Stray (10 page)

The tests were timed, which made them incredibly hard for me, since I barely have a basic command of the language, and it takes me too long to understand exactly what the question is before trying to formulate the answer.  So of course I ran out of time and only finished the maths test.  I aced maths, but failed the tests overall.  And now I seem to be repeating kindergarten, which sucks, since the questions are incredibly easy.  I don't know if I can get better at this language before I die of boredom.

Looking forward to my session with Zan immensely, because it doesn't matter how badly I speak. 

Sunday, January 27

Hands off

Today's practice didn't go quite as scheduled.

I was frustrated over failing the tests yesterday, but stepping back and forth is pretty calming, and so is Zan.  I was just thinking that maybe I should call her 'Zen' instead when she stopped stepping back and forth and turned to look up.

The practice room is small and bare, with a floor of padded mats and a high ceiling with a window 'upstairs' in one wall so people can watch.  Ista Tremmar had been up there earlier, but when Zan looked there were a half-dozen Setari.  The most noticeable was a tall blonde guy at the front, his hands raised in fists against the glass as if he'd just hit it.  He was glaring down at Zan like he wanted to hit her instead.  Then he stormed out of the chamber, most of the other Setari following him.

Two of them stayed, and I was caught up looking at the girl first because I don't think I've seen anyone that gorgeous outside model magazines.  She had that antelope look, but athletic rather than stick-thin.  Even at that distance I could see her eyes were very black, with big irises and long lashes.  Her skin was creamy bronze and her hair was unreal – these two spirals curling down past her ribs.  She was almost as unsmiling as Zan, but I think her attitude was mainly curiosity.  Not angry, anyway.  The guy with her looked enough like her to be her brother (though no long pigtails, heh), and I didn't recognise him until he tilted his head a particular way to talk, and I realised he was one of the two Setari who had found me on Muina.

Just then Zan told me to go stand in the corner, which totally pissed me off.  Even though I'd figured out that there was a yelling match coming, I'm not a dog to be told to sit and stay and get put out of the way.  But I went, and just in time, as the door to the hall opened and the blond guy stormed in.  There were a bunch of other Setari looking in the door at us, but they stayed there.

"This is it?" the guy was yelling (well, in Taren, you get the idea).  "This is your special assignment?  The reason we're all on downtime is you're playing with some profanity stray?"

Swear words aren't in my language tool.  I can tell it's a swear word, but not what it means, so it's like my head says 'profanity' whenever someone swears.  I find that funny and annoying at the same time.  I need to find someone who is willing to teach me what they mean.

I knew enough of Zan by this time to not be surprised at her complete lack of reaction to some really buff guy standing over her and shouting.  She just said: "Stand down," in a curt little voice and went and picked up one of the towels we'd brought in with us.

I'm not so good at not reacting, so when the blond guy turned toward me, I was glad Zan had stuck me in the corner.  And I'm pretty sure I did the open-mouthed gaping thing when he suddenly lifted up and was slammed into one of the walls, for all I knew perfectly well Zan was a telekinetic.

"I said, 'Stand down', Lenton," Zan said, and, wow, totally cold voice.  She wasn't smiling or frowning, but her eyes had narrowed and I decided then that it would never be a good idea to piss Zan off.

The Lenton guy didn't take the hint though, and looked really offended and told Zan to put him down before he made her regret it.  He was calling her "Namara", which is her surname.  All the Setari seem to call each other by their surnames.  Zan calls me "Devlin" and I generally avoid calling her by either name because I think it sounds stupid to call someone you see every day by her surname.  Even First Squad seem to do it most of the time.  I think – hope – it's some kind of on-duty thing and that they're more human to each other when they're not being all proper.

Before the shouting match turned into a bigger mess all the Setari except Zan, who was probably expecting it, paused in clear reaction to suddenly getting a message in their heads.  Zan put the Lenton guy down and though he glared at her, he strode off without another word.

"Get changed," Zan said to me, glancing back up at the observation room.  The two Setari there were still watching, but turned and left when she just stood looking at them.

"Everyone's really competitive?"  I asked.  "Or just no manners?"  Except, given my grammar and how slow I say stuff, it was more like "Compete all much?  Manners no?"  I really hate sounding so stupid.  Yoda with a lobotomy.

Zan didn't reply.  She never responds to questions like that, and I sure as hell wasn't going to push her, so I went and changed out of the loose training jumpsuit into my knee-length cargo-style pants and a sleeveless t-shirt featuring my lab rat logo.  I really did draw it on every shirt I considered mine – not my school uniform, but the clothes I'd bought with Nenna and her mother.  Zan put on her black uniform, which she manages in a surprisingly short amount of time for something so skin-tight.

Next was the big testing room, where every Setari in the complex had obviously been ordered to assemble.  Maze had told me there were twelve active squads of six people so the rows six people deep showed me who was in which squad.  They left spaces for the people who weren't there – three missing teams and a few random gaps.  And then they brought me 'into channel' and I saw that even a few of the missing people were 'there': attending the meeting through their interfaces rather than in person.  Little see-through holographic pictures of them filled in some of the empty spots.  Lohn from First Squad and Zan were the only ones out of place, over to one side near me.

Since Maze was at the first spot of the first set, it was pretty easy to guess that the squad captains stood at front.  The team next to him was around the same age – mid-twenties – and everyone else late teens or perhaps twenty.  The gap left by Zan in Twelfth Squad was the first spot, which meant she was their captain.  News to me.  The blond guy was next spot back and was trying to look super-correct, though his face was tense and set.  The girl and guy I'd seen in the observation room were the captains of Third and Fourth Squad respectively.

Even the people in charge had shown up as interface projections: the first time I'd seen any of them.  They wore blue, which I guess means 'officer'.  No-one was chatting, or doing anything but looking straight ahead.  And me the only person not in uniform, sticking out like a sore thumb.

