Perfect (7 page)

He leaned up on an elbow. “What did your people do to the attacker?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. He actually tried to sue Tara for his blindness, but I was able to testify from my hospital bed, and the suit was dropped.”

Brex was astonished. “They didn’t kill him?”

“Nope. When men make all the rules, a little thing like rage at rejection is considered understandable if not completely reasonable. It is frustrating as hell. I was written off as a paranoid spinster who was jealous of their relationship. It was the damage to my body that won the day, not who I was or his reasons for acting as he did.”

Brex paused. “I see.”

“Yeah, so I am going to be finding out what kind of citizenship I have here on Lrrko and what it entails. If I don’t like it, they are going to be hearing from me regularly.”

Brex stood and offered his hand to her. “Why put it off? Come with me and we will speak to the elders.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Before any of the others arrive. If you are the first Bride here, you will have more bargaining power.”

“Why?” She raised her brows.

“Because, according to the public address system, there have been thirteen little Ty’s cloned and placed in storage until you get your heir.”

He pulled her to her feet, but her head spun.

“Thirteen of me?”

“Yes. That was the result of the egg harvest, so they did some work with the DNA to create a population of backup genetic donors. You have fourteen votes within you; until your genes are released, you speak for them.”

Ty looked at Brex. “What are we waiting for? If I have thirteen little mes to protect, I had better get to it.”

Brex grinned and offered her his arm. With their matching outfits, they left the building and got onto the riot runner. They took to the skies and flew toward the house of the elders.

Brex was at her side as she faced off against the council once again.

Elder Hrakin inclined his head. “Bride Tyanni, it is good to see you again. Have you recovered from your harvesting?”

Ty smiled tightly. “I have. I have also heard that I have thirteen clones, and I am here to speak on their behalf.”

The elders glared at Brex.

Hrakin asked, “You
told
her?”

“She is a Bride, not a wife. She is granted the knowledge of her children as a full citizen of Lrrko.”

The men looked at each other, and one brought the screen of his data pad up, holding it. “He is right. The original Bride contract included full citizenship, voting and property rights.”

Ty gave Brex a small smile. He had known that she had rights. They had just admitted it in front of the council of elders, on record.

“As one of the five survivors and best candidates for a new infusion of blood into the Lrrko line, I demand not only my right to choose my heir, but to also choose the father. I also wish for my thirteen copies to be altered in the hair and eye colour if possible so that they will never feel like they are copies. It is important that they feel they are individuals. Sisters but individuals.”

Elder Hrakin nodded. “Done. I will have Medic Alveck work on the splicing.”

“And I want to see the countryside. I want to be able to tour the world and see it.”

The elders scowled. Hrakin inclined his head, “After you are no longer the only genetic donor, we will revisit this.”

She paced and began to negotiate for income, spending money, occupational training, more fight weaponry and better food in the dispenser.

Hrakin narrowed his eyes as the recorder took the notes. “When will you bear your heir?”

“Do I have to take it to term?”

He shrugged. “It has been done in the past, but it is not necessary.”

“Good. I just got my body back under my control. I don’t want to lose it, but I don’t want to hold back this project either, so the next time Alveck is doing a harvest, take one of the eggs and implant it with Brex’s contribution to create my heir. From there, I will visit her every day, but I don’t want to carry her.”

Hrakin and the others looked at each other. “We were given to understand that it was a desirable thing to have a pregnancy, a live birth.”

“For many women, not for me. As I said, I just got my body back, and I don’t want to lose control of it.”

The elders looked confused by that.

Ty took a deep breath. “Finally, I want a voice on the council. The women here need a voice, and they are not represented in the council’s makeup. I have just come from a society where women make up more than fifty percent of the population, but they are less than five percent of the voting positions. It isn’t right. We serve a different purpose in society, but it cannot move forward without us.”

The elders looked disturbed. They talked amongst themselves for a few minutes while Ty leaned back against Brex.

They waited, and finally, Hrakin nodded. “It is sound thinking if we are to make strides forward. We will have the contracts drawn up before you return for your next harvest.”

She inclined her head. “One last thing. As you have already crafted my replacements, I want to be allowed to learn the flight suits and how to fly and drive all vehicles on Lrrko.”

Hrakin scowled. “If your Familiar is willing to teach you, you can do whatever you like, but if you die, he will bear the burden of your death.”

Ty turned to Brex. “What does that mean?”

“They will kill me and destroy all traces of my genetic material.”

She stared at him for a moment before cocking her head. “You had better do a good job as an instructor then.”

Brex rolled his eyes and faced the council. “Do you have any questions for Tyanni?”

Hrakin stared at her. “Are all Terran women as aggressive as you are?”

Ty slipped her arm in Brex’s. “Well, in my family, I am the quiet one. Consider yourself lucky that I got here before Lynni did.”

This was what Ty had wanted. She slipped off the edge of the building and soared through the air in a combination of jetpack and thermal currents.

Brex was near her, but he let her fly on her own for the first time since she had started her course. Five days of training and buddy flights had finally born fruit. She was up and on her own, flying through the sky above the Lrrko city with her Familiar at her side.

Today, Lynni was arriving, and Ty was going to be at the tarmac when she arrived. This exercise was just to take the edge off the tension she was feeling. Lynni had changed, and Ty was hoping that the changes were just cosmetic.

Her own changes had been happening while she was trapped in her burned body. She had known what she wanted to be when she came out of that gel bed. She had had quite a lot of time to plan.

Ty opened her arms wide and twisted toward the suns, welcoming them with her entire body.

She arced back and slowly began to circle toward the courtyard where an entire graduating class of Lrrko was waiting to meet her. The flight suits that fit her were located at the school, so that is where Brex had taken her. The agreement had been that she could use the suit as long as she agreed to meet and greet the graduating class.

