Designing

by Viola Grace

  Ula sighed and curled her itching fingers into fists. “Wonderful. Can I get a notepad and a pen or something to start making notes?”

  “Of course. Would you like to change for dinner?”

  They were walking out of the research and development centre and back in the wide hallway.

  She blushed. “Um, all my clothing is like this. I don’t live in a place where dressing for dinner is required.”

  He blinked and inclined his head. “Of course. We will make a quick stop before going home then.”

  “Why?”

  “So we can obtain a gown for you.”

  “I don’t have any currency.”

  His lips twitched. “Actually, you do. We opened an account for you for the reworking of the torture harness. The modifications you made are going into some of those portable splints that we viewed earlier. They are all based on your designs, and there are already orders for the splints and braces on all of our Nine resident worlds.”

  “So, I have an account?”

  “You have a patent that is worth quite a lot. The pre-orders are being divided between you and the current team off shooting your work. You each get five percent of the pre-orders. It is more than enough for some new clothing, but as it is our silly tradition that requires it, my father and I will pay for your formal clothing. You are welcome to pay for as much casual clothing as you like.”

  Ula was stunned. Back on Gaia, she had been paid with nothing more than the satisfaction she had been helping people. Here, she had earned money just for helping a friend in need, years earlier. The mother ship was truly a different place.

  The dress shop was peculiar. She stood on a platform and a beam of light took her measurements. After that, racks of clothing in her size eased out and she noted that they all had a similar vein of style. The backs were all designed for wings.

  A shadow eased forward. “Greetings, lady.”

  “Um, hello.”

  “I am sensing that the formal gowns of the People of the Light are not to your liking.”

  “Well, I don’t have wings, so…”

  “I can seal the backs easily. Will that help?” The shadow dipped and was obviously bowing.

  “It will be helpful, thank you. I will take this one and this one.” She pointed to one in white and one emerald green. Both colours looked amazing with her hair and were not too heavily jewelled.

  “I will make the alterations and be back in a moment.”

  She smiled and inclined her head. “I was wondering if you had anything more practical?”

  “Like what you are wearing?”

  “Yeah, a bodysuit where nothing will get in the way.”

  The shadow turned to the back with the gowns and returned with a glittering deep amethyst bodysuit, complete with a hard sole for the foot. “How is this?”

  “A little girly, but I will take it.”

  “Wonderful, lady. I will package it with the others.”

  Deniir came over and asked her, “Have you made your choices?”

  “I have. The proprietor is making some slight alterations. I am not a huge fan of having my back exposed when there is no reason for it.”

  Deniir blushed. “No, I suppose not.”

  The shadow appeared with a parcel held forward. “Here you are, lady. Thank you for your business.”

  Deniir moved forward and extended a small object to the shadow. A slight click and the shadow retracted.

  “Have a good evening.” He disappeared into the back of the shop, and the clothing in Ula’s size followed him.

  Ula blinked and looked down at the parcel. “Oh, I owe you for a bodysuit.”

  “I am sure you will have plenty of opportunity to pay me back. I will get you a credit chip tomorrow so you can access your accounts.”

  “Is that what you just paid with?”

  He nodded. “We don’t use hard currency unless we are on the surface of our own worlds. Here on the ship, we use electronic funds.”

  It made sense, but it was beyond what she was used to on Gaia.

  They returned to the VIP area and Deniir’s quarters.

  The scent of cooking food made Ula’s mouth water. Darthuun was in the kitchen with an apron tied around his waist and his wings tightly folded to his back.

  “Good evening, Master Designer.”

  “Please, call me Ula, Master Engineer.”

  “Ula, call me Darthuun. Feel free to refresh yourself before dinner.”

  Ula looked at Deniir and gave him a knowing look. “I suspected you would say something like that. I will be out in a moment.”

  She took her bundle to her assigned room and headed for the en suite lav.

  A quick light shower and some hair brushing later, she was ready to try on one of the dresses.

  The white dress was her choice for the evening, but it didn’t go with her hair being down. Sighing, she twisted her hair up into two buns, one on either side of her head. It exposed her neck and gave her better presentation.

  With the dress hiding her bare feet, she tiptoed out into the common area where she was treated to the sight of two men in the kitchen and a platter of small bite-sized items on the table in the conversation area.

  “Is there anything that I can do?” She offered it even though she had no clue what was going on in that kitchen. Utensils that she had never seen before were being flipped around casually.

  The two men turned and looked at her before Darthuun quickly turned back to the meal. “No, Ula. Please have a seat and a snack. Deniir will bring you something to drink. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”

  She went to the comfortable seating area, and she took a position that would allow her to watch the goings on in the kitchen. Two men with wings were making her dinner and one of them was pouring her a drink. She was going to wake up anytime now. What a pity.

  Chapter Six

  Sitting and enjoying the appetizers while the food was under a heater nearby was peculiar. Generally, Ula ate as soon as her food was hot.

  “So, what do you think of our little facility?” Darthuun munched at one of the vegetable and cheesy appetizers.

