Theodore

by Marcus LaGrone

  Theodore's blades twinkled and disappeared as he spun back around and effortlessly scooped Anna up into his arms. Just as quickly, he carried her back toward Agent Telmark and the others. Telmark stood with him at the ready, while the other three moved forward and secured the thugs. Local security was quickly on hand as reinforcements.

  “Don't let go of me...” came Anna's muffled voice.

  “I'll hold you until the end of days, if that is what you want.”

  She grinned sheepishly up at him, “Well, not that long. But how about long enough until someone finds me a new shirt...”

  Theodore's fur stood on end as he suddenly realized the side effects of what had happened: when the Live Steel blade had ripped the bomb vest clear, it had taken her blouse and under garments along with it. “Oh Anna! I'm so sorry...”

  She giggled, “Well, that aspect of you hasn't changed one bit: you still apologize for everything! That was awesome, brave and amazing what you did. Apologize for nothing! You turned the tables on them so fast they had no idea what was going on. So fast I had no idea what was going on...” She grinned and looked back up at him, “So, did you like the view?”

  Never in his life had his fur tensed so tight. He swore he could feel hairs moving so that they could stand end to end rather than just simply straight up. His ears flared red and so uncomfortably warm he feared his fur might burst into flame. All that in time for his mouth ran dry as well.

  A first responder gawked at Theodore's condition, “I'm not used to Taiks, but is he suffering from shock?”

  “Yes,” grinned Anna as she took an offered blanket, “But not medical shock...”

  With his ears still burning and his skin still crawling he quickly located his dropped suitcase and found a shirt. “Um, it's a little big for you... but the color is nice...”

  12

  The pair, Theodore and Anna, just sat on a bench while all around them people ran to and fro as they all tried to sort things out. How had they picked up Anna so easily? So quickly? How did the explosives get past security? How had the thugs known where to intercept Theodore and his escort? Who were the thugs? The same people as “Alexandre Phebeson?” Or were they Bella-Shoana? If the latter, why try for a standoff rather than just try to kill Theodore as before? Had they changed tactics because the previous frontal assault went so poorly? That was mostly due to his father's actions...

  “We've got to figure out how to get you two home,” muttered a thoroughly flustered Agent Telmark.

  “No,” interjected Anna. “Don't try to get me home. I was just plucked right off the streets there. Get me to Afon. Get me to Theodore's place... they can't touch either of us there.”

  “We have a duty to get you back to your parents, ma'am.”

  “Contact my parents, I think you will find that they agree with me. I can take a semester off from school, that isn't much of a problem.”

  “We'd be delighted to have you visit, Anna,” offered Theodore. “But we have no idea how long you will have to hide out, as it were. And we are a simple family.”

  “I'd rather hide out where I knew I was safe! If I'm a burden to your family, I will happily find work of some type. I've got quite the run of experience in first aid and the likes. Midwife, whatever...” She grinned at Theodore, “But I'll have to take a pass at 'nanny.'”

  That made him flush again, “Um, so you remember that still, eh...” He laughed as he regained his composure. “And no, you would not be a burden to the family, we have always eaten well. Just, well, our house is humble and...”

  “Pshaw! I'll sleep in the attic or in the barn! Whatever! Help paint a few walls, add a few walls, I have swung a hammer before! I've busted my butt these last six weeks learning the Highland Old Tongue; I might as well put it into practice!”

  “I think arguing with her is pointless,” laughed Theodore to Agent Telmark. “We can easily handle her. Contact her parents and see what they say.”

  Telmark smirked at the pair as he cued his com link, “Need two priority calls, need a gate-synced call to Dr and Dr Westmore, the parents of the aforementioned Anna Westmore... Yes, I know how expensive that is going to be! Do you have any idea how expensive the investigation into how four kilos of high explosives made it through the precious security system is going to cost? Right! That phone call is a drop in the bucket. And if the auditors don't like it, have 'em take it up with my number two priority call: I need to get a hold of the Secretary of the Foreign Office. Yes, I know he is a busy man. He's going to be even busier if we can't safely get these two kids off-world and back home! If this was easy, I wouldn't be talking to you!”