The wings of the suit folded under her arms as she stood from her landing and walked across the yard with Brex behind her.

The flight-suit instructor looked a little dazed when she smiled at him. “Thank you, Instructor Maknoth. Your tips on how to move in the suit were impeccable.”

Brex put his hands on her shoulders. “Well, students, do any of you have any questions for Bride Tyanni?”

Hands shot up. Ty smiled and selected one at random. “Yes?”

“Why were your people lost? Why couldn’t you call for help?”

Ty nodded. “Ah, well, the ship apparently was destroyed upon landing, and there was no available technology on my home world to use for communications. By the time I came along, the only trace of the Lrrko in me was in my genes.”

“Why are you the only one here?”

She knew the answer. “The others are arriving soon. They had difficulty either in leaving Terra or in their transitions. Your physicians did some tinkering with our bodies, and it is a little hard to deal with.”

Another one raised his hand. “If you have been genetically altered, how can you be Lrrko?”

Ty put her hands on her hips. “How can you? Each and every one of you was grown from a previous generation. To stop degradation, they have had to engage in some major alterations.”

The boys looked at each other and obviously saw the sense in her statement.

Another one gave her a shy look. “Will your daughters be available to take on Familiars?”

“When they are decanted, yes. For now, we will have to wait until my next cycle before the clock can begin on their journey to the world.”

One of the young men put his hand up. “I have a question for Familiar Brex?”

Brex moved forward and put his hands on Ty’s shoulders. “Yes?”

“Now that you have met your Bride, would you still have gone through it all on the off chance that she would pick you?”

Brex chuckled. “The Familiar training is difficult, the sacrifices are great, but the reward of being with Bride Tyanni is worth it. In two weeks, she has gone from being an invalid to being a seventh-class fighter. If I had not gotten in early, I would have had no chance to keep up with her.”

The boys murmured in surprise at the mention of seventh level.

Ty muttered, “Is that when I can throw a knife from any angle?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, good. I thought it was the other thing that I did in your lap.”

His shoulders began to shake, and he squeezed her shoulders.

The instructor nodded. “We have begun to integrate history of the female Lrrko in preparation for the new generation.”

Ty grinned. That had been one of the non-negotiable parts of her agreement with the elders. The ancient women had to come into public awareness again. They had been impressive and frightening, but the new generation was going to be dealing with a whole lot of pushy and physically trained ladies. Knowing that it was the way things were supposed to be was going to make it easier on them.

“Well, Instructor, I hate to answer and run, but my sister is arriving today, and I need to meet her at her ship.”

One more hand went up. “Yes?”

“How can you have a sister if your world was technologically disadvantaged?” The earnest expression on the boy’s face was almost enough to make her smile. He was taller than her by over a head and twice as broad already. They grew up fast here.

“Direct reproduction, no canisters or artificial wombs. It is messy and dangerous, but there are benefits to it.” Ty took a few steps and another hand went up.

“Will you use that method?”

Ty smiled, “Not for my heir. She will be born the same way you were, just with two genetic donors instead of one.”

Brex put his hand on her shoulder, and they made their way to the flight-prep area to strip off their suits.

“You handled that well.” Brex helped her pin her cloak on after she finished dressing.

“Thank you. So did you.”

She grinned and pulled him down for a kiss. “Are you confident enough to let me drive the runner?”

He paused, closed his eyes and appeared to be counting to ten. When he opened his eyes, his smile was bright. “Of course.”

She laughed all the way out to the vehicle and continued as she throttled up and got them airborne. She flew with speed and an aim to the landing site where her sister was expected.

As she set down, Lynni’s shuttle appeared in the sky.

Ty leaned against Brex. “You are feeling confident at having two Nikkelson women on Lrrko?”

He looked down at her with a smile. “I am not worried. Leko is the one who is going to have a problem.”

Ty gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Damn. She doesn’t know that he isn’t made of metal yet.”

Brex was grinning. “No, she doesn’t. This is going to be good.”

Ty looked at the good-natured but evil delight in her Familiar’s eyes, and she grinned. It was going to be fun to watch.

Lynni walked out of the ship, and Ty was there to greet her. They shrieked and collided in a hug that had them taking turns hugging and lifting the other.

They talked together, and Ty led Lynni away from the shuttle until Lynni’s Familiar stopped them.

“Bride Tyanni, I know that you have missed your sibling and she has missed you, but we need to get her to medical for a check.”

The metal face with the blank aspect and mounted cameras swivelled toward her. “Fine, Familiar Leko. Take care of her.”

“It is my duty and my will.”

Brex had his hood pulled up, and he escorted Ty away as Lynni and Leko took off.

“I think she is going to kick my ass when she finds out I didn’t tell her.”

“I think you have a few weeks of combat practice over her.”

Ty grinned. “Yeah, but she was always more of a scrapper. Come on. I need to work out.”

Brex chortled, and on the way back to their home, he mused over the effective nature of sibling rivalry.

“You have no idea. Don’t forget, they want to unleash thirteen of me at the same time. This is going to be fascinating. I am competitive if there is only one of me. Thirteen is going to be disruptive in the extreme.”

“I look forward to it. The Lrrko need change. I think thirteen of you is just what we have been waiting for.” He patted her hand on his chest. “The fourteenth I am keeping for myself.”

“Good thing, because you aren’t getting out of my sight.” She pressed her forehead against his shoulder and held on until they were home once again.

She had fight practice to attend to.

So,
Perfect
was the first of five women who are descended from an ancient and deadly race.
Panacea
will be Lynni’s story, and we will find out what has been going on in her genetic code.

The other ladies are a little less eager to head to the stars, so there has had to be some convincing on the part of the Recruiter. Not everyone with these genes wants to leave home.