Whack!
Alistair smacked the top of his head. “For your information I’m a Bee cup, and I don’t pad my bra to get there.”
Klaus looked wounded as he rubbed his head. “Lady Alistair, I like Bee cups too.”
Alistair raised her hand and Klaus cringed, holding his head protectively.
I thought she was going to deliver another blow, but then a gentle look settled on her face. Instead of thumping him she patted the top of his head.
“Ah, forget it. It’s easy to think I’m an Aye cup. But I’m definitely a Bee cup. Don’t you forget it.”
She patted his head some more.
If Klaus had possessed a tail, it would have been swishing at lightning speed by now.
His face brightened and I saw adoration in his eyes.
“Lady Alistair….”
Suddenly he bowed formally to her, surprising Alistair into taking a step back.
“Lady Alistair, please accept me as your humble retainer.”
Huh? I dropped the rake I was using.
What was this guy, some history nut of the Sengoku era?
Alistair had a curious gleam in her eyes.
Was I witnessing the awakening of her dominating side?
Was Haruka aware of this side to her friend?
I felt as though I was being watched, and turned to look around.
My eyes met Melanie’s for half a heartbeat before she smoothly glanced away. She resumed raking the loose leaves away from the stone paved path that ran through the garden.
It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed her watching me.
Was Alistair telling me the truth?
Did Duncan reject Melanie because she failed to join a Pride? Did he have something against Familiars? Maybe he was pressured by his family to abandon her.
I remembered him saying that Haruka was liked by his friends.
Had his friends disapproved of Melanie?
Had Duncan chosen to turn his back on her because he sought to protect his social standing?
Either way, I was reminded of what I did seven months when I turned my back on Haruka because of my hatred for the Aventis.
I stopped raking the leaves.
Seven months later, did I hate the Aventis the way I once did?
I blamed them for Crimson Crescent’s actions, but maybe I was wrong to hold onto that hatred. After all, the Raynar Pride had taken care of Celica and I after we were orphaned.
I sighed and resumed raking.
In the corner of my eye I saw Melanie glance at me a couple of times, then walk away to attend to another part of the garden.
Reflections – 11.
I need to describe something of a technical marvel.
I’ll describe it in simple layman’s terms because I don’t know all of its workings.
It’s called, the Skinsuit.
As the name implies, it’s a suit you wear over your birthday suit. It acts like a second skin and is a mere four to five millimeters thick. Thousands upon thousands of nerve contact points on the inside of the suit make contact with the surface of your skin. For that reason, you have to wear it while buck naked underneath.
The skinsuit is fitted with fibers that behave like artificial muscles. These complement the wearer’s muscles, enhancing their strength by as much as forty percent. It might not sound like much, but that forty percent can translate to a big difference in the case of an Aventis or a Familiar.
In order to make use of the skinsuit, it has to be tuned to the wearer, making it their personal skinsuit. This takes anywhere from six to ten hours. The tuning process allows the skinsuit to react in harmony with the wearer’s body. An un-tuned skinsuit can injure the wearer if it works against the body’s movements rather than with it. The whole point is to complement the individual inside the skinsuit, not impair them.
Caprice had one and so did I, though I’d only used it on the occasions when the researchers wanted to test me while wearing it.
To be honest, I didn’t like it.
It just made me feel like I was moving wrong.
On the other hand, Caprice had considerable more experience with hers, so she was able to perform some pretty awesome moves while decked out in the skinsuit and her Valkyrie Armor.
I’d witnessed those moves when she fought against Constance.
It was a while before I witnessed her in action again.
Chapter 15 – Team Galatea.
(Caprice)
After class, the four of us – Maya, Rina, Constance and I – were instructed to meet outside the gymnasium allocated to the high-school students.
We rocked up as instructed, and were joined by the Countess a few minutes later.
She walked over with that practiced, smooth countenance of hers, striding like royalty in her designer label high-heels. It was rare to see her wearing anything but high-heels.
Simone Alucard led the four of us to a basement level storage room under the gym.
Once inside, she handed each of us a pass key. This key we transferred to our palm-slates and allowed us access to the gym’s basement, the storage room, and the door at the back of the room which opened to an underground service tunnel leading out of the academy grounds.
In short, it was secret passage for the four of us to use.
It was all very clandestine, yet I was accustomed to training in a gym under a dance club, so this development didn’t bother me at all.
The Countess sent us off down the tunnel, wished us luck, then closed the door behind us.
Somehow, Maya had ended up leading the way.
That was fine by me.
All together we looked down the service shaft, surrounded by the sights and sounds of power conduits, plumbing, and electric fans whirring inside life-support vents. The overhead lighting wasn’t particularly good, and the far end of the tunnel was shrouded in darkness.
Constance muttered, “Feels like a test of courage.”
A low growl sounded between us.
I shared looks with the other girls.
Maya and Constance shook their heads, and blurted out, “That wasn’t me.”
Rina gasped before slapping her hands over her belly. “Sorry. I skipped lunch….”