  Theodore grasped for anything to change the subject so he turned to Anna and fired off in the Old Tongue, “So how much of this language did you manage to squeak in?”

  Anna laughed as she carefully threaded back, “I can handle simple cases and conjugation. Still trying to keep track of all the case based mutations and for heaven sake, don't ask me how to form,” she paused as she shifted languages “gerunds!”

  Theodore laughed and continued in the Old Tongue, “It sounds like you made a quick study!”

  Anna nodded and smiled, obviously enjoying the opportunity to show off what she had learned, “Languages flow well for me. Not as well as my mother; she is an extreme polyglot! Mom said I could visit when your semester was over, so that meant I had nine to ten weeks. Your First Mother did invite me out, if you recall.”

  “For six weeks of study, you are doing amazingly well!” grinned Theodore. “I prided myself on how quickly I picked up human languages, but that was in months not weeks! And yes, I do recall my First Mother inviting you out. For the whole summer as I recall.”

  “Excuse me,” interjected Agent Telmark with a broad grin, “you were quite right, young lady, your mother did agree to let you go to Afon. You are required to write home once a week, she says.”

  Anna laughed, “That's my mom! I'm just curious how long it takes to post a letter...”

  “What about transportation?” asked Theodore. “I take it I'm not going on the ship you had scheduled earlier.”

  “No,” grinned Agent Telmark, “the Foreign Office has arranged transport for the pair of you on a Shukurae Dreadnaught. Let these punks try to get past their security! You two leave in three hours.”

  “That sounds like wicked fun!” grinned Anna.

  “Speaking of fun,” replied Theodore in Old Tongue. “Yes. Yes, I did enjoy the view.”

  Anna turned a deep shade of red and doubled over laughing.

  Three hours later the pair found themselves tensely waiting for their shuttle to the ship far overhead. Anna had briefly distracted herself as she purchased a new blouse and a change of clothes, but that distraction was short lived compared to the apprehension that weighed overhead. It was painfully obvious to all parties present that this hand off was going to be the most dangerous part. Between safely making it onto the shuttle and then up to orbit without some miscreant trying to shoot them down, things were... edgy. Fortunately, edgy was how the Shukurae lived. Well, that and they never ever believed in a fair fight if it was even remotely possible to bring more firepower to the table. And firepower... well, firepower arrived!

  The entire traffic at the port, terrestrial or orbital was shut down as the Shukurae arrived: three heavy assault gunships loitered high overhead and quickly terminated a few stray avians in the area. Five light assault gunships then descended with one touching down just long enough to lower its ramp and have the pair run aboard before blasting back into the sky. They were shepherded to their seats by a pair of massive Shukurae, their pale blinkless eyes seemed to glow in the interior lights. The flash of light off of their crisp triangular teeth and jutting tusks rounded out their imposing forms. Theodore knew they were in good company, but that didn't make his first encounter with them any less intimidating! Theodore laughed at his own apprehension as he noticed Anna grinning broadly at the Shukurae's imposing form.

  “They are
massive!” she half whispered to Theodore. “Did you know that their bones go through a secondary solidification process as young adults? Boron carbide infuses their teeth and bones! Gives them an amazingly strong skeleton! They also...”

  Her conversation was cut short as the engines on the gunship flared to full power and were augmented by a parade of JATO bottles accelerating them even faster than normal. Theodore counted five complete cycles of exterior rockets firing off. Those normally just fell off when they were spent. He wondered if the spaceport below was being suddenly pelted by empty rocket casings...

  Anna was thoroughly rattled by the time the exterior rockets finally stopped, so Theodore leaned close and teased, “So, am I just a big science project, too?”

  Anna grinned, “Yep, and a really cute one, too!”

  That should have taught Theodore not to tease...

