Factor (2 page)

She sprinted back to her home ten minutes away. She had monitors to check and a new commander to introduce herself to.

The light was already on when she arrived. “Good afternoon. This is your dispatcher, how can I help you?”

“I am Cowl, and I am now the commander of this Guardian outpost. Where were you?”

She could see Cowl on the screen as he sat and spoke to her. He was in a Guardian uniform, a fitted bodysuit, but his face was in the shadow of a deep hood that concealed his features.

“Attending a call of nature. It happens to everyone.” She twisted her lips and blushed even though he couldn’t see her. She couldn’t lie to save her life. She turned pink at the slightest fib.

“Ah, I see. Well, can you tell us who has been here aside from the previous Guardians? Twist just picked up a very peculiar scent.”

“It could have been a local animal. They tend to hang out in your backyard. Perhaps one got past the sensors.”

“Did you see anything? I have noticed that there are security cameras everywhere, and I am assuming that you are the end of the line for the feeds.”

“I didn’t see anything, but I was not monitoring your base today.” It was true, and the heat in her cheeks receded.

“Speaking to a blank screen is uncomfortable. I would like to see your features.”

“That isn’t going to happen, Cowl. Turnabout is fair play. I can’t see you either.”

He chuckled. “I have been told that my features are disturbing, so this is my preferred method of presenting myself. What is your excuse?”

“Cybernetic eye. My original was clawed out in a prison riot.” She was completely frank. The image that most folks imagined was disturbing enough that they didn’t choose to push the issue. Jianne felt guilty that her face actually had been completely repaired, the new eye matched her own in every detail. She had pleasantly normal features for a Terran.

“Ouch. You were in prison?”

“Yes, there is a reason that I am here and you are there. I am a security risk by imperium standards.” Another truth. Cadar, not the imperium, had taken her on.

His head tilted to one side. “How is it that you are working on Cadar then?”

“It is a private matter, but I am approved by the Cadar government. They have run all necessary security checks.” She chuckled. Her hand was rotating the data crystal, but she was surprisingly interested in continuing the conversation.

Practicalities had to be observed though. “Commander Cowl, what is the protocol that you would like me to engage in when your team is called to an assignment?”

His head cocked again. “I don’t know. What did you do with the previous team?”

She went over the procedure of alerting the team, prepping them with information once they had linked into her audio feed, and then, she paused.

“Dispatch, what are you not saying?”

“I assisted the team in determining the active factor in wrapping up their assignment. Usually, there is one person or object that can be moved or taken out to bring the entire event to a halt when there are folks involved. In the case of natural disasters, I can determine the path to survival via the same kind of senses.”

“You are a talent?”

She wrinkled her nose, aware that he couldn’t see it. “Sort of. I have a knack of being in the right place at the wrong time or the wrong place at the right time. Either way, it is better that I stay in my office and lead you through your day at a nice safe distance.”

Cowl inclined his head. “I will respect that. Is there anything that requires our attention?”

Jianne quickly moved through her screens and data feeds. “There is a hurricane watch on the eastern coast of Daruju, but they have it under control. You and your team can settle in and explore your new base.”

“I am setting my com to standby now, as will the others. Call us when there is need.”

“Of course. Welcome to Cadar, Cowl.”

“Thank you, Dispatch. Do you have a name?”

Jianne grinned. “I do, thanks for asking.” She disconnected their coms with the flick of her fingers.

Cowl jerked a little in shock. She watched him on her monitors as he leaned forward and sniffed at the desk where she had only recently been fumbling around. Jianne turned her gaze from his exploration to the Guardian known as Twist. He was sniffing around the trapdoor, and his canine features indicated that he was serious about it.

Jianne scowled and turned her attention to the entire newsfeed from Cadar. There had to be something out there to distract the Guardians. “Aha!”

A group of travellers in a boat were missing and had been out of contact for two days. A little search and rescue would do wonders for her peace of mind.