Maya sighed and her shoulders drooped a little. “Come on, let’s see where this leads.” She held up her palm-slate. “Besides, she gave us a map.”
Constance sniped, “She could have just walked with us all the way.”
I shook my head. “Not in those designer heels.” I cocked my head a fraction. “What is up with her footwear? High heels are non-regulation shoes.”
Maya shrugged, and started leading the way. “She and Prissila have always been that way. They compete in everything they do. Can you imagine how bad things would be if their breasts weren’t the same size?” Maya glanced at Constance. “You know what she’s like, don’t you.”
I looked at the girl who’d stabbed me.
To say I didn’t trust her was an understatement.
I walked behind her so I could keep an eye on her.
And that’s why I noticed her anxiety quite clearly. She wouldn’t glance at me over her shoulder, but I could see that my being there was really unnerving her. When Maya spoke to her, she didn’t respond right away. I sensed she was keeping an eye on me by using the expanded Awareness her Fragment offered her.
“Constance?” Maya asked, then came to an abrupt stop.
Rina almost bumped into her and looked surprised at the taller girl.
I came to a stop behind Constance, aware of Maya watching the two of us.
Maya spoke quietly but I heard her well enough above the background noise in the tunnel. “Prissila and Simone spoke to me, and filled me in on the details.”
Rina’s eyes widened slightly and she cast an anxious look at Constance and I.
Maya studied us both. “They’re both sorry for what happened. They’re sorry for pushing the two of you against each other.”
Constance sho
ok her head. “No. It wasn’t the Princess’s fault.”
Maya raised her chin. “That’s not the way Prissila sees it.” She took a couple of steps closer to Constance and I. “I’ve known them for many, many years. Our families have ties to each other. They were there for me when I messed up, and I owe them”—she glanced down—“even if Prissila was a bitch to me at the start of school this year.”
I remembered the incident in the cafeteria, when Caelum first asked me about Maya.
But I also remembered what Arisa had told me – Maya had tried to commit suicide. I could only guess at the pressure she was under that drove her to make that decision.
Maya inhaled deeply, then gave us both a firm look. “They regret what they did. Competing against each other is in their nature, and they felt they had a lot at stake, but they admit they had no right to force such an encounter between the two of you. I promised them I would watch over you—both of you.” She glanced at Rina. “All of you. But especially you and Caprice. I don’t want the two of you fighting again—at least not against each other.”
I gave Maya a flat response, one that mirrored my expression. “I’m not intending to pick up where we left off at the amusement park.”
Constance look down at her feet. “Ditto.”
“Good. In that case, would the two of you please relax? You’re making the hair on the nape of my neck stand on end.” Maya dropped her weight onto one hip, and rubbed her forehead. “Look, I know the two of you got off to a bad start, and once again that’s because the situations forced you against each other. But that’s done and dusted now. This isn’t how things should be between the two of you.” Maya shook her head. “Damn it—the two of you should be friends.”
Constance and I both gasped. “What? Friends—with her?”
We stared at each other, then broke our locked gazes apart.
Rina muttered, “They’re in tune with each other.”
Constance and I snapped, “Rina!”
The girl shyly cast her eyes downward. “Sorry.”
“You see,” Maya said.
This time we both held our tongue.
Maya looked satisfied. Then she considered me for a long while. “I thought you never dropped that mask of yours.”
I froze and felt my stomach tighten. But my mask slipped back on with practiced ease. “My bad,” I replied flatly.
Maya raised her eyebrows, then shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s go.”
She turned and resumed leading the way down the tunnel.
Constance and I held back. The girl didn’t look at me. “For the sake of not causing the Princess anymore trouble, I’m willing to let things rest between us.”
I asked emotionlessly, “You mean you want a truce?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Very well, I can agree to that. But if you aim your Fragment at me, I’ll aim my gauntlets at you.”
“And this time we finish things.”
“Agreed.”
Constance glanced down for a moment. “Alright. That’s fine by me.”
She hefted her school bag and chased after Maya and Rina at a fast walk.
I followed the girl, keeping a few feet behind her.
#
(Caprice)
Without the map in Maya’s possession I was certain we’d have gotten lost.
The tunnel branched out a number times. We took the forks in the road indicated by the map, and came to a locked storage room.
By then, Rina was looking a little winded.
I traded a look with Maya, while Constance stared at the girl with a discrete, yet critical eye.
Maya waved her palm-slate over the door’s security panel and unlocked it.
Inside we found ourselves in a stairwell rather than a room. Sharing bemused looks between us, we started climbing the stairs in single file. After a few dozen steps, we arrived at a landing and another door. Maya unlocked this one too, opened it, and cautiously stepped out. We followed on her heels into a crowded, open air parking lot. The doorway was protected by a large awning. I had no idea why since it didn’t rain inside the habitat.
Actually, there were a lot of things that didn’t make sense inside the habitat.
Behind us, a large building stretched up into the sky. I guessed we’d come out behind the building, away from the side facing the street.