  13

  Traveling with the Shukurae was definitely a novelty. Theodore feared the novelty would wear thin before they finished the short three day journey to Afon. Much to his relief, distractions came in many forms. Talking with Anna never got old, but it was much to his relief and her fascination, there were people of other races on the dreadnaught as well, humans, Kiarazar as well as Taiks of all varieties: Highlanders, Altshea and Kulpgurie.

  Lt. Katchmel, a Taik from the Kulpgurie Republic, had quickly become the pair's guide for their short trip. “A great many peoples transfer or volunteer to work with the Shukurae. Everything from people wanting to see the galaxy, adventurers, police, paramilitary to front-line assault troops. The Shukurae travel far and wide and do contract and emergency work just as far and wide. There are all kinds here. The one thing that we all universally agree on is action: no pencil pushers here! Everyone is here for the real world experience.”

  “And you,” asked Anna bright eyed and curious.

  Katchmel grinned, “Maritime rescue and salvage is my expertise. I free dive to a hundred meters unassisted and have over a thousand hours of Heli-Ox deep water dives.”

  “Maritime?” asked Theodore slightly surprised.

  Katchmel laughed, “Yeah, that catches a lot of people at first. Think about it, if orbital ships, or especially escape pods, do an emergency landing on a typical habitable world...”

  “Odds are they may hit an ocean!” grinned Theodore finally catching the point. “Most colony worlds are about two-thirds ocean...”

  “Or more,” Katchmel grinned.

  “So you are more on the humanitarian side of the house,” offered Anna. Suddenly she looked disgusted, “That was a horribly species centric choice of words. I'm terribly sorry!”

  Katchmel just laughed again, “Nah! Don't worry about it, ma'am... There are a lot of things that come across weird in translation. You have to roll with it around here, there are so many species working together all sorts of expressions come out to getcha! Some of the Shukurae ones are just weird. Other expressions, like the Highlander's 'paint your fur blue,' are so thoroughly obscene to the Kiarazar that they will clam up and not talk for an hour or more.”

  Anna grinned, “Okay, normally I'm terribly curious, but I think I’ll let it pass on that one!”

  “Good! I think that one is best left to the over-twenty-one crowd!”

  “Too much information...” grinned Theodore.

  “Well, it's about dinner time, let me get you two over to either the mess hall or the canteen. The canteen is actually kinda sedate this time of day, so it might be a better choice. Don't eat too much tomorrow night: drop ship flight down to the Highlands of Afon is almost always a very rough ride.”

  “Why so rough?” asked Anna.

  “Very, very strong and turbulent magnetic fields in the upper atmosphere... once you're down to 10-15km, it's a nice and smooth ride. But the upper layer, wow! It can be nasty!” Katchmel grinned at Anna sensing the obvious next question, “We think the disturbances are caused by the Gatehouses and their little perpetual wormholes. We say 'think' because every time the physics gals run the numbers it doesn't make sense: if the wormholes were causing the problems then there ought to be even stronger distortions near them. Not so much...”

  Anna grinned with giddy anticipation, “I've heard of the gatehouses! Those ought to be amazing!”

  “The carvings on them are just as amazing,” offered Theodore. “At least ten thousand years old and absolutely no sign of weathering.”

  “This is going to be so cool!” beamed Anna.

  Katchmel grinned, “Highlands are all fun and things until you miss the videos or movies...”

  “Ah, but live theater instead!”

  Katchmel grinned knowingly, “I think someone is thoroughly hooked! Well, at least you'll fit the seats well; we use human dropships over the highlands normally. Human ships seem to cope the best and the pilots have some amazing coordination.”

  “Hey, humans are good at something,” beamed Anna.

  Katchmel laughed, “Hey, you humans are good at lots of things. Really sharp eyes for one. Now, if we could just work on your sense of smell...”

  Suddenly Anna went pale, “You know about that?”

  Katchmel looked confused, “I thought it was well known that humans sense of smell wasn't that articulate.”

  Anna flushed, “Oh! You meant humans in general! I'm sorry about that...”