She gathered all information on the missing boat and forwarded it to the Guardian’s shuttle, as well as their mainframe.

“Dispatch to Commander Cowl. There is a situation that you can help with.” She rattled off the information, and he inclined his head.

“Thank you, Dispatch. We are on our way. Have you loaded—”

“The information is in the shuttle and the skimmer, depending on what you want to take over the water. With the incoming storm, I would recommend the shuttle.”

“Suggestion accepted. Can you jolt the others?”

“I can.”

Jianne took a deep breath and used her override on the men’s personal coms. “Twist, there is a situation.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Roil, there is a situation.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Flare, there is a situation.”

“Acknowledged, and pleased to meet you, Dispatch.”

She laughed at the flirtation in his tone. “Get to work, Flare. We have missing tourists in the ocean. Go and find them.”

He was in the common area, and he snapped a salute to the nearest camera as the other members of his team came up behind him, scooting him out the door and into the shuttle.

Jianne breathed easy that they were not going to continue their tracking of her scent. Sending them six hours out to sea might be a little bit of overkill, but what else could she do? She panicked.

Chapter Three

An easy assignment ended in triumph, and Jianne felt a little less guilty when she saw the images of the families that had been stranded in a dead ship. She forwarded the best images to the local news distributors and smiled as she watched the Guardians head home.

Jianne waited until they were back at their home, and then, she disconnected her audio feed. Her video feed would play behind her eyes until they turned their links off.

Whistling, she brewed a cup of caf and stretched, her bodysuit clinging faithfully to her. In her mind, the images that the Guardians were seeing played out against her visual centre.

She stepped out onto the deck and smiled at the steep drop off the cliff as well as the one above her. Her small apartment was wedged into the one place no one would think to look, the cliff near the Guardians’ base. Jianne enjoyed her own supply line for food and sundries, but the Guardians had no idea that this small outpost was hidden right under their noses.

Safety was the watchword. If she was too close, she could become a liability to the team. At this distance, friendships didn’t blind her, nor did they worry about leaving her undefended.

Jianne still worried about them, but the people of Cadar came first.

She watched birds fly and twist through the canyon toward the ocean. With a sigh, she sat out on her deck behind her stealth screen, and she watched the wildlife of Cadar while her Guardian feeds were turned off one by one.

* * * *

“You are sure that she went this way?” Cowl scowled behind his hood. The scent of female was all over the desk, and it led down the hall to a tall painting.

Twist nodded. “She went this way, and here is the code panel she used. Look, it is built right into the frame of the portrait. I would never have seen it if she hadn’t been wearing silver in the shadows.”

Roil asked, “Why are we so interested in this woman?”

Twist stared at him in surprise. “Because she isn’t just a woman, she could be Cowl’s woman. We need to see her first.”

“You believe that Charm’s wife really painted a portrait of you and your mate?” Roil was the skeptic in the group.

Flare grinned, “She has not been wrong yet. Even Blade says that her uncle is delighted with his new mate, and he has been a bachelor for a third of his lifespan.”

“What is the rush, Cowl?” As soon as Roil said it, he stopped. “Sorry. I forgot.”

Cowl tried to ignore the comment, but it was a reminder that he was reaching his mating time and finding a good match was imperative. “It’s fine.”

Twist and Flare glared at Roil before Twist set about touching the frame. “These buttons are small. They are not meant for big hands. Can we get the security feed from the mainframe?”

Cowl smiled. “I already have.”

He stepped forward, and with his smallest finger, he pressed the buttons one by one. There was a click, and the portrait swung outward to reveal a tunnel sloping away.

He stepped into it. “This is a surprise.”

The others piled in behind him, and Flare took point, his hand extended to give light to the well-paved expanse.

Twist grinned, “Why do I feel like a teenage girl?”

Cowl chuckled. “Possibly because we are three grown men and Roil sneaking through a tunnel after sunset.”

Roil growled while Flare and Twist laughed.

