
Not one to sneer at new clothing, Ainora took the limp, warm fabric and walked behind the screen to remove her grubby white robes and suit.
The feel of the grey fabric was a soft, warm breath on her skin. When she sealed it on her body, it started to move.
“What the hell?”
Mala cackled. “I have given you maintenance-free clothing for life. It will shift with what you want to wear and become that. It is called Masuo and it is a living being.”
