Designing

The heap of leather and metal on the table was drawing a lot of speculation as to how a primitive with limited resources managed to repurpose an instrument of torture.

“I cannot understand how the Gaian understood the tech, let alone reprogrammed it.” The head engineer of the Nine warship scowled and prodded the leather. It contracted immediately.

“She has a talent for it, much as the other men and women who have been coming to our attention. I wouldn’t put anything past the Gaians at this point. They are surprising us at every turn, Father.” Deniir laughed.

“I want to talk to the engineer who created this. This is an amazing work of design and practicality.”

“That will be difficult, Father. She has retired from active use of her talent and has withdrawn to the cliffs. She sees no one.” Deniir frowned. “She has even cut herself off from her friends.”

His father shifted his shoulders restlessly. “How do you know that?”

“I asked. Cavos’s mate is a friend of the designer. She is the one who used to wear the harness. Her spinal cord had been damaged, and yet, this woman rigged the straps to keep her friend upright and mobile for years before it failed.”

“Extremely impressive. For a primitive to take apart and reassemble Tokkel technology is a feat that deserves to be investigated. I would like to interview her.”

Deniir frowned. “She will not leave her home. Even her friends do not have permission to visit.”

“Then, you will have to convince her that she needs to take a tour of our facilities. I believe that the opportunity will entice her. She can have full run of a design station and access to all our tech. That has to be tempting, even if she is in retirement.”

Deniir looked at his father. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am very serious. A mind like this needs to be encouraged, not allowed to hide in the darkness. Bring her into the light.”

He straightened and made a formal bow. “Yes, Master Engineer Darthuun. I will bring this woman into the light, whether she wishes to be here or not.”

* * * *

“Are you sure this is her home?” Deniir turned to ask the woman who had escorted him up the mountain.

Niika smiled. “It is where she lives. This is as far as I will take you. Whether you succeed or fail, you do it on your own.”

He frowned. “You don’t visit her?”

“Of course I do. The third day after the second moon is full. We have a schedule but that isn’t suitable for your timeline, and she can see us from here, so you had better stop looming over me.” Niika grinned at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

Deniir snorted and turned to Niika’s mate. “Cavos, can’t you do something?”

He grinned. “I am doing something. I am letting you take my mate away from our restoration of the underground Stone Folk city. We have a life to begin, Deniir, and while I respect your mission, it is yours and not mine.”

Deniir stared up at the small door set into the side of the mountain, and he nodded. “Thank you for your assistance. I will take it from here.”

He shifted his cloak around him and made his way up the narrow path that led to the door in the stone. To his shock, he caught the gleam of small monitoring cameras as he progressed toward the entrance.

He stepped on the doormat laid out and knocked on the door in the cliff face. He heard rustling inside and the top half of the door swung open, and a woman with pale skin and crimson hair faced him. “What do you want?”

“Greetings, Ularica. My name is Deniir, and I am an engineer of the People of the Light on the Nine mother ship.”

She stared at him impassively and blinked slowly.

“Uh, well, you are invited to the mother ship in an effort to get you to tour the engineering department.”

She nodded. “Not interested. Please leave.”

To his surprise, she shut the upper half of the door, and he could hear her footsteps receding inside.

“Damn.”

He heard a noise that was familiar. Birds. He followed a narrow path around the corner of the stone wall until the path ended. Sighing with curiosity, he removed his cloak and fluffed out his wings.

He flexed them a few times and then launched himself into the darkness of the space between mountains. His wing beats were heavy, but it eased as he worked out into the light and the warmer air lifted him until he was facing an entire flock of absolutely huge raptors.

The giant birds watched him warily as he settled on a thick jutting branch. He looked at the birds carefully, and he spotted two of them wearing what appeared to be saddles. The way the woman had been heading to the back of her home, she had something distracting on her mind, and there was nothing more distracting than flying. He simply had to wait, and perching in the tree was second nature.

She would come out to ride one of her birds, and he would make his pitch in the air.

* * * *

Ula felt a little guilty about closing the door on the man from the Nine, but she was so tired of folks wanting to use her talent for military purposes that it was a reflex she now regretted.

She sighed and quickly braided her hair. She knew just the thing to clear her head, and the flock was right outside.

A quick change into riding gear and she was ready to go for one of her personal pleasures and fly through the Gaian sky.

The rocs were nice birds and large enough to carry a human without difficulty, but they were impossible to domesticate. She didn’t have any issue with domestication; she rode them wild.

Ula clicked her tongue rapidly, and one of the birds screeched in response. Outside her balcony was a rock suitable for a landing site, and her favourite bird came at her call.

“Good afternoon, Bertrum.” She clicked her tongue again, and he settled onto the perch she had built for him. “Ready for some exercise?”

Bert settled and let her mount. She slid her feet into the stirrups and latched her flying belt into the saddle. Bertrum and his mate Eleth wore her saddles constantly. They were the only rocs that didn’t fight her every time. Ula suspected that the two birds actually thought of the harnesses as some kind of mating bands. They certainly clung together and preened when they were wearing them.

Once she was in place, she made a low chuffing noise and Bert took off. It was time to get the only freedom she had anymore; it was time to ride the wind.

Her eyes teared until she pulled her goggles into place. Bert was in fine form today. He wheeled, darted and spiralled around the cliffs of her home until she could do nothing but hang on for dear life.

Once he had gotten used to her weight, Bert began to climb.

She clung to him as he headed straight for the clouds. As the roaring in her ears eased, she heard a strange noise. There were heavy wing beats nearby, and they didn’t belong to a roc.

