Read Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge Online

Authors: Viola Grace

Tags: #romance, #science fiction, #Space Opera

Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge (3 page)

BOOK: Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge
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Gwiette pulled an image out of her mind of a species made of silky, matte-black skin, hair and seductive eyes. “How did I get this information?”

Fixer sat next to her and sighed. “There is a good question. One of your kind posited that it would be possible to store data in light and transmit it via the optical nerve. It goes in and is transmitted to the brain, working on a visual-cue system. You have been reading bits of Alliance Common all around the building, and it has started the translation cascade so that you can understand and speak to those around you. Relay did most of that work.”

“How did you get it in?”

“Dr. Nywyn opened your eyes and we flashed you. He had to wait until you woke to give you the first few keys, but we have learned enough of the Resicor languages to get by for the first few hours until the download kicks in.”

Gwiette shivered. “I am never going to sleep again.”

Stop quirked his lips. “Why?”

“It seems that every time I go to sleep, something bizarre or bad happens.” She scowled. Her body was making a liar out of her. She was exhausted.

Fixer chuckled. “Now that you are alert, all tampering ceases. Everything done to you was meticulously recorded, and you can watch the vids at any time. No secrets with what was done to you in our care. We focus on keeping you alive, well and in good spirits. The rest is up to you.”

Gwiette looked at both of them, and she nodded while she mulled over what was best for her. She really had no idea what was best, but she knew what would keep her in good spirits. “I need to contact my family.”

Stop nodded. “Relay will do what she can, but Resicor is dangerous right now.”

Gwiette twisted her lips again. “I believe that I am aware of it. I will accept the chance of telling my family that I am alive and well.”

“Relay will try. Whatever she uses to get a message there, it may be days or weeks before they can return a missive. You must have patience.” Fixer nodded.

“I understand.” Surprisingly, she really did. Getting arrangements to take her off world had been months in the planning. Getting a message in had to be worse.

Stop put his hand out to her. “If you are up to it, we will go and have a proper meal in the dining hall, and then, I will show you to your quarters.”

Fixer smiled. “First, I am going to record the fit of the suit for future manufacture. I will make a body blank and reinforce a battle suit for you with non-conducting armour plates. The suit you currently have on will be good for most situations where your safety is not a factor. Training is one of those situations.”

“When can I do this again?” She rose to her feet.

Fixer waved her arm to encompass the hangar. “It is at your disposal, day or night. You can access it from the tarmac side. It will open for you and authorized personnel only.”

“How will it know?”

“The locks are keyed to bio-signatures. We have plenty of yours to go by now. You can fire off lightning itself. I have never seen that before. The initial estimates were far beneath this power signature. The station was only running on a portion of your possible output. You are a powerful woman, Gwiette.”

Gwiette chuckled and turned toward the door, walking slowly. “That is what got me into all this.”

 

Chapter Four

Eating from colour-coded selections was going to take some getting used to, but the food was nourishing and plentiful, so Gwiette settled in to eat while an entire trolley was brought for Fixer.

“Why so much?” Gwiette forked up more salad.

Stop settled next to her with a tray of his own.

Fixer made a face. “The price I pay for using my talent. I work at transforming matter with energy, so I have to replenish. The more I use my talent, the hungrier I become. When I work off world, my husband wears a bandolier covered with food bars. It detracts from his dignity, but he doesn’t care.”

The image made Gwiette smile. She was still smiling when a stampeded of children came in and made a direct line for their table.

She ate while the children gathered around their mother, and when she was introduced, she met the small, serious gazes with her own. The girls nodded and shook her hand, the young boy was barely walking, but he put out his hands and giggled.

Fixer grinned. “Watch him. He likes to push things into other things.”

Gwiette shook the little hands carefully and smiled at the sparsely toothed grin that he sported.

When she let him go, she sighed in relief that nothing peculiar had happened. She wasn’t thinking straight by that point. Fatigue was pushing her under.

She finished her meal and Stop looked at her, his tray long gone. “Can I show you to your quarters?”

