Interface (2 page)

"Geviil? Damn. I was looking forward to some time on a station." Vinni didn't pout, but she knew if she was susceptible to that look, he would have used it. Every time he tried to go puppy dog on her, she snarled at him. It was not the effect he had come to expect, but it meant that they made excellent partners. None of his manipulative methods worked on her and he got to use her as a makeover experiment. She never looked the same way twice.

"They said that my Drai was in danger, but it isn't just that. There is something deeper going on and if waking him is what it takes to solve this, I will do it." She gripped the controls tightly.

Vinni looked at her from the nav station. "You
want
to wake him."

Vikki grimaced. "Yes. I have wanted to settle on a planet since I left earth. All this flitting from world to station and back again isn't good for me."

Vinni looked carefully at her. "You are paler than normal."

"How can you tell? I always look pasty to you." She snorted.

He nodded. "Yes, but you normally don't have eyes that look hollow no matter how much sleep you get."

"Nother wanted me for his avatar."

Vinni winced. "That makes the third world to proposition you."

Vikki nodded. "And one day, the planet won't take
I'll get back to you
for an answer."

"You are scared."

"Petrified. And I would far rather fling myself under a Drai than face another world who wants me for my mind."

"Oh, sweetie. You and me both." Vinni's comment hit home and the image of her Dhemon companion disappearing under huge bat-like wings was enough to break her composure.

She laughed a good tension-busting laugh and when she came out of it, Vinni gave her a hug and relieved her from the pilot station.

Vikki went to the tiny galley and fixed herself a meal. In an effort to calm down, she picked up her library, but the moment that she opened a book, her attention span went right out the window. Sighing, she returned to the cockpit and stared out into space as they approached Geviil.

"You are really nervous about this, aren't you?"

She looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Of course I am. What if we don't get along? What if he won't wake up?"

"I have never heard of that happening. The sleepers always come awake when their females are near."

"What if I am the exception?" She bit her lip and watched the celestial bodies shift at their approach.

"You are wonderful, intelligent, graceful and have a wicked right hook. Any man who was inclined to would be lucky to drop at your feet."

"You say the nicest things." She laughed and pulled her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around them to give herself a hug. It was something she had done since she was a child, but part of her still found it comforting.

Her nocturnal psychic interactions with her Drai were still hot. She saw his body next to hers, over hers and felt it inside hers with every dream. In the psychic realm, he was generous and attentive. No part of her astral form was left unloved.

So, why wasn't he waking to claim her in the physical realm?

She mulled it over during the remainder of the trip. When a proximity beacon went off, she checked the coordinates and opened the coms. "This is Specialist Markham approaching Geviil. Can you give us landing information?"

The signal projected into the beacon and was relayed to the surface. When the signal came back, the speaker had an urgent tone in their voice. "Specialist Markham, we need you to go to this spot precisely. There is a matter that you can assist with and our representative will meet you there."

A stream of data came through her ship's systems. She reset navigation and locked in the destination. "We are on our way. ETA, two hours."

"Thank you, thank you, Specialist. The people of Geviil owe you a great debt."

The connection ceased and she looked to Vinni who had a curious look on his face. "Don't look at me that way, Vinni. I have no idea what is going on either."

She left her seat and returned to her small storage bin where she kept all of her supplies. On an impulse, she slipped a knife into her boot and strapped another to her outer thigh. She unfastened her suit and opened it to the waist, putting on some body armour under her baggy uniform. Vikki had spent close to half a year's salary for the armour, but it never let her down.

She fluffed out her pink locks and returned to the nav station. The Dead Pigeon could take off with one handler, but to bring it down safely took two.

Geviil was an attractive planet with four moons. The off-planet traffic was minimal. It was primarily a settled world of small cities and close-knit communities. Vikki had already researched her potential home. She knew what they were flying into.

As they cleared the outer edge of the planet's space and began to work through the layers surrounding it, their normally chipper banter was shelved.

The Dead Pigeon lived up to her name on descent, she was hard to manoeuvre and harder to keep aloft. Vikki's arms shook as she held the secondary controls. She was going to feel this in the morning.

Layer after layer they navigated until they were finally inside the atmosphere and falling toward the location specified. The Pigeon did not have a lot of dignity on landing, but with both of them straining, they got her settled almost exactly where she was supposed to be.

The systems confirmed a breathable environment and Vikki unbuckled. Slapping Vinni on the thigh, she got to her feet. "It's time to meet my destiny or at least find out what the hell is going on."

Chapter Three

A figure was running toward their shuttle. Vikki exited and began to walk calmly toward the female figure. She was no more than four and a half feet tall and wearing what seemed to be a climbing harness.

"Specialist Markham?" The small woman was flushed a bright blue.

"I am. And you are?"

The Geviilan bowed low. "Communications Liaison Heffer, I am honoured to see you in the flesh. Your hair is…quite striking."

"My partner is talented with scissors and dye." She twisted her lips at the Geviilan's appalled expression.

"Yes. It appears so." Heffer shook her head. "We have an urgent matter to attend to and you are the only one who can help us."

"Then, let's be on our way. You lead. I don't know where I am going."

Heffer turned and jogged to the edge of the tarmac where a skimmer with a driver was waiting.

Heffer whispered to the man and as soon as Vikki was in her seat, they were up and flying over the town and toward a large mountain.

When the ground under them executed a peculiar wave, Vikki grabbed her small com unit off her belt and called Vinni. "Vin, the area is hot, get the Pigeon up in the air. There is a ground wave coming toward you now."

His voice came back immediately. "Understood, lifting off. Will meet you at the Mercuros City landing field. Keep me posted."

