by Viola Grace
Tricia Williams has been handed over to the Sector Guard, her talent for tranquilizing those around her has become dangerous and uncontrolled. The Sector Guard techs rise to the challenge and in no time, Tricia has been outfitted with a uniform that will let her eat and converse in public without putting her in a bubble. Guardian is her new commanding officer and they have met before. When she was a mediator and he was joining the Alliance, she mediated his contract and he took a place in her nocturnal fantasies from that day onward. Now, assigned to Guardian as a partner, Pax has several things to deal with, and her life depends on his attention to detail. If he would stop staring at her butt, things would go a lot smoother.
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Guarding Pax
Copyright 2011 Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-55487-766-9
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Guarding Pax
Sector Guard Book 15
By
Viola Grace
Dedication
To Twila, sorry, she ended up being Tricia.
Chapter One
"So, you are going to be a Guardsman?" The disembodied voice came through the speakers to Tricia"s ears as she sat playing yet another endless game of solitaire.
"So they tell me. Apparently, Morganti base is making remarkable strides in suit design and usage."
A short laugh came through the speakers. "Morganti base is doing the design. Udell is field testing them all."
"Whatever. With the stuff I am giving off, they need to keep it confined and that means life in a suit. I am ready for it. It beats these damned safety bubbles." Tricia waved her hand to take in the enclosure within the ship that was transporting her. "Thanks for keeping me company, by the way."
"Anything for another Terran, you know that."
She nodded and looked toward the speakers. "I know. It just seems weird that you are enclosed in that tank and I am trapped in a bubble. I feel like we are the newest Alliance exhibit."
Navigator Agatha Teal laughed through her audio connection. "It does feel that way sometimes, but I am really enjoying the opportunity to see these worlds and travel the stars."
"Even from inside the tank?"
"Even then. It"s better to be out and participating than simply watching the worlds go by. If you become one of the Sector Guard, you would see places I can only imagine, breathe air on worlds I can"t set foot on. Do you think you are up to the challenge?"
Tricia Williams leaned back and scowled at the speaker. "I am up for anything, but I never expected to be put in this position. To go from a minor-level mediator for station disputes to training at the Citadel, to being over-tweaked and stuck with a system that puts out an emotional sedative was not on my application to the Alliance when I volunteered."
"Getting jacks jabbed into me wasn"t on mine either, yet here we
are." The matter-of-fact tone was unmistakable.
She sighed and straightened her frown, aware that Agatha was watching her. "You are seriously happy with what you are doing out here?"
"I wouldn"t choose anywhere else. If you run into her, ask Pilot about it in more detail. As the first Guardsman, she might have an insight that I lack."
Tricia made a face at the monitor and laughed outright as the image of a hand with the middle finger extended came up on the screen. "Charming, Aggie."
"I do try. We are coming up on Morganti. Star Breaker is en route to escort the shuttle in. The staff from the base has already made contact and will be loading you into their shuttle. This is where I wish you good luck. Once your bubble is unhooked, I won"t be able to speak to you."
"I know. It has been wonderful to have you to talk to though. Those stiffs at the Citadel didn"t even want me to have a book in here."
"I have passed your appreciation to the captain. I had several packs of cards made for crew members and he parted with his personal set."
Tricia swept the cards into a pile and tapped them square. "Would he like them back?"
"You know you are under contagion protocols. Anything in that room that isn"t you is up for scorching."
She grumbled silently. Her talent had been refined and honed by the Citadel to the point where she could simply touch, speak to or be in the same room with someone and they would go from irritated to placid in an instant. Her very voice was considered toxic and even Aggie had to use an audio filter so as not to be touched by her talent.
Talent or curse, Tricia couldn"t make up her mind. She was on the fence as to what the classification for her condition was.
"The Morganti crew is here. Good luck, Tricia."
"Thanks for the sympathetic ear, Aggie. I hope to see you soon."
A laugh came through the speakers as the door to the hold opened to display four friendly faced base staff. "See me or hear me?"
"Whatever. It was nice to have another human to talk to."
"Same here—" Her voice cut off as the staffers disconnected the leads to the walls of Tricia"s bubble.
Thick layers of clear plexi were sealed and without the air coming in through the umbilical, she had less than an hour. It was a good thing that the crew that moved her was efficient.