She smiled and nodded. “Please.”

Fixer laughed. “We will all be here in the morning.”

It seemed more of a threat than a promise, but Gwiette staggered to her feet and bumped into Stop a few times before he took her arm to stabilize her.

“Why are you helping me?” She felt it was necessary to ask once they were alone in the hall.

“Every now and then in life you recognise those whose paths will merge with yours. The moment I saw you, I knew that we would be linked together by situations and events. Together, we will be greater than we could ever be apart.”

“You sound very sure of that.”

“I have lived long enough to recognise the reality when it looks me in the eye.” He chuckled.

“Will you tell me how you came to be here?”

“That is a tale for another day. Today, these are your quarters and mine are next door if you need anything. Rest. Recover. Become comfortable in your own skin. Once you are up tomorrow, we can go for a meal and you can exercise your control.”

She nodded and stumbled into the open doorway. A desk, bed, doorway that probably led to a bathing room and a relaxation space with a vid screen were all in front of her. She turned and Stop bowed low before wishing her good night and disappearing behind the closing door.

Sighing, Gwiette stripped out of her new suit and headed for the closed door in her chambers. It was indeed a bathroom, and trial and error saw her through the evening procedure.

The shower was a little more complicated, but she managed it as well before heading to the bed with a grateful groan.

Her suit was just as comfortable the next morning. She tugged it into position and stretched before working her hair into a loose knot at the back of her head. Dawn had just crept in through the skylight, so she wanted to get in some work on her ability to summon the power, hold it and then send it off. When it coursed through her the night before, she had felt the potential for control, and she wanted to make it a reality.

She walked through Fixer’s workshop, expecting to find it empty. Fixer was sitting and whistling as she worked on a bodysuit over a dummy.

“Morning, Gwiette.”

“Um, morning, Fixer.”

“Heading for a workout?”

“Yes.”

“What were you planning on trying?”

Gwiette blushed. “Bolts from my hands and fingers.”

Fixer grinned. “Come here for a moment. I can help with that. Your suit is non-conductive unless the contacts are exposed, but you need something on your hands if you are going to try and actively blast bolts.”

A series of wires were measured and laid along the outside of her gloves. By the time Fixer was finished, the suit didn’t feel different but Gwiette had seen the metal go in.

“Let me know how that works.” Fixer returned to the suit.

“You don’t want to monitor me?”

Fixer shook her head. “Whatever you need to work out, you need to do it yourself. I am not your instructor. I have no basis for judgement on what is going on.”

Gwiette nodded and waved as she turned to leave. The hangar opened at her approach and closed behind her.

Gwiette stood on the central dot and focused, sending a bolt out of her fingers and into the first pylon. It was thin and nothing more than a tickle of power, but she had done it. With focus, she managed to fire stronger bolts until the crack of power had the tower humming.

Her stomach growled, and she flexed her fingers. She had been working for over an hour and she was ready for breakfast.

“Well done, Gwiette.”

She jumped and looked at the cage where Stop was emerging. “When did you get in here?”

“Five minutes after you started. I stopped time and slipped into the safety of the cage. From there, I watched your progress. Come on, you need to eat. I can hear your stomach from over here.”

She took a few steps out of the circle before she turned and fired at the furthest tower. The crackle and snap of power rang through the air.

Stop paused for a moment and then resumed his approach. “Are you done now?”

“I am.” She watched the suit seal around the conductive bands, and she smiled brightly at him.

“You are looking better today.”

They walked to the hangar door and it rolled back at their approach.

“I am feeling a bit better. The idea that I can control what rolls and rages inside me is a refreshing one.”

They walked through Fixer’s workshop, but she wasn’t there.

“She is having breakfast with her family. It is a lengthy process from what I have observed.”

Gwiette left that alone for a moment before she asked. “Why is that?”

“Their youngest can insert objects into others, including his least favourite foods into his sisters’ meals. The fights are legendary around here.”

“How does their mother manage it?”

“She sets them all to the same food, but some of the staff provides their favourites with treats inside the meal. The girls never know if it is a present from friend or foe.”

