Tracking (Return of the Nine) (2 page)

“She does enjoy natural fibres, and skins are just some of them. The pants seem an odd fit.”

Ianka laughed as she followed Apolan’s lead and started helping herself to breakfast. “They were rather urgent. My original clothing had shredded away by that point. Dressing myself became rather important. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a pattern to work from.”

Daphne laughed. “So, you improvised.”

“Yup. The shirt was easier. I used the shreds of my last blouse to make the pattern and it fits like a dream. The bra bands were hit and miss.”

“How did you cure the leather?”

Ianka smiled. “Lua pods. They dissolved the hair and the oil softened the skin. They are easy to use if you wrap your hands. Soak the skin in water the moment you have the result you want.”

“Nice. Your boots are lovely.”

She beamed. “Thank you.”

The pilot, who was so deep red he was nearly black, chuckled and spoke in careful Gaian. “It figures. Put two women together no matter their species and they will talk about shoes.”

Ianka looked squarely at him and he grinned, showing deadly teeth. She stated in clipped tones. “It was not a conversation that you chose to enter in its infancy so critiquing it shows bad manners.”

He blinked and leaned back slightly. “You are correct. I am unfamiliar with the object in question and therefore my comment was unwarranted. I apologize.”

She inclined her head. “Apology accepted.”

Daphne and Apolan were looking at each other with amusement. Apolan cleared his throat. “How long were you living on your own in the wild, Ianka?”

“I saw four winters out there, but I am not focussed on the exact dates. I lived in the moment.” She shrugged.

The pilot cleared his throat. “You lived here on Underhill without companions or shelter for four years?”

She shrugged. “Yes. I found a few hunting parties and helped them back to the city, but I did not return myself.”

“You fed and sheltered yourself for four years?” He raised his brows.

“Yes. Is there a reference to this in the Nine languages? You seem confused.” She worked on her meal with good appetite. It had been a while since she had consumed fruit out of season. She had missed the greenhouses of the city. Dried fruit just wasn’t the same.

Apolan chuckled. “Our females are not really trained for self-sufficiency. There are so few that we tend to take great care of them. Dorum was simply surprised that you had survived on your own.”

She swallowed and sipped some water. “I can track my own food, and after a while, I got used to killing for defense and meals. Once I reached that point, not much bothered me.”

Dorum nodded. “Yes, once you have your first kill under your belt, it is like a rock down a hill. Not much will stop you, though you may be redirected.”

Ianka inclined her head. “Now you have it. So, when do we leave?”

He grinned. “As soon as the meal is done. The ship has been checked and is ready for takeoff.”

“Good. I need to find out what she wants. She has become most insistent.” Ianka rubbed her forehead. She knew what Daphne had told her, but she wanted to hear it from Vida.

Dorum was looking at her curiously. “You can sense your sister?”

Ianka frowned. “Now and then. Right now is one of those moments.”

Daphne smiled. “They have always had their link. Before the Tokkel, they were one of the best tracking teams that had ever been seen, not that folks knew who they were. They did their best work without anyone knowing. Ianka even delivered meat to those who had suffered a death or illness and were unable to work.”

She sat up. “How do you know that?”

“I saw you. I was hiding and you brought it all the way out to my cottage on several occasions before you left. I truly appreciated it.”

“Where were you?”

Daphne chuckled. “I was hiding.”

“Oh.” Ianka blushed. She had forgotten that Daphne had her own set of skills when she chose to use them.

The rest of the meal was completed in silence.

Ianka’s belly was full but not uncomfortable when she placed her cutlery carefully across the edge of her plate.

She felt a touch on her shoulder and the housekeeper pointed toward the corner where her bag was sitting and gleaming with a solid cleaning.

“Thank you for the care you took.” She spoke softly.

She wasn’t sure if the woman spoke Gaian or not, but she blushed a soft grey and smiled shyly.

Daphne grinned as the woman left. “I think she is smitten with you. No other woman could have scattered the guards with a look, like you did.”