They trundled her out of the bay in which her bubbled had been installed and into a shuttle bay where a large transport vehicle was waiting.
Something was wrong. There was no Sector Guard logo on the side of the ship. Frantically, Tricia ran to the com and tried to connect, but there was no answer.
Her escort noted her frenzy and moved quickly, their eyes keeping a look out for any members of the ship"s crew. Tricia"s heart sank when a staff member from the Deckar came around the corner and one of her escorts blasted him.
She was being kidnapped and she couldn"t get out of the damned cage!
Wait one fricking moment! Diving to the floor, she pulled up tile after tile until she found the release for the oxygen supply lines. She worked on the tubes until she unscrewed the coupling that led to the outside world and blew through it.
Two of the kidnappers were watching her in confusion, but when a pleasantly neutral expression passed over their faces, she knew it was working.
She continued exhaling frantically into the tube until all four were sitting and smiling at each other and she was ready to pass out. It was a transitory effect, if she didn"t keep it up, they would be on their way within ten minutes.
A knocking at the window of her enclosure got her attention. A smiling woman in a black and silver body suit waved at her. "Relax. I have got this."
With her oxygen running out, Tricia slumped to the floor. The strange woman was una
ffected by her talent and worked quickly to confine the would-be kidnappers.
There was a strange flare of light and the cuffed creatures snapped out of their stupor. Tricia watched as the woman spoke with staff from the ship, including the captain. Worried gazes touched her through the plexi, but the woman in black patted their arms and pointed at a shuttle.
The crowd of staff and kidnappers left the shuttle bay rapidly and the woman waited until they were gone before drawing a large circle
in the plexi and popping it out with her fist. "Tricia?"
The rush of air gave her a jolt and she sat up. "That would be me."
"I am Star Breaker, out of Morganti base. That shuttle is for you. We will treat it as contaminated if you wish, but I can create a radiation burst that shatters your little druggy pheromones."
"You sound…"
"Terran? I am. The true introductions will wait until we get on base. Come on now, we are pressed for time. They need to make a jump and we need to be on the way home."
Bemused, Tricia staggered out of her confinement and walked next to Star Breaker until they reached the shuttle.
The Guardsman sealed the hatch and took the controls with practiced ease. "Come on, strap in. We are burning starlight."
Tricia worked the harness into place and held on as they smoothly lifted off the floor of the shuttle bay and moved effortlessly to the opening doors.
"This is the shuttlecraft Nero. We are away. Have a good flight, Deckar."
"Thank you, Star Breaker. Take care of her. She"s not normally this boring." Aggie"s voice was acting as the com officer.
"Will do, Agatha. Keep it on course."
A few flipped toggles and they were burning fuel and heading for the large whirling planet beneath them. The Deckar powered up and shot off in the other direction and Tricia couldn"t help but feel that she was now between a rock and a hard place or a planet and a vacuum. Either way, it wasn"t going to be fun.
Chapter Two
"Stay in the shuttle. Fixer will be out with a containment suit in a few minutes." Star Breaker"s voice wasn"t unfriendly, simply businesslike. "Don"t worry, she just has to put her little ones into the playpen and then she will be on her way out here. It was lunch time."
"Little ones?" That was the first that she had heard of the Sector Guardsmen reproducing.
"Sure. Twins. Fixer and Shade have two lovely daughters whom you will meet as soon as you are safe for contact. Speaking of which—" Three knocks on the door interrupted her and Star Breaker went to the hatch door with a grin. "Tricia, look out the window."
Curious, she did as instructed. A plastic bubble was attached to the outside of the shuttle by a long tunnel. "I am guessing we are leaving?"
"It seems that the doctor has made provisions for your condition. Fixer is in a sealed suit so she can run the scans without you getting her all dopey." Star Breaker held out her hand and beckoned to her.
Shrugging, Tricia stood and left the shuttle, walking down the plastic hall to the domed bubble on the end of it. A cheerful woman with rainbow hair in a bodysuit and tool belt greeted her. "Hello, Tricia, my name is Fixer, but when you are on base you can call me Mala."
Alarmed by the woman"s exposed skin, she tried holding her breath and backing up. She backed straight into Star Breaker.
"What"s wrong?"
"She doesn"t have a mask!"
