Crisis Management (2 page)

He grinned, “The five other candidates were sent to other Citadels. Udell is a battle base, and we need those who can fight and survive. You will learn how to manage your strength in combat situations, learn to fight hand to hand and use as many weapons familiar to the Alliance as possible.”

“Udell? I thought I was going to the Citadel at Lowel.”

He scratched his chin, “Well, it isn’t built quite yet. It is still in the construction phases. All the Lowel Citadel, members are being given quarters at Udell for the time being.”

She grew suspicious. “How many members are there?”

He gave her an innocent look, “So far, there is one.”

She clapped her hand to her face. “So you lied.”

“I did not lie. You are the first member of the Lowel Citadel. You will be trained at Udell, but it comes under the heading of financial matters. You can be a member of the Citadel and we can pay the Citadel for your services as a sub-contractor.”

“So, I am a member of the Citadel who will do their training at Udell base while waiting for the Lowel Citadel to not only be constructed but populated.” Devani sighed. “That is indeed something thought up by an accountant.”

“You sound familiar with it.”

She chuckled “Of course I am. I am an accountant.”

Helsin grinned. “Excellent. You may have to trot out your expertise at a later time.”

Dev smiled. “I look forward to it. Data is my happy place. I enjoy working through numbers and running calculations. It is meditative.”

He shuddered. “For you perhaps. I prefer the living body to the land of numbers and calculations.”

“How many races are represented at Udell base?” Dev bit her lip when he looked at her curiously.

“Over ninety at this time.”

“You are familiar with them all?”

“Relatively. Their files have baselines for their species, and we make allowances for any psychic or physical talent. I can’t have complete knowledge of each species, but I do a fair job.” He cleared his throat. “The Bahi are a fascinating species.”

Dev rubbed the back of her neck. “Yes. They are.”

“I noticed on your scan that you had an abdominal navel.”

Dev winced. “I am a Brought child rather than a Decanted one. Yes. My mother had an inactive suppressing shot while she was interviewing for the position of genetic donor.”

“So, instead of being gestated in a tank you were…”

“Gestated by Neefa Jarix, but she handed me off to the crèche the moment I was born.” Devani shrugged.

“It is fascinating to find a race that does not use their bodies for reproduction but still have a controlled genetic donation from the existing population.”

Dev shrugged. “If you say so, it is simply the way the Bahi are.”

“You didn’t donate for an offspring?”

She shook her head, swallowing a lump in her throat. “No, by the time I turned my mind to it, I had already had my first public display and I could not find a male who wanted to blend his genes with mine. It was the ultimate in rejection.”

“You would have used the gestation chambers?” Helsin seemed surprised.

“There would have been no choice. I am beginning to suspect that my body is armoured against invasion. There is no sign to indicate that it will not extend to my reproductive system. My egg would be withdrawn and placed in the gestation chamber. It would be that simple.”

Helsin shook his head. “As a doctor, I can tell you that it is never that simple. Some species have stronger maternal instincts than others, but they all want their young with them so that they can love and instruct them. It does go awry in some, but most engage in this activity easily.”

“Not on Bahi. When society buckled and dissolved, the government sponsored the tech to begin again. Women were given two chances at children and a bonus if they accepted sterilization afterward. The men were treated the same. Two children could be fathered and then their reproductive options were halted. The Bahi fought it for a few years, but when the government added bonuses to women who handed their children over for mass education, it took less than three generations to shift ninety-nine percent of the population into the gestation chambers as the only means of reproduction.”

“What of the one percent?”

“They bring their children in for registration and are given the option for entering them in the crèche or not. My mother brought me in and handed me over then submitted to sterilization and surgical repair.”

Dev was uncomfortable, as she always was when her birth circumstances came up.

“I see. So you don’t claim family on Bahi.”

“No, Dr. Helsin, I do not.” Her voice was firm. “What species are you, by the way?”

“Wadaren. It is an offshoot of the Wyoran species. My colouration was an indication of my differences. I had a talent not common among my people.”

She shifted to watch him as there was a tug on space around them. “What is your talent?”

“Diagnostics. I can’t heal with a touch as others can, but I can determine what is wrong with a body simply by touching and concentrating. I don’t do it often unless there is no other option, but it is what sets me apart from my people.” His smile was kind. “Don’t worry about what has been or how you got here, move forward with all your might.”

She tilted her head and smiled ruefully. “That is a lot of might.”

He chuckled. “I know, but I also know that you were strong enough to not let the public embarrassment destroy you. You kept your job, maintained what little social life you could and refused to use your talent for personal gain. Those are qualities to be admired, and I do admire them.”

Another ripple went through the ship. “What is that?”

“It is a jump. Don’t you feel it?”

“It feels like a small shiver in the engines. What is it exactly?”

“A transmission between two places. The ship sends a signal through beacons on this side and beacons at the destination send an all clear. For a moment, we are in both places at the same time, and then, we are in our new location. It is a system based on Admaryn technology as far as I know.”

She nodded. “I need to begin learning about this sort of thing. On Bahi, only those who worked the spaceport had any knowledge of aliens.”

Helsin chuckled. “I always love being called alien. Well, let me get a data pad and walk you through some of the races you will meet when you land. The Guardsmen are varied and the troops as well. You will need to learn them all.”

He got to his feet and retrieved a flat tablet and set it between them. He opened file after file and began to instruct her. “This is Nich-Udell. He is the Avatar for the planet Udell.”