  “It looks well organized, and I can hardly wait to play with some of the designs that I came up with today.”

  Deniir blinked. “Damn. I forgot. Just a moment.”

  He disappeared into his quarters and emerged with a flat screen. He slid a stylus out of the side and settled next to her on the backless couch she was sitting on.

  He ran through a quick tutorial, and when she started to make notes, he nodded with approval. “You catch on quickly.”

  “Well, I am reading this in Gaian, so it makes it easier.” She bent her head and made a few more notes.

  When Darthuun’s laughter reached her, she looked up and blinked.

  “I don’t understand. What was funny?”

  Deniir’s cheeks took on a darker colour. “Nothing. My father is simply very old and rather insane.”

  She looked back to the data pad and flicked through until she saw what she was looking for. A Gaian Guide to the Nine.

  She flicked past the other members until she found the mating habits of the People of the Light.

  Her hands tightened on the data pad, and she heard it protest her grip. “I see. So, I am not reading this in Gaian. I am reading it in Nine Common.”

  Darthuun was still amused. “Apparently. I have been speaking our tongue to you since you arrived this evening. My son seems to have invaded your mind.”

  “My speech centre, certainly. I did wonder why all the engineers were so easy to understand when Deniir had made it clear that they hadn’t learned Gaian yet.”

  “It is understandable. I didn’t know, nor did he, that a bonding could happen with casual contact.”

  Ula frowned. “We haven’t had any contact. Not even a handshake.”

  Darthuun blinked. “Really?”

  Deniir nodded. “Really. Ula made it very clear that she was aware of the dangers of contac
t with our kind, and we maintained a circumspect distance.”

  Darthuun frowned. “That is unusual, but her ability to use your linguistic skills is proof that there is a bond.”

  “But, the bond will be broken when I return home, correct?” Ula’s voice was firm. She wasn’t leaving room for anyone to disagree.

  Darthuun shrugged. “I do not know. I have never heard of a spontaneous link in the last five generations.”

  Deniir rubbed the back of his neck. “This is going to require some research.”

  Ula frowned. “Should I stay somewhere else?”

  Both men said, “No!”

  She jerked back at their vehemence. “Um, okay.”

  Deniir spoke more calmly. “I mean, it would be awkward for you to be in the home of a mated couple, and that is the only safe place for you right now.”

  Ula was about to say something, but Darthuun got to his feet. “Dinner is ready. You have to let it rest or all the juice runs out when you cut into it.”

  Ula shrugged and rose to her feet, lifting the hem of her gown as she crossed to the dining table.

  Deniir held her chair out, and she settled carefully on the narrow-backed seat. When Deniir took a seat to one side of her and Darthuun took the other side, she had the feeling that she was the guest of honour.

  Dinner passed as each food was described and a small portion was put on her plate. She used the eating prongs in the method that Deniir showed her, and soon, she was making inroads into the food that Darthuun had so carefully prepared.

  “So, Ula. How long have you been a designer of the useful and fascinating?”

  She blinked. “Since the Tokkel raids. When the first scout landed, a friend of mine was injured and that was when my mind sort of split and the images started to appear.”

  Darthuun blinked. “Not before then?”

  “There were a few small creations before then but nothing on a truly useful scale.”

  Deniir spoke quietly, “You mentioned that your parents had passed on.”

  Ula focussed on her meal. “They were taken in one of the first Tokkel ships, along with twenty others that we can pinpoint. They are presumed dead.”

  The two men with her paused. Deniir asked, “Didn’t any of your people go looking for them?”

  She snorted. “We don’t have space technology yet. There was no way for us to find them, and by then, the other attacks started and they were simply casualties of the Tokkel.”

  Deniir winced. “Of course.”

  Silence fell and Ula took pity on them. “Don’t fret about it. It isn’t something that most people know. Even on Gaia, everyone forgets the first few to disappear.”

  “Do you think that they could still be alive?” Darthuun’s tone was soothing.

  “I doubt it, but anything is possible. If there were a way to find them, I would be on it immediately.” She blinked. “Do you have gene trackers?”

  Deniir blinked. “Only for short distances.”

  She lifted the data pad and scribbled more notes for the morning before she tucked it back under her chair. “I apologise, but I wanted to make a note to look into the gene trackers.”

  Deniir nodded with a smile. “As long as it doesn’t involve fire suppression, I will help where I can.”

  She snorted. “I don’t think fire suppression will be needed, but there may be some propulsion required.”

  He chuckled and inclined his head. “May I add that you look lovely this evening. That gown suits you.”

  “Thank you. The ways of buying clothing amongst the Nine are peculiar, but I am sure I will adapt. Dinner is wonderful by the way.”

  Darthuun blushed and his feathers fluffed up. “Thank you. Your compliment is well received.”

  She sipped some of her beverage and nibbled on a few more morsels from her plate. It was a good meal, but then, any meal she didn’t have to make for herself counted in the plus column.

  She asked Deniir, “How is it that your wing can be used as a weapon? It looks so soft.”