Another interface projection 'appeared'.  A woman, compact and stern, her hair clipped really short, with a hint of grey in it.  She had the really black, almond eyes of the observation-room girl and guy.  The Setari all saluted her – they do a fist to shoulder sort of salute – so it was pretty easy to tell she was in charge.

I can re-watch what happens next, and have a few times, because it occurred to me I could record everything.  It's really weird to be able to do that, and I'm glad they've not taken the ability away, since this is a scene it's interesting to play over.  So far as I can tell, I can't play the recording for anyone who doesn't have the right security level.  It makes me wonder what security level I have.

"This is a level 5 classified briefing," said the woman.  "As you are aware, Fourth Squad recovered a displaced person from Muina during last month's mission.  Namara and Kettara will demonstrate why this has become important."

Zan went first, turning and looking at the big metal blocks.  "Current strength," she said, extra clearly, and lifted the largest block she was capable of managing alone.  Then she glanced at me, totally giving orders just by turning her eyes in my direction.  I was hard put not to roll my own, but obediently stuck my hand on her shoulder, which she'd suggested as less restrictive than hand-holding.

"Enhanced strength."

I had turned to watch their faces when she lifted all the blocks.  Only First Squad didn't react, since they'd seen all this before.  Most of them did the eyes-going-really-wide thing.  A few shifted from their spots, or were openly astonished or upset, but then went back to stony-faced as quickly as they could manage.

Lohn came forward next, and said: "Intense Light projection," and shot a few of his burning beams into a target.  He gave me a little smile and when I put my hand on his shoulder said: "Same skill, enhanced."

The burning wall freaked the Setari out a good deal more than an extra-strength Zan.  A lot of them exchanged glances before they went back to being correct.

"Subject Devlin's effect on skill users is still under investigation.  As you have observed, it is not simply a matter of increased potency.  In addition, multiple simultaneous enhancements causes her lethal systemic shock.  Until further notice, the subject has been assigned to Namara.  Under no circumstances initiate physical contact with the subject unless instructed.  Dismissed."

The woman in the blue uniform vanished, as did most of the other watchers.  The Setari squad captains, although they were probably dying to give Zan the third degree, sent their squads straight out the door and then most of them left as well, though a few stopped at the door to talk to each other.  Maze came across to me, Zan and Lohn and told me I did well.  I pointed out that I don't actually do anything, but he said at least I wasn't doing anything
consistently
and he and Lohn grinned at each other and talked about what would have happened if the enhancement hadn't worked.  First Squad is so much more human than the rest of the Setari.

And then the leader of Fourth Squad came over.  I was wondering if I should thank Fourth Squad for rescuing me, but if anything this guy was even more unsmiling than Zan is.  As an added bonus he seemed to be staring at my chest, which was really amazingly uncomfortable until he said: "Experimental animal?"

Maze thought he was being insulting, and said "Rue-el," in a warning tone, but stopped, probably because he saw my expression.

"You can read English?"  I asked – in English – completely disbelieving.

"Don't neglect the psychological aspects," the Fourth Squad captain said to Zan and turned away without another glance at me.  Though he added, "It's not inapposite," over his shoulder as he walked away to where the Third Squad captain was waiting.

"How he know what say?"  I asked Maze, who was taking his turn chest-staring.  "Earth contact after all yes?"

"You've written 'Experimental Animal' on your shirt?"  Maze asked, clearly upset.

Zan answered my question: "See Rue-el's primary talents are sight-based.  He was reading the symbol, not the words."

Psychic psychic powers, in other words.  And Zan was standing stiff and still, with her face so set that I couldn't miss that she was mortified.  Because she'd had no idea what my shirt said, and the Fourth Squad captain had dressed her down for that, even if it was just with a single sentence.

There wasn't much I could do to fix that, but I did try to explain.  "In Australia – in my culture – important able laugh at self.  I–"  I tugged at my shirt, then read out the words in English and the closest Taren translation.  "Lab Rat One.  Is true, is what am me here.  Pretend not, that stupid.  This–"  I shrugged.  "Cope mechanism.  Sarcasm.  Make me feel better wear."

"But it's not–"  Maze wasn't getting any less upset.

"I kept in box.  Take out for tests.  What else call it?"

Maze grimaced, but Lohn laughed.  "You have to admit her point.  So the people of your world think it's important to laugh at themselves?  That's an idea I could get along with.  But, Maze, no-one will be laughing if we miss that shuttle, so get a move on."

He dashed off with a wave, and since Maze obviously couldn't think of an argument he sighed.  "Let me know if you need anything, Caszandra.  Although I suppose it must seem like it, your status is not that."  He shot the picture on my shirt a grumpy look, nodded at Zan, and strode off after Lohn.

Zan just said: "I'll escort you back" and took me to my room and left me here.

Being able to record everything you see and hear certainly makes it easier to write down a conversation, though my translation of what they said – and what I was trying to say – is probably not that accurate.  I hadn't noticed before, but First Squad all call me 'Caszandra', not 'Cassandra'.  Taren is a very zeddy language.

Writing this down took hours, but it's given me plenty of translation practice and time to try and work out which of the three – Maze, Lohn or the Fourth Squad captain – that Zan likes enough to make her mind so much what happened today. 

Monday, January 28

Roof

This morning started as business as usual with training.  Zan, rather than the greensuits, has been collecting me from my room.  We get changed in a side room which has a stock of freshly laundered training outfits and then we do a lot of stepping backward and forward and now side-to-side.  Zan had gone back to being imperturbable, and I wasn't in the mood to push her, so I was really surprised when, after we'd changed back, she said: "I've been given leave to escort you around the facility, if there's any parts you wish to see."