Vikki turned in her seat and she could see the silhouette of her ship as it left the surface and went west.

"He will be safe there. It is on a separate plate." Heffer nodded.

"Great. Now, what do you need me to do?"

"The dragon sleeps. I can speak to him, but he will not rise until his mate is here and for some reason, he does not believe that you are you."

That was not something that she had thought she would have to deal with. A strange amusement spilled through her. "So, what do I have to do?"

"We are going to rappel down into his lair and you are going to prove that you are you. He will then wake and stop the advance of the magma threatening to destroy nine towns."

Ah, so that was it.
"I will do my best, but if he doesn't want to wake, nothing I can do will wake him."

Heffer looked shocked. "But he is your mate. You would leave him sleeping when he has waited for you all these years?"

"Forcing myself on a man who doesn't want me will not do anything for my self-esteem. I will try, that is all I can promise."

Heffer looked far more nervous than she had earlier, but a slight nod of her head to their pilot and the skimmer took off at high speed.

The climbing harness had been enlarged to fit her, but it was still snugger than she would have liked. The body armour took some of the digging and the rest of the discomfort was in the crotch area.

Heffer linked to one of the ropes and waited until Vikki was on the other before she slowly started her descent.

Vikki could feel the huge mind beneath her. Well, huge was the wrong word. Vast was far more accurate. Her Drai had seen many things before he had gone underground.

She was nervous about the drop, but part of her was excited to see him for the first time. The surface disappeared until the crack that they were travelling through was a tiny sliver of light way above.

"Heffer, how deep are we?"

"Currently, a kilometre, but we have five hundred metres to go before we reach the plateau."

"Plateau?" This was the first that she had heard of it. Her mind had pictured them actually dropping onto the dragon's back.

"Yes, we land on the plateau and then walk down half a kilometre of caves before we reach the great doors. That is as far as I can go. The doors won't open for me."

Vikki kept her hand on the descender and watched the rope slowly slip through it. Her other hand was under her ass, on the rope as well, in case the gears and pulleys gave way.

The horribly vulnerable feeling didn't leave as the cliff wall they were facing cut away, leaving Vikki in a slow, controlled fall toward the plateau. Her breath came more quickly and as the air thickened and warmed, she coughed.

Heffer looked at her, concerned. "Are you sensitive to the minerals in the air?"

"A little. I will put my breather on when we get to the plateau." The tight feeling in her lungs was unmistakable. If she didn't get her mask on, she was going to have an asthma attack. She hadn't had one in years.

She released the tension and began sliding down at increased speed. When her feet hit the plateau, she winced as too much weight came down on her limbs. She fumbled with her kit belt and pulled her breather on. She hadn't thought to need it but was glad that Vinni had restocked her kit while she was passed out.

Getting the air mix without the mineral contamination was a blessing. She could breathe again.

"Okay, Heffer. Which way?" She stood with her hands on her knees and breathed deeply for a moment before uncoupling her harness from the rope.

"This way, Specialist."

Vikki stifled a laugh. If she had simply looked up, she would have seen the tunnel entrance with the script over it.

"We named our main city after him." Heffer's voice was proud.

There it was, in gold on black,
Mercuros lies within
.

They walked quickly down the tunnel, Heffer with a light on her helmet and Vikki with the lights on her belt. None of the Geviil helmets had been a fit for her. She was too big.

The doors were lit with the same gold from inside black granite. These designs were more abstract and as the women approached, they moved to form two dragons, one on either side.

Heffer crossed her hands in front of her. "I can't touch the doors. A communication will begin and he is a little…upset with me right now."

"Why, what did you do?"

Heffer darkened. "I offered myself as his mate if he would only come out of hibernation. He…got very angry."

"Yeah, they are patient, but they do have tempers. Even the new Draikyn have the same characteristics, if a little more snobbery."

"I see. I have minimal contact with other races. I thought perhaps one female was as good as another."

"Drai don't see it that way. They dream of their mates long before they meet." Vikki's palms were sweating. "So, I simply touch the door?"

Heffer was backing away. "Do what you can. If you are successful, we will know immediately."

Vikki watched the Communications Liaison walk back the way they had come. With a mind-steadying breath, she turned back to the doors and approached them. There were flat panels on the door and she pressed her hands to them.

Nothing happened.

"Damn it."

She thought about it and realized that everything that had been done with the dragon had been done mind to mind.

Steeling her thoughts, she pushed through the stone and reached for the mind on the other side of the door. He was there and he was irritated the moment that her mind touched his.

I told you, Heffer, no.

Um, this isn't Heffer. We haven't met before, but my name is Vikki Markham. I am from Terra and I have dreamed of you.

The doors swung open in a second and she walked through them, onto a platform even with one huge golden eye.

She had heard of the size of the dragon forms, but Mercuros was so large that her body was the same height as his eye.

She abandoned her mental communication and looked into the slit pupil with one thought. "Oh. My. God."

Chapter Four

I am not, nor have I ever been, a deity. If you are who you say you are, you know that.

With our communications limited to our writhing against each other on the astral plane, you know better.

The eye blinked. The black scales around it gleamed in the glow of her suit lights.

You cannot be my mate.
The voice was adamant.

She sighed. He was really stubborn.
Why not?

You are the wrong colour.

Shock ran through her before amusement won out. She laughed as the image in his mind was of her with her original hair colour. The neutral brown had been waist length until she paired with Vinni. It was her mental image of herself that still used her long hair and the blah colour.

I fail to see the amusement.

My hair is dyed. If you have good vision, check the roots. It is the same brown that it always has been, my partner dyes and cuts it for me. It gets in the way when I have to go into alternate atmospheres or environments.