“It was my smell, not my face that scattered them.” She sat with her hands in her lap.

“I beg to differ. You looked deadly coming through the gates.” Apolan smiled.

They rose from the table and Ianka took the hint. She grabbed her pack, checked for her knives and followed Pilot Dorum to the tarmac a fair distance from the embassy.

Daphne came with her.

“Thank you, Daphne. That shower was wonderful.”

Daphne laughed. “The mother ship has solar showers, so think fondly of this one.”

“Right. Limited water on the ship.” Ianka braced herself for what was about to be her first space flight.

She gave Daphne a brisk hug and waved to Apolan before following Dorum into the ship.

He carefully took her pack from her and settled it in a storage container, locking it closed. “We don’t want anything coming loose. This is a quick and bumpy trip.”

She nodded and swallowed quickly. “It will be my first.”

He showed her to the front of the shuttle and he demonstrated how to buckle into one of the dozen seats, all without touching her. She snapped the harness into place and he nodded with satisfaction. “Right. We shall be on our way.”

Ianka swallowed again and curled her hands on the armrests. The shuttle started to move and then they were tilting upward. She felt the tugging as the engines pushed against the atmosphere.

She closed her eyes at the pressure and held tight until there was a switch in the drag downward. It went from overwhelming to steady and even in a few moments. From that moment until they entered the huge vessel of the mother ship, she concentrated on her breathing and not crushing the armrests in her grip.

A curl of excitement ran through her and she sat up as much as she could. Vida was seeing her arrive. They would be together again and the pain of the separation would finally ease.

Chapter Three

Ianka looked at her sister from the walkway that led away from the ship bays. Vida was clenching her hands together and a large dark figure was behind her, his hands on her shoulders

Ianka tried not to run to the door that separated them, but she got there in seconds and waiting for the panel to slide open took an eternity.

Face to face with her sister, she had no words. She hugged Vida carefully, and to her surprise, her twin had grown several inches taller.

Vida chuckled. “I will have to explain the height, Eek, but that can wait for later. I am so happy that you have come.”

Ianka parted from her sister and tears were running down both their cheeks.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before laughter began and another hug ensued.

The man with Vida cleared his throat. “Ladies, I believe we should take the reunion to an area where we are not blocking traffic.”

Ianka turned and gave the men behind her a blank stare. They shifted and moved around her, edging around their little group.

Sighing, she turned back to her sister. “Your mate is right. Is there somewhere else we can make spectacles of ourselves?”

Vida linked arms between them and started hauling them along. “Ianka, this is S’rin of the Balance. His people are a little unusual, even for the Nine, but we get along. S’rin, this is my twin, Ianka Senior. Her skills are as physical as mine are not.” She chuckled.

Ianka nodded to him around her sister’s increased height. He nodded in return.

“It is an honour to meet you, Ianka.”

“And you as well, S’rin.”

Vida dragged them to a series of pods and explained the inner ship transport system to her sister. Ianka smiled at this new world that her sister was so keen on. It was good to see her excited about something that wasn’t her habit of staring at the stars.

Twins always knew that one day their worlds would part, but Ianka had never imagined it would be literally.

“We live in the area used by the Balance. It is the quietest section of the ship, so it will be easy to talk, and the food is peculiarly attractive.” Vida smiled.

It had been two hours since her meal at the embassy, but if Vida wanted to eat while they spoke, Ianka would jam in whatever would fit.

They settled in the pod, and without any delay, they were whisking through the ship and Ianka took in everything around her.

Seated across from her sister and S’rin, Ianka looked into his hood and smiled, “So, are those stars everywhere or just on your face?”

He jumped a little and looked at her more closely. “You can see through the shadows?”

Vida said proudly, “She can see through fog, run faster than local predators and find anything that has left a trail. Your little hood trick is no match for her sight.”

He chuckled and lowered his hood, exposing the stars that floated under his skin with the occasional streaking meteor.