  Katchmel just grinned as he changed the subject, “Come on! Food! The canteen should be good for a couple more hours.”

  Minutes later Anna and Theodore were seated comfortably in a booth at the canteen eating simple, but tasty and well prepared food. Theodore's mind raced with curiosity, but his sense of propriety kept dominating.

  Anna looked up at him and offered a feeble smile, “Just ask it. I know you want to.”

  Theodore's ears flushed and his fur churned, “Um. I'm sorry...”

  Anna laughed and beeped Theodore on the nose, “Synesthesia. My brain doesn't process smell like normal people. I don't talk about it much. Makes people feel kinda uneasy around me when they find out.”

  Theodore slowly shook his head, “Pardon my ignorance, but I've never heard of the word before.”

  Anna forced a smile as she poked at her food, “My brain mixes things up and I see smells. Mostly as color...”

  “That sounds pretty cool actually,” offered Theodore honestly.

  “Seriously? Not weird or creepy?”

  “Nope. Just different,” replied Theodore with a smile. “Um, if you haven't noticed, I'm a Taik and you are a human. Lots of things are just different!”

  Anna finally let loose an honest laugh, “Yes, yes I did notice we are very different. Not the least of which, you are a boy!”

  Theodore grinned, “Noticed that did you? Even behind all the fur?”

  Anna grinned, “Yep, even behind all the fur!”

  14

  Theodore was beside himself as he stared out the window of the dropship to view the Highlands below. It was always so majestic seeing the lands from so high up; it always just made things seem so simple and peaceful. The ride was far from peaceful, the ship buffeted violently on the descent and he had his concerns about Anna.

  Anna for her part was hooting and hollering like she was on a roller coaster ride. She looked like she might throw up at any moment, but was having a marvelous time regardless. “Oh, the Eastern Mountains are so pretty! They stay covered in snow year round?”

  “Yep, they range from 4000 way up to 8000 meters. Darn cold and thin up that high. The range in the far northwest is actually higher, but is also way, way north! The range starts at just above the arctic circle. Here come the clouds!”

  They both laughed as the puffy white clouds started to bathe the ship. Their laugh was complimented by the noticeable decrease in turbulence. By the time they broke through the bottom, it was whisper smooth sailing. Their glorious view of the alpine forests was cut short as the standard safety drill for landing commenced. With seat belts tightened, but probably not as much as they should have been, they fina
lly touched down in a large meadow outside of a peaceful town. The pair giddily exited with their meager belongings and stood well clear and waved as the craft quickly returned to the sky.

  “We the only two?” asked Anna.

  “Apparently! Come on, we've got four hundred miles to go before we get to my parents' house!”

  Anna face went wide, “Four hundred miles! Why did they drop us off here?”

  Theodore grinned, “Um, for one, this is one of the standard places they land. And, um, two... you are forgetting...”

  “Gatehouses!” beamed Anna.

  Theodore grinned as they took hands and walked across the alpine meadow to the nearby town. It was a modest town, stone and timberframe buildings lined the streets while water fountains of all shapes and styles graced almost every corner. There were people about on the streets, going about their daily routines. There were smiles and waves all around to be had.

  “Um, humans here often?” asked Anna as she waved to another passer-by.

  “Not common, but often enough. Most of the tourism in this area is from Lowlanders. They are easy to pick out by their dress.”

  “This place is clean! I mean really!”

  Theodore laughed, “A lot of humans comment on that. Many show up expecting some primitive backwater place that had never heard of indoor plumbing! When you have fur everywhere and a really keen sense of smell, cleanliness comes quickly!”

  They threaded their way through the charming town and were soon on a well maintained road heading into the woods. Less than five hundred meters later, they turned into a clearing with a massive stone structure in its center. Easily forty meters tall, it was carved top to bottom in intricate detail. The front offered a simple entryway into a series of long halls. Anna gasped as she admired the carvings up close and her eyes twinkled as she gazed on the first wormhole inside the massive structure.