Cowl was enjoying himself aside from the time running out. The image of the woman in the portrait was striking in her direct confidence in facing him. He had been shocked to see the image of a woman who could look him in the eye, but the moment that Dispatch told him that she had a cybernetic implant, it all made sense. The digital input could be the key to seeing him without having the standard reaction that his race caused.

Mah-Duh-Sai had the distinct ability to freeze any prey that they chose. Their skin gave off enough pheromonal toxin to stun, and the reflection of light off their body dazzled their prey into a rigor that lasted from hours to days. A mate that could be locked in place would not be a desirable match, but their species were so rare that all unmatched males and females left home and went to the stars in search of a match before their mating season kicked in.

Cowl grinned within his hood as the end of the tunnel loomed ahead of him. He hoped that he was right about Dispatch, because they were about to give her the shock of her life.

* * * *

Jianne watched the stars come out through her little slice of sky. She set down her cup and was about to stand up when the internal sensors for her home went off. She moved inside her living room, but it was too late.

She blinked at the huge males sharing her space. “I suppose that privacy was too much to ask?”

Flare laughed. “If you didn’t want us to come, you shouldn’t have left a trail.”

Jianne wrinkled her nose. “Fine. Can I get you something? Caf or tea?”

Cowl stepped forward. “I believe that introductions are in order. I am Cowl. You are?”

She extended her hand to his, and to her surprise, he stripped off his glove before taking it. Her head spun briefly, but she smiled. “Call me Dispatch.”

“You don’t have a proper name?”

“Well, you don’t, so neither do I.” She grinned brightly. “I am a fan of fair play.”

Flare edged Cowl out of the way. “I am Flare, but you can call me Gelor.”

“Dispatch but you can call me Jianne.”

She went through the other two, but they both introduced themselves by their given names, Herkikel for Roil and Vhorlon for Twist.

Cowl stepped forward. “May I try this again?”

She grinned up at the darkness that filled his hood. “If you think that it will help.”

“Sarnvil Makthoth.” He extended his hand again.

She took it, but this time, instead of dizziness, there was a tingle. “Jianne Theevin of the Alliance Protectorate of Terra, your dispatcher. Pleased to meet you, Commander Cowl.”

He lifted her hand to the darkness of his cowl, and she felt the distinct warm pressure of his lips on the back of her knuckles. “Pleased to meet you, Dispatcher Jianne.”

Her stomach flipped with something that she hadn’t felt in a while. Desire caught her by surprise. Sure, he was built like a truck, but then, most of the Guardians were structured on the sturdy side, male or female. She was usually a woman who melted when a man met her eyes, and with him, it didn’t seem like an option, but her body didn’t care. Her pulse fluttered and her skin warmed as she waited for him to release her hand. She felt the flick of a tongue across her knuckles, and the light touch caused her belly to clench.

Jianne pulled her hand slightly, and he relinquished his grip reluctantly.

She folded her fingers together against her belly. “So, anyone up for tea?”

Gelor nodded and followed her into the kitchen to help her get the tray ready. “Where do you get your supplies?”

She chuckled. “They get dead dropped into the canyon, and I go down to fetch them. Why?”

“You just have more tea than my mother does, and my mother has a lot of tea.” He chuckled.

“I never know what my mood will demand, so I keep them all here.” She shrugged and pulled out the standard tea that was offered in most restaurants across Cadar.

Her kettle whistled, and she lifted it off the heating element, pouring her largest teapot full of hot water before filling it again and setting it to boil.

Gelor chuckled. “Yup, my mother would like you.”

Making tea was a matter of pride for many people on Cadar, and Jianne had made it an object of study when she was recovering from losing her eye. It seemed a good way to practice her depth perception.

When the second round of water was ready, she dumped out the water that warmed the pot, dumped in the leaves with their filter and put the empty hot pot on the tray before adding more water. Gelor carried the tray out to her living room where the other three were waiting on her couch and chair. The furniture was fine for her, but under the Guardians, it looked teeny.