  Darthuun looked at his son, “Yes, how are they used as weapons?”

  “Well, there are tendon struts that stiffen when we need to defend our…friends or family. We can spike an opponent to the wall, using the tip of the wing as a stabbing weapon and the flexibility inherent in the rest of the wing makes it a multi-directional weapon.”

  “Ah, that would explain it.” She smiled, and she placed her eating prongs carefully on the edge of the plate. A yawn was inside her, trying to get out. She blinked furiously trying to stay awake.

  Deniir suddenly noticed. “You are tired. I am so sorry. I am a horrible host. Please, get some rest.”

  “Is it all right? I mean, I could help with dishes.”

  “Go and rest. Tomorrow, we intend to work you until you fall asleep at your workstation.” He winked at her and inclined his head.

  She rose to her feet. “Thank you for a lovely meal and interesting conversation, Darthuun, Deniir. I am going to do some homework and then get some rest.”

  Ula slipped past them and headed for her room with the data pad in her hand. She had some research on the bonding of the People of the Light to do. Finding out that mates shared a mind across distances was something that scared her. No wonder Darthuun was so calm at leaving his wife. They were still inseparable.

  Ula rubbed her forehead. She didn’t feel different, but then, she hadn’t felt first contact with Deniir either.

  She shook her head and made notes on a gene tracker coupled with a Tokkel tracer. If she could find the parts, she might be able to locate the retreating Tokkel who might still have some Gaians on board. It had been years, but there was still a chance that there were marks in space that would allow the lost to be found. It was so thin a chance as to be ephemeral, but she had to take it.

  Ula was going to make a tracking beacon, and if there were any of her people out in space, she would know. She would finally know.

  Chapter Seven

  The purple bodysuit fit her faithfully, and Deniir’s wings were up and out as they walked to the R and D department.

  “Is the suit too much?” She was getting more than what she would consider normal attention.

  Deniir cleared his throat. “No. You look amazing. It is just very...fitted.”

  “Well, I normally wear leather, but I get the feeling that it would mark me as a bit of a barbarian up here.” She chortled.

  After breakfast with Darthuun, they had begun their commute while the master engineer did the dishes.

  “I like your tool belt.” Deniir grinned.

  Her belt was wrought with woven strips of various leathers and metals. She considered it her emergency designing supply. Her basic tools rode on her hips and rocked as she took every step.

  “Thanks. It was a gift from my friends before I moved.” She tapped it with her fingers.

  “Why do you live so far from your people?”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. “I had a disagreement with the administration about the direction of my creations, so I simply removed myself from their influence.”

  “I sense there is a story behind that.”

  She shuddered. “Not one you want to hear.”

  He nodded. “Accepted. I reserve the right to ask again.”

  “Fair enough.” She smiled and entered the R and D section of the mother ship with a sense of anticipation.

  Today, she was going to play with big toys, and she couldn’t wait.

  Four hours later, Deniir appeared at her side.

  “Ula, what have you figured out for that portable healer?”

  “It’s done. On the edge of the table there. It now generates a beam that works on the clotting principal. It identifies the proteins in the tissue by doing a calibration analysis of stable tissue and then the beam can be used to encourage the generation of healed tissue.” She flapped her hand at the unit.

  “Already? Trull has been working on that for two years.” Deniir picked it up an examined it.


  “Well, that is why you asked me here, right?”

  She felt a touch on her shoulder, and she turned, blinking up at him. His features were calm and sober. “I brought you here to see how your mind worked, to see if you could inspire the engineers working here. I didn’t bring you here to drain your brain.”

  “You are touching me.”

  He nodded. “You need to be touched. I am getting the feeling that contact is a thing you left behind when you moved to your aerie.”

  His wings shielded their conversation from the other engineers, and his hand moved from her shoulder to cup her neck.

  She could feel the warmth of his fingers, and her heart stuttered in her chest. “It was my choice. My people or my self-respect. I chose me, I always choose me.”

  “There doesn’t have to be a choice between doing what you love and being with someone. You can have socialization and job satisfaction.” His thumb skated along her jawline.

  Ula stared up at him, and she was completely hypnotized by the warm, seductive scent of Deniir with the blend of a wild storm. It made her want to cuddle close for safety, and she guessed that it was a genetic ploy to have a female do just that.

  “How did the planet do that?” She asked him softly.

  “Do what?” He was leaning toward her.

  “Key my species to respond to yours.”

  “No one knows, but I am not complaining.”

  His lips made contact with hers, and she felt an electric jolt of energy and a sparking of ideas that she had never even thought of involving technology that she hadn’t heard of. Thoughts that were not her own.

  Her eyes widened in surprise, but Deniir’s hand tightened on her neck, keeping her lips pressed to his. Her mind organized the new information as it streamed into her thoughts, and she could only imagine that the same was happening to him.

  She heard a throat clearing, and Deniir continued their kiss for another minute before leisurely lifting his head, a dazed look in his eyes. He smiled softly and caressed her cheek. “Hello.”

  Ula blinked. “Hello. Learning to fly looked like fun.”