“The planet is alive?”

“Yes, there are many planets that place a portion of their consciousness in a living host for ease of communication. Nich was a volunteer, and Udell has been riding around in him for quite a while. They are married to Stellar Storm.”

A woman’s face flickered onto the screen. Her smile was brilliant and her eyes held a wicked glint.

“They are married to one person?”

“It is becoming common among the Avatars to take mates. Stellar Storm is her call sign, she has another name but that is for the base only. Udell is home and that is where the Guard are themselves. Away from the base, they answer to call signs only.”

“Understood, so she is the mate of the Avatar?”

“No. She is mate to Avatar and world. They have a shared consciousness and they enjoy the companion they have chosen. She is the carrier of a flick of energy from a dying star. It was just beginning to think and Sholu went supernova. The resulting storm of power and thought found the Terran and made its home within her.”

“So, stars can think as well? And talk?” Dev knew her eyes were wide.

Helsin nodded and flicked to a silver figure. “This is Guardian.”

Dev listened to the description of the commanding officer and his wife, Pax. Four different people and what appeared to be four different species, though Helsin claimed Pax and Stellar Storm were the same species.

It was fascinating, and she absorbed as much as she could. There would not be time to learn what she needed to when she was confronted by her first alien world. A small smile began deep inside when she realized that they all lived and belonged there. She was the alien, and she was going to have to blunder along.

Chapter Three

Udell felt peculiar beneath her feet, the hard metal plates of the base thumped against her boots when she walked. Guardian met them when they reached medical.

“Welcome to Sector Guard Base Udell. I am Guardian, but here on the surface you may call me Martuas.” He inclined his head and smiled.

“Thank you. My name is Devani Jarix. Pleased to meet you.” She responded to the inclination of his head with one of her own.

Helsin cleared his throat. “Martuas, I have to get Devani through her initial checks and scans. It should only take a few minutes. Would you like to meet with her in your office when I am done?”

“Yes, thank you, Helsin.”

Dev walked into the medical centre as Helsin guided her with a hand to her back. “He seems nice.”

Helsin chuckled. “He is. His wife, Tricia, is charming as well. He doesn’t come into physical contact with new females anymore. It irritates her senses.”

“Oh. I see.”

“Most of the Guards here are partnered and mated. It is tricky to find someone who accepts your talents as part of the whole.” He smiled and sighed.

The machines in the medical bay of Udell made the high tech press on Bahi look like sticks and stones.

“We are going to do strike baselines.”

“We?” She raised her brows.

He chuckled. “You. You are going to do strike baselines. We didn’t have the right equipment on hand on Bahi, but here, we are prepared for anything.”

She looked around at the displays, the metal and comfortable medical beds. “So, where do I stand?”

Helsin uploaded his data pad and looked up. “Oh, you will be wearing a bodysuit similar to the one Guardian was wearing. It is in that cabinet on the right.”

He puttered around and his assistant came toward him with a bright smile in her direction before focussing on the doctor.

Dev opened the cabinet and looked for something that resembled a suit. There was a pod sitting on some files. Dev pulled it out to examine it and jumped when it started to move.

“What the hell?” She tried to shake it off, but it was firmly attached to her.

Helsin looked up. “Don’t worry. It is Masuo. Well, Udell Masuo. It is a biological organism that lives happily in harmony with others. It becomes attuned to your mood and emotions as well as physical stresses. It goes from clothing to armour in a fraction of a second.”

Dev was only partially listening to him. The substance was moving down her body, under her clothing and across intimate regions without any hesitation.

Her shirt was plain, grey and had simple fasteners down the front. Dev opened her shirt slowly and blinked at the crimson panel that ran down her body, the gold sides gave it a classy look and the boning inherent in the suit offered structure. It was really quite pretty.

“Where does it get the pattern from?”

“Kahlia does the design work. The benefit of Masuo is that once it is trained, it can shift into anything. According to the ladies here, it saves a lot on clothing costs.”

She frowned and continued to strip with the Masuo now covering all of her. The moment she removed her trousers, boots formed on her feet and their detailing climbed upward. The collar moved up until it ringed her neck with a keyhole opening toward her cleavage.

She folded her clothes and put them in a neat pile on the edge of one of the medical beds. “So, what do I need to hit?”

Helsin blinked when she stood in front of him. “That suit looks…lovely.”

“I don’t think it is completely done yet, but it feels comfortable and gives full coverage.”

He shook his head, the navy braid flipping down his back. “Right. Well. Here is the strike plate. Make a fist and hit it as hard as you can.”

Dev stood in front of the plate, made fists and grinned as the Masuo formed a protective glove over her hand. She pulled her hand back and punched the plate.

“Harder, Devani. You know you can.”

Helsin’s voice was encouraging so Dev hit harder. She struck the plate over and over, pushing herself to bring more and more force into the equation.

“Come on, one more. You can do it!”

Dev pulled her right arm back and slammed it forward with all her strength. The plate shuddered, buckled and shattered under the force.

Panting, she stood and looked over at Helsin, then heard the applause. Turning, she noted several men in uniforms smiling at her and clapping with approval.

Helsin frowned and cleared his throat, the crowd left medical.

“How was that, Helsin?”

He was holding his data pad and staring at the spot where the plate had been. “That…was good. Very good. I think you will be working out with the virtual instructor that Tech has built, at least until you get yourself completely under control.”