Ianka could only imagine what his skin looked like under his robes, but it didn’t stir her at all. He was Vida’s and that was the end of it.

Ianka drank tea while they ate and nibbled at bits that her sister recommended from the platter of designs crafted from food. It was almost too pretty to eat.

Vida winced a few times during the meal. S’rin stopped and held her hand while she breathed through whatever spasm she was having.

“What is going on?” Ianka wanted to know. Vida was wearing a tight bodysuit, but it seemed to be nearly structural in places.

Vida sighed. “I had a break in my arm that was treated here, but they haven’t calibrated the treatment for Gaians yet, so there were side effects. My normally brittle frame is being reinforced on the molecular level and my bonding to S’rin is increasing my height. There are definitely twinges as the change progresses.”

S’rin continued to hold her hand. “She is unfit for spaceflight. I am afraid that there was no option but to contact you in an effort to rescue your parents.”

Ianka let that sink in for a moment and sipped her tea. “Rescue?”

Vida smiled and leaned forward. “They are alive, I have found the description of the star that they are nearest to, and I was inside Dad’s head. He and Mother are both alive and well. Well, not well, but they are alive and together. With S’rin’s help, I was able to see through his eyes. Things were blurry, but we found the likeliest location.”

Ianka remained silent and leaned back, sipping at her tea for a moment. When she set the elegant little cup down in the saucer, she looked at her sister and smiled. “When do I leave?”

Vida nearly upended the table as she cried out happily and flung herself into Ianka’s arms.

S’rin rescued the table and got to his feet. He waited until Vida was finished with her hugs before holding her chair for her and helping her seat herself.

S’rin turned toward Ianka. “You will need a round of medical scans and some ship suits. We will assign you to a pilot and he will take you to the location. The ideal outcome will be for you to find all the Gaians who were taken, but if you do not, bring home your family.”

“If Vida can see them, I can track them. Find someone to get me to that world and I will bring them home, just make sure that the ship is big enough.”

She knew every member of the missing by scent. Despite her frustration at her sister’s obsession, she had gone to every private residence and memorized the scent of all the missing. Her frustration had been at her own inability to track her family through space. She was being offered a chance to change that, and so now, she was going to do everything she could to make the most of this opportunity.

If they were on that world or moon or station, she was bringing them home.

After dinner, it apparently was time to get her kitted out. There was no hesitation and no time to waste. A rack came out with a series of suits hanging from it. The shadow plucked several selections and S’rin nodded. “She will take them all and boots as well.”

Ianka watched as S’rin swiped a small chit. “You shouldn’t pay for me.”

“Dearest sister, it is an honour and a privilege.” He bowed low.

She blinked as the shadow handed her a suit. She could see the man inside the swirling darkness and he was smiling. “There is a change room off to the left there. If you would care to put this on, you can be a little more comfortable.”

She blushed. “Thank you.”

With a nod from Vida, she headed to the change room and slipped the dress off with relief. Tight clothing was not really her forte. She liked it to hug her but not restrict her and the dress was highly restricting when she moved her arms.

She tugged on the bodysuit and it formed to her, leaving her feeling covered but free. Her bust was incredibly grateful. She got support and was uncompressed. It was a nice feeling. She smoothed the closures together and exited the change room with her dress over her arm.

S’rin coughed and Vida elbowed him. “We are not identical twins, stop staring.”

Vida held out a robe. “Here, this might stop the gawking while you are on the mother ship.”

Grinning, she tossed the dress to S’rin and turned her back to Vida so she could slip it in place. Once the sleeveless robe was on her shoulders, her more noticeable assets were camouflaged. She twirled. “Better?”

S’rin had her dress over his arm. “No, but it will be better for morale. You have a striking figure.”

Vida wrinkled her nose. “She really does. I have always envied it.”

Ianka grinned. “And I have always envied you your perky nose.”

S’rin chuckled. “And I will be the envy of every man on the ship but only if we can get out of here so that I can show you off.”