She turned her head and had to blink several times behind her goggles. There was a flying man gaining on them, and he bore a startling resemblance to the Nine representative who had been at her door.

She rocked back in her stirrups, and Bert slowed his forward progress. She shouted. “What the hell?”

“I would like to speak with you, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to make that meeting happen.” He flew next to them and smiled brightly at her as he kept pace.

“You have wings.”

“I do. Now, shall we continue this conversation on the ground or do you want me to continue to pace you?”

She was so startled, she gave Bert the signal to land. He spiralled down, and she dismounted on a rocky strut jutting from the canyon below. Bert shuffled and took off, leaving her alone with the winged rep.

Ula put her hands on her leather-clad hips and looked up at the lean man looking down at her. “So? Talk.”

“I would like you to come to the mother ship and take a look at our research and development department. I believe that you have skills that we can learn from and a way of viewing technology that is fresh and new.”

She looked him up and down, and her mind tried to work out the means by which he flew. “Why does the Nine want to speak to me?”

“Because of the repurposing of the Tokkel torture straps. If you could teach our men to think a little more outside the standard, we might just be able to have a higher crash-survival rate.” He blinked, and he exhibited a second set of eyelids. Under the standard lids, he had a clear inner lid that was probably designed for flight.

Ula throttled down her curiosity. It tended to get her into trouble. She did not want to be curious about this man. Nor did she want to wonder how someone who looked so dense could fly.

“I don’t want to go to the mother ship.”

“Please. We have many engineers and researchers who have not yet been able to learn your language. The translators on the ship would enable them to learn how to change the way they look at items in order to think outside common parameters.”

She gave him a sceptical look. “You have to be kidding me.”

“No. From what your friends and the administrators of the colony have told us, you have a knack for creating anything they need out of scavenged tech. We would like you to share that knack with us so that we can evolve past our narrow views of our own technology. We are in danger of becoming locked in a ship that needs to evolve, and we are unable to help her. Our minds do not work that way.”

Ula paced to the edge of the stone and looked down into the canyon. She thought about the concept of trying to teach others how her mind worked, and it was amusing and intriguing. No one had wanted to learn from her before. They simply wanted the results of her work, not the process that had created it.

“What do I get out of it if I agree to head up to the mother ship?” She turned to face him and his wings were extended, sheltering her from the wind. It was sweet.

“I am authorized to offer you patents on anything you create, followed by bonuses for their practicality. You will have full run of our research and development department and all supplies and tech they can provide.”

Ula felt a stirring of excitement. “Wait, you mean I will be able to see lists of tech and requisition what I want to play with? No one will complain?”

“They will be honoured to assist your efforts. I have not heard one person complain about the end result of your work.”

She laughed. “That is politic. They complain because I won’t do more. I have created self-thawing sidewalks, improved healing facilities with upgraded machines, and they still want more. I refuse to work in weaponry. Is that clear?”

He nodded. “It is clear. No weapons. So, you will come?”

She let out a shrill whistle, and Bert returned to her side. She clucked to him as she hauled herself into the saddle. “I will come with you for no more than seven days. At the end of that time, I wish to be returned here to my home. Is that clear?”

Deniir nodded. “Yes, of course. I can have it drawn up in a contract if you like.”

“It probably wouldn’t hurt. I will meet you back at my home, and we can hash out the details.”

She doubled checked her goggles and gently squeezed Bert with her heels. He waddled to the edge of the cliff and dropped straight down, opening his wings on the way to catch himself and begin the climb. Ularica used her control straps to steer him home, and then, she hopped off her mount and went inside to give him his treat. The treat being citrus was shocking to some people, but they didn’t watch the rocs. The rocs flew through primarily desolate areas. They almost became intoxicated with the appearance of a large juicy fruit. Bert opened his mouth when she approached with it, and he quickly flew off.

“Where is he going?” Deniir settled next to her on the stone path that led out of the rocs’ canyon and into her home.

“To give it to Eleth, his mate. I think she is going to nest soon, and I hope they do it nearby. I do love to watch the little ones.”

He nodded.

“Are your people born with wings or do you develop them later in life?” She almost clapped her hand over her mouth but the question was out.

“The buds are there, but the wings only develop in late adolescence. It is our last stage of development.”

“Ah. Interesting.” Her mind was whirling, and she wanted to see him fly again so that she could design a pair of wings for herself. Inwardly, she winced. Any new stimuli and she couldn’t turn her talent off. The urge to create was overwhelming.

He tucked his wings tight to his back and they folded to press against his body until they no longer resembled wings and instead appeared to be a fanciful cloak thrown over his shoulders.

Ula scowled as she realised that her curiosity was going to back her into a corner again. This time, she wasn’t going to be able to hide in her mountain home. Once she was on that star ship, she was going to be examined, interviewed and put through her paces.

There was no hiding anymore. It was time to face the very men that parts of her government wanted her to destroy. She hoped that telepathy wasn’t common, because she was going to be looking at them and wondering if they were aware how close they were to death at the hands of the Gaian primitives.

“Give me a few minutes to pack a bag.”

He inclined his head. “Take your time. I am in no hurry.”

Her tension was probably confusing him but that was for the best. The day that she had come up with a way to destroy the mother ship of the Nine was the day she destroyed all her research and climbed the mountain, never to return to the cities of her world. They didn’t need the power she could bring them. They would grow slowly and the world would evolve them in its own time. She didn’t need to turn them into murdering bastards. If they wanted to turn destructive, they could do it without her help.

She was getting out and up.