They were in the halls when she asked, “Why do the staff provide the treats if they know there is going to be a fight?”

Stop laughed and waved for her to precede him into the dining hall. “They like to watch.”

He put his hand on her left shoulder and whispered, “Just walk with me and fill your tray. They won’t move until I let them go.”

Gwiette looked around at the still room full of folks ducking under thrown food and others who were caught with laughter showing in every inch of their postures. “You stopped them?”

“I did. Let’s get you set up, and then we can have breakfast in that calm corner over there.”

“So, your contact with me is keeping me moving?”

“Yes. If I let go, you freeze in place until I release you. For now, take advantage of the silence and enjoy the lack of lineups.”

Gwiette let him steer her through the food fight frozen in time as she gathered her breakfast and her tea. Even the food wasn’t giving off heat. He had locked it all in that one moment.

He guided her to a table and chair far out of the way, and he waited until she was settled before he raised his brows. “Are you ready? I will get my meal and join you before you know it.”

“I am ready.” She set her hands on the table and nodded.

He winked, and a moment later, he was sitting across from her, holding her hand. “If you are prepared, I will let them resume.”

“Please. I am ready.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, the room erupted into motion and sound.

Gwiette jumped a little, but smiled. “Thank you. I don’t think I would have made it through that unscathed.”

He chuckled and settled in to eat his meal.

She was halfway through her selections when a small body pressed against hers.

Gwiette looked down and a peculiar face looked back at her. “Hello, little one.”

“Hello. I am Junior. You are warm. You feel good.”

The little person snuggled against her side, and Gwiette looked around the room for the child’s owner.

Stop grinned, “Junior is the child of the Avatar of Morganti and Star Breaker. Junior has not yet chosen its gender, so Junior is the nickname its parents have offered to it.”

The child smiled. “I like it. It makes me part of both of them at the same time.”

A tall man came up and loomed next to them. “And part of me, child.”

Junior sighed and slumped its shoulders. “Yes, Pa-Gant.”

Gwiette put her arm around the little creature and looked at the newcomer. She looked up Avatars in her mind and recognised the contrasting swirl that was different and similar to Stop’s. “Hello.”

The man bowed. “I am Gant, living mind of Morganti. My host, the body that I occupy, is that of Kale. Junior’s father. He is working on some research with other Avatars right now, so I am on babysitting duty. Junior got away in the food fight. It hates getting dirty.”

Stop grinned. “Take a seat, Gant. Gwiette radiates electricity, so there is a natural draw for Junior. If it just wants to wait, it can wait.”

Junior giggled and snuggled closer.

Gwiette felt a pang of remembrance for when her sister was that young and ate the rest of her meal with one hand. Unlike any other child she had met, Junior did not make a move toward her plate.

Junior whispered. “I am not supposed to eat the food of other species. It makes my tummy hurt.”

Gwiette nodded. “That makes sense. How did you know what I was wondering?”

“You whispered it in my mind.”

That cooled Gwiette’s affection instantly.

Junior’s expression grew sad. “You don’t like me anymore.”

Gwiette had to console the child. “Where I grew up, those who could hear your thoughts used them against you. It makes me wary when folk can read my mind without my knowing about it.”

“But, I just told you.”

Gwiette blinked and laughed. “Right. I suppose that puts you in a category all your own.”

“I am one of a kind, so far.” Junior beamed. “Just like you are.”

She could not fault that logic and finished her breakfast with a smile on her lips.

Gant jolted slightly and flexed his fingers. His eyes turned toward the child and Gwiette. He smiled, his manner relaxed and easy. “Well, Junior. Are you ready to head out to greet Mommy? She is on her way down.”

Junior jumped up, kissed Gwiette’s cheek and patted her shoulder. “I will see you later. You feel good.”

Junior jumped into Gant’s arms.

He turned to Gwiette and extended his hand. “I am Kale and you have already met my singular brood. Welcome to Morganti. We are glad to have you here. Learn and grow, we will help where we can.”

BOOK: Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge
5.51Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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