Constance muttered, “Where the Hell are we?”
Maya studied the map. “About…three district blocks from Galatea?”
I looked around. “Don’t you think we look kind of conspicuous in our uniforms?”
Maya agreed. “Next time, let’s bring a change of clothes.”
“Hah,” Rina uttered. “That would totally make us look like friends.”
“No it wouldn’t,” Constance and I retorted in symphony.
We stared at each other, then looked away.
Maya nodded. “Good, a change of clothes it is.”
Damn, what a drag.
Maya pointed in the direction of a parked delivery van. “That one. Simone said a van with pizza delivery markings would be waiting for us.”
We walked quickly over to the van, but found it empty and locked.
Constance frowned at Maya. “Are you sure it’s this one? Did she tell you the company name?”
“Ah—” Maya looked stumped, then a grimace broke out on her face. “I—I didn’t ask.”
Constance smirked. “Some leader you’re turning out to be.”
“Shut up,” Maya muttered.
I looked around the lot. “Doesn’t matter. It’s the only one here.”
Rina was looking the vehicle over. “It looks really authentic. Smells like pizza too.” She squeezed her midriff. “It’s making me hungry.”
Her stomach growled for the tenth or twelfth time.
I had to admit it smelt like really good pizza.
“Ah, you girls finally made it.”
We turned in the direction of a man’s voice, and indeed a young man was walking toward us. He had a full head of dark hair, and was dressed in a delivery outfit. To add to his authenticity he carried a stack of lunch sized pizzas in his arms.
He smiled warmly at us and looked apologetic. “Looks like I made it back in time.” He raised the pizza stack a little higher. “In case you’re hungry, I brought you girls something to eat.”
He handed the pizza’s over to Rina. That freed him up to open up the van while Rina salivated over the boxes in her hands.
We circled round to the open passenger door, and looked at the interior of the vehicle. It was decked out like a passenger van with three rows of seats; enough seating for six.
Maya sagged in unconscious relief. She looked at the young man. “Who are you?”
“I’m Laurence, your designated driver.” He pointed at each of us in turn. “Maya Khayman, Rina Sayen, Constance Peligree, and Caprice Steiner.”
So he knew who we were. Did that mean we could trust him?
“Right,” Laurence announced. “Everyone aboard and we’ll be on our way.”
We climbed in and buckled up. Maya sat with me in the front passenger row. Rina and Constance sat behind us.
Rina handed the small pizzas around.
I ended up with a peperoni and cheese pizza on a thin crust. I wasn’t really hungry and wondered if I could eat it later. On second thoughts I could eat a slice or two now and the rest after training.
Maya asked, “Where are we going?”
“To the training center.”
“Where’s that?”
He laughed. “You’ll see.”
He started up the van, and drove out of the parking lot and into traffic. About ten minutes later we were travelling on a highway that ran the length of the habitat.
I noticed we were headed east toward the exit.
Another ten minutes later and we were inside the tunnels connecting Habitat One with the rest of the asteroid Island.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced back and
saw Rina looking at me. “Cappy, are you going to eat that?”
“What?”
“The pizza. Are you going to eat the rest of it?”
I stared at her. “Yes…later.”
She looked disappointed. “Damn, I’m still hungry.”
“Here,” Constance muttered. “You can have mine. I’m not hungry.”
“Really? Great. You’re so kind, Connie.”
“My name is Constance, not Connie.”
Rina shrugged as she eagerly opened up the pizza box. To be fair, the pizzas were only around eight inches in diameter, and they were thin crusted too.
Wait—she called me Cappy!
Now she was definitely not going to eat my pizza.
I wolfed it down now rather than later.
A short while into the tunnel highway, Laurence pulled off at an exit ramp which led into a small cavern with rectangular walls. There was a separate exit back to the highway tunnel, but also a driveway leading to a gated entrance with the sign Artemis Industries beside it.
I narrowed my eyes in thin disbelief.
Artemis Industries?
The gate opened automatically as the van approached it, and Laurence drove through into another tunnel that was wide enough for two lanes of oncoming traffic.
We could only see through the van’s windscreen and front windows, but it looked like a really long tunnel. In fact, we drove for almost ten more minutes before arriving at its exit.
Another large cavern with flat walls and a curved ceiling awaited us. You could fit the entire cafeteria building inside it. Cut into one wall was the façade of a building, complete with transparent glass doors. Laurence parked the van in an empty car spot in front of the building.
“We’re here,” he announced happily, unlocking the van’s passenger door with a hidden switch.
I heard the locking mechanism whir for a heartbeat and the latch release. Since I was closest to the door I opened it, and climbed out of the van and into the parking lot in front of the building. Behind me, Maya and the others climbed out.
I looked around.
There were other parked vehicles on the lot so at least the place was occupied. Plus, my Valkyrie Armor could feel the presence of someone inside the building’s entrance.
The sign hanging over the glass doors into the building read Artemis Industries.
Pride x Familiar Page 26