"Thank you for worrying, but I have created an electro static filter that covers my face, head and exposed skin. My suit is impervious to insinuation by your talent, so relax." The woman reached out and patted her on the arm, her hand flaring gently as she made contact.
"Was that…"
"The filter? Yes indeed. Now, I have created this suit for you with the filter built in and facing inward to retain your talent. The Citadel gave me all the specs except your size, so if you could just put it on, I will fit it for you and we can start testing."
The fabric that Fixer was holding was a little bright for Tricia"s taste. Deep crimson with gold bands and studs, it wasn"t subtle. With the flick of Fixer"s finger, the inside of the bubble went opaque. "Come along now, those clothes aren"t doing you any good and we need to get this checked out."
Star Breaker held out her hands for the long tunic and trousers that were standard garb at the Citadel and no sooner had Tricia handed them over, then they burst into flames. "Contaminate protocol, remember?"
It motivated her to get dressed as quickly as possible and she had no sooner sealed the suit closed then she felt an electricity in the air around her and Star Breaker let off another flash of light.
"Okay, we are now at a zero contaminant level. Let"s see if that suit springs a leak."
Fixer was grinning and she fished out tall boots in the same deep red as the rest of the suit. "Here, normally, we go for Masuo, but with your talent, having your boots get calm and relaxed could be dangerous."
Tricia turned from side to side, testing the flex and twist of the suit. "It feels a little loose."
"I will fix that. Put your boots on and we will get on with the fitting."
From that point on, Fixer, the ultimate inventor in the Alliance, turned into a tailor with a lust for the perfect fit. It went from comfortable to a second skin and by the time Fixer was done, Tricia couldn"t even feel the suit that confined her and protected those around her.
"There. How does it feel?"
"Like I am standing here naked, but I am perfectly comfortable. How is the saturation point in the bubble?"
"Complete containment. You are free to wander the Morganti base as long as you are wearing that suit. I will make duplicates of the suit for you as soon as I can. For now, only remove it when you are in the guest quarters and showering. The suits are self-cleaning, so one will last you for a week or so. The technology inside it needs sonic cleaning, so if you are in a shuttle, you can shower with your suit on."
Tricia blinked, "That"s it? One fitting and I am sealed into my suit? How do I use my…talent?"
"We will get into that after you have been checked out at medical and shown to your quarters. You have to do all your practicing inside sealed environments until you have a complete grip on it, so let"s save something for tomorrow when your partner will arrive."
Dazed and feeling the small curl of happiness inside her, Tricia giggled until she processed what she had just heard. "Partner?"
"Yeah, it has been ascertained that you will benefit Udell base the most, so you are going to be in training with their base commander, Guardian."
"Ah. But that isn"t until tomorrow? Then is it safe for me to have a meal at the commissary? I haven"t been able to eat in a room with other people in months."
Smiling, Fixer unsealed the bubble to lead her out and into the base. Star Breaker followed them with a slight smirk that had Tricia guessing as to what the hell was going on.
Star Breaker had a Terran look to her features, but Tricia had seen several species who looked moderately similar to her own. The strange woman in the dark suit could have been any one of a dozen races.
Tricia"s suit was rapidly growing on her. She enjoyed the freedom of feeling air, even if it was through the filter, it felt like it touched her skin. The ladies with her got nods of recognition from those they passed, she got curious glances and smiled back when a smile came her way.
"Come on. Let"s see if the chefs have gotten out the emergency supplies yet. Fixer has been working overtime and she tends to get a little hungry." Star Breaker was smiling.
The moment that they stepped into the commissary, the staff went on high alert. Instead of filling their trays, the ladies took a seat and waited.
"What are we waiting for?"
Mala grinned and leaned back, her fingers laced behind her head. "They deliver to me. It saves time."
First, a wave of servers brought beverages with a series of grins and greetings for Tricia. The outright friendliness of the base staff was enough to make her twitch. It had been months since anyone came near her and h
ere they were offering to shake her hand and giving her the welcome of a new staffer.
"Who is watching your kids, Mala?"
"Isabi and Kale."
Star Breaker sputtered on her tea. "Kale?"
"He"s getting more practice in."
Tricia keyed to it, "Practice? Are you…"
"Yes. It is why I am confined to shuttlecraft and small flares of energy." She dug into her pudding and made a face. "I hate being planet-bound."
"How long do you have?"
