Halt (4 page)

“I am aware, but it is her new uniform as Halt that will be her representation of the imperium. It will certainly be eye catching.”

Quell tilted his head. “How are you feeling?”

“Excellent. No ill effects except mild arousal. You knew she would do this to me?” He took in a full body assessment. He actually felt good, almost as if he had just woken from a deep and restful sleep.

“I suspected. She is trying to make an impression on you. Did she succeed?”

“She did. It does not change how I feel though. I wanted her then, I want her now.”

“And her opinion on the matter?”

“Her species does not value damage on a female. I am going to have my work cut out for me now that we are on the same footing.”

“You outrank her now, you are aware of that.”

“I am, but I am hoping she is not. She was always one for duty and propriety above all else. If it wasn’t for my damned brother, I would have had time to ease her into the idea of renewing our acquaintance.” Arkenor flicked his hair over his shoulder.

“How did you know she was an imperial peacekeeper looking for a posting?”

“I didn’t. I wanted her here by whatever means I was able. Even that treatise with my family.”

Quell ran his hand over his scaled scalp. “I still can’t believe you made that deal.”

“And I can’t believe that Guardian control went for it.”

It had been an act of desperation the moment that he had been assigned to the Guardian program. He had sworn his life to Decolian 12, and his service to the Guardians for two decades if they could bring Commander Rikkat to him with no one the wiser. It had taken them a while, but when they had finally begun to move, it happened a day too late for Rikkat. One investigation into a drug ring and she had disappeared from the roster, but the Guardians had insisted that their end of the deal was still in action.

He had asked the royal family to intervene, and once it was understood that his interest went far beyond the casual, they had placed a request for Commander Rikkat the moment she was cleared for duty. That the peacekeepers had agreed had given him hope. Whatever happened to her had not destroyed her. He could never have lived with himself if she had died and he had not been there to save her.

His own transformation had come as the result of a transfusion not properly checked. While Genarans were a close match to Decolians, they were not exact and the result had taken some time to master. He had worked hard day and night with special training sessions on Yacaro but eventually came to grips with the liquid silver nanites under his control.

“She is here now; she isn’t going anywhere. You have time to win her over again.” Quell patted him on the shoulder.

“If I can earn her as a partner, I will be content with whatever she will offer.” He could feel the sincerity in his own tone, and his body vibrated with it.

Anastasia Rikkat had been the best thing that had ever happened to him, a woman who met the worlds on her own terms and changed them for the better. He had changed, she had changed, but he hoped that the people they had been could still meet across the gulf of experience. Learning her again was his fondest wish, and if she were willing, he would give her the time she needed.

If she weren’t willing, he was going to make sure that her life was as pleasant as he could arrange. Seeing her happy was close enough to being part of that happiness.

If he kept repeating that sentiment to himself, he might one day believe it.

Tazzy got up when she heard the alarm. She stepped into her uniform and was out of her quarters in under two minutes.

The Guardians were on their way to the transport. They nodded as they passed, but their attention was obviously on whatever was being given to them via their coms.

The transport took off and left her alone without anyone explaining what the hell was going on. It was time to investigate her new home, and there was nothing like all the men gone for a lady to find out about her territory.

Smiling, she returned to her rooms and tugged on her gloves. She only used them when she was attempting to hide her presence. Her chemical signature was distinctive and worse when she made contact with something.

Whistling absently, she took an inventory of the kitchen, checked the gardens and observed the temperature and filtering system of the pool. She would be able to swim as long as the others waited a solid twenty minutes after she took a dip.

The main com system was alive with chatter. She slipped a spare set into her ear and listened to her first Guardian assignment with the tip of one glove between her teeth to keep her from butting in.

“Silver, their ship is dropping.”

“Got it, Quell. Will you take care of the crew?”

“Of course. Just get them down safely.”

“Done.”

Flick piped up, “Watch your back, Silver. That ship is unstable.”

“Acknowledged.”

Tazzy hunted around and flicked up the visual display. She watched the wave of liquid silver as it held and supported the crashing ship. She could see Silver’s outstretched hand and the puddle of his talent as it brought the ship down on a green meadow.

She watched Quell’s back as he left the transport and stepped in front of it. The crew of the downed vessel stumbled free, and Quell had them dropping to the meadow in seconds.

Flick sprinted through the downfall, and he whisked around, depositing and cataloguing weapons.

They were an efficient team.

Tazzy sat back and watched them tidy up, wondering what she could add to their unit.

They returned to the base four hours later. Flick dove into the new batch of cookies and the other two headed for their offices to file reports.

“You don’t have to file reports?”

Flick smiled and shook his head. “I am not the most linear of folk. My reports are barely legible and never comprehensive. They allow me to simply use the recording feed you saw today.”

She blushed. “You could see that?”

“Of course. Anyone looking at the feed causes a signal on the transport control.”

“Oh.”

Flick chuckled. “These are even better than yesterday.”

“The recipe is the same, you are just hungrier.”

“Probably. So, were you impressed?”

“I was. You work very well as a team. I have no idea what I can possibly bring to the assembly.” She smiled.

Quell came into the kitchen and rescued one of the last cookies. “We lack people skills.”

Silver entered a moment later. “Are there any left?”

She snorted, opened a cupboard and pulled out a covered tray with another batch on it.

“My hero.” Silver smiled and winked at her, his blue eye bright behind the dark pewter mask.

Flick grinned with chunks of cookies in his teeth and his cheeks puffed full. He grabbed another handful and headed for the common lounge.

Quell laughed. “He is yours for life if you want him. You need only keep a supply of these confections coming.”

“I think that baking is better left as a pleasure and not as an obligation. What were you saying about people skills?”

Quell sat at the kitchen counter and Silver sat next to him. Bots brought them caf and they settled in.

Quell inclined his head. “We can act physically, I can knock folks out or calm them, but I have no ability to coax information out of them. We believe that you can do that coaxing with your particular chemistry.”

She blinked. “I thought I was here as a liaison.”

“Oh, you are, but you are also now an adjunct to a Guardian team. We have the right to make use of all your talents in the line of duty.”

Tazzy sighed. “Fair enough.”

“You have been provided with a Guardian uniform. I believe it will suit you.”

She blinked. “A uniform? I have my peacekeeper uniform.”

“Nevertheless, you will dress as a Guardian while on duty.” Quell nodded.

It was hard to take a lizard eating cookies with both hands seriously, but he managed to project gravitas.

Silver winked again and kept eating. “The bots will have dinner ready in two hours if you want to swim. I do recall that you enjoyed swimming.”

She smiled. “I think I will. Well done today. Was it an invading ship?”

Quell shook his head. “Just some drunk nobles on an island crawl with a few too many drinks and far too much needed maintenance.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

Silver shrugged. “Decolian 12 is rather idyllic. We keep Guardians on hand for the moments that are not usual.”

Tazzy nodded. “Fair enough. Do I still have two more days?”

Quell inclined his head. “You do. Get comfortable and the bots will bring out your uniform for when you return from your swim.”

The way he said it made her suspicious, but she really wanted to take that dip. First things first. She headed for the pool.

Her clothing hit the floor, and she dove into the blue-green water a moment later. Swimming was a luxury that she could no longer afford as few places could afford the filtering system needed to clear her influence out of the water.

The cool water wrapped around her, the closest thing to contact from another living soul that she had enjoyed in nearly a year.

She did a forward stroke, flipped and returned. She didn’t know if she had spent minutes or hours in the water, but when she finally hauled herself out, she was exhausted and grinning like a fool.

“You still like to swim.” Silver was sitting with his mask pushed back to hang from the back of his neck.

“You still like to be here when I come out. I apologize for the view.” Tazzy got to her feet and wrapped herself in a towel.

“There is nothing wrong with the view, Rikkat. You are lovelier than ever.”

She turned her face away from his bright gaze. “I am a disaster.”

“You are alive. There is nothing more I would ask for.” He got out of his chair and came up to her.

He grabbed her arms and held her, though she knew his instinct was telling him to let go and remain passive. “I am with you once again, Commander. There is no where I would wish either of us to be right now.”

Arkenor had been making the occasional overture toward her, but she had held back because of the rank issue. Now, it seemed that her rank was taken along with her job and her purpose.

Tazzy watched him come in and lifted her head slightly to meet his lips with her own. She relaxed the control that she could wield over him and let him weave a spell over her instead.

Wrapped in her towel, she shivered as he stroked her shoulders and arms. Their kiss deepened, and she tasted him for the second time in her life. The first time had been when she packed him on the medical transport, and a day later, he had been reported as dead.

She pulled back with a jerk. “Stop.”

He froze, his hands still clutching her arms.

“Why did you stop me? Things were going so well.”

She blinked and tears filled her lashes. “They were. They can’t. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but tonight, I sleep alone.”

“We have dinner first.” His hands began to move on her.

She looked down, and there was a silvery trace on her skin. “What are you doing?”

“Producing antibodies to your commands. A few more minutes of contact and I will be immune to you.”

She stumbled out of his grip. “You can do that?”

“I was changed as well. You were not the only one. I received a transfusion from a soldier of Genaran extraction, and I suffered a complication. While we appeared to be a match on paper, they did not account for the nanites that would race through my system and make themselves at home.”

“Genarans? I have heard of them.”

“Of course you have. They are also responsible for your Guardian uniform. It will expose a lot of your skin, but I believe it will make an impression. You always looked good in almost nothing, and your new abilities will be more easily accessed if your limbs are exposed.”

Now, she was curious. Wrapped in nothing but the towel with her old uniform over her arm, she left him and pattered back to her quarters. A stand was next to her wardrobe, and on it was a bodysuit cut high on the hips and low across the cleavage. Surprisingly, the suit would cover her arms and neck, expose the tops of her breasts, her hips and part of her butt. The boots hit just above the knee. Anyone who tried to grab her would fall into her power immediately.

“Try the suit on. I think you will find it far more adaptable than you imagine.”

She looked over at Silver, and he shrugged, entering her space and sitting at the desk.

Tazzy dropped her towel and watched him close his eyes for a moment. It took her three minutes to work out the closures to her suit, but once it was in place, she had to admit that the black and silver fabric was both warm and comfortable.

The boots eased up her legs, and a flash of energy ran from her hip to the top edge at mid-thigh. Warmth immediately covered all the exposed skin. “What is going on?”

“There is a heat field being generated so that your exposure won’t lead to any loss in body temperature. It runs between the edges of the fabric.”

She felt the fabric hug her slightly, and she jerked. “Is it alive?”

“Yes. No. Sort of.” He shrugged. “They made it for you and with your talent and particulars in mind.”

“How did they know?”

“They had your records. All specifics should have been accounted for.”

She turned from side to side and checked out her reflection. “How? I didn’t know I was coming here before yesterday.”

“They have been planning for this since you first exhibited a talent. The Nyal Imperium does not let folk like us go unused.” He shrugged and smiled, “It suits you.”

The suit hugged her again. “I think it likes me.” Laughter bubbled up in her. She felt good. Really good. Better than she had in a very long time.

“What is so funny?”

She twirled quickly. “I don’t know.” Laughter spilled out of her.

With quick steps, she walked up to him and bent down to kiss him. She bracketed his face with her hands and rubbed her lips across his, stroking slowly until an insistent pinging got her attention.