Tales of the Citadel # 32 - Core Charge (6 page)

“It must have been lonely.” She knew about being alone in a crowd, she could not imagine what it would be like with no one to speak to.

“Living with a world speaking to you and sharing a portion of itself is a sensation I cannot describe. Yes, I craved contact with others like myself, but I was never alone.”

“It seems peculiar to me, but I suppose we are only familiar with the worlds we have grown up in.”

He smiled. “That is true.”

A chime rang in the air.

Gwiette looked around. “What is that?”

“It is you. Your suit has a com unit built into the neckline. Activate it and speak.”

She fumbled and found a button hidden in the seam. “Hello?”

“Gwiette? Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure where you were. We have a situation and I know you haven’t finished training, but this is something you have already mastered. Will you help save a ship limping along with minimal life support?” Relay’s voice was urgent.

“Sure. Where do I go?”

“Stop will take you to the site. I will load the
Hidden Victory
with the necessary information.”

Stop nodded.

Gwiette said, “He is in, so we are on our way.” She turned off the connection.

He grinned. “Shall we put on some speed?”

She smiled and aimed for the base, running as fast as she could, which was quite a bit faster than a few hours earlier.

When she arrived at the tarmac, she had to seek out the ship with the glyphs for
Hidden Victory
. Stop went directly to it; he could recognise it by sight.

They climbed on board, and he sealed the ship while she settled in one of the front seats. The computer came online and the lights blinked slowly to life. Breathing deeply, she calmed herself down to a normal speed.

Stop settled next to her and strapped in. “Take the tablet and bring up the assignment information.”

She grabbed the tablet and tried to activate it, finally seeing the flash of reaction in the screen. “Am I moving fast again?”

“A little. We will get the tablet programmed for speed.”

She snorted and an image sprang up, showing her a ship slowly rotating in space. “I guess this is my first assignment.”

He chuckled and the ship finished powering up. He ran some checks and lifted off. The ship elevated slowly before darting forward in a rush of power.

Gwiette leaned back and focused on the images in front of her as the wound in the ship was exposed. “Something hit this ship.”

He nodded. “I will get us on the way, and then, I will read the file. From the location, I would posit that it was a Raider attack. They have been getting bolder.”

She lifted her lip in a silent snarl. She had firsthand experience with the Raiders and their methods. Those few weeks had taught her what she could and could not stand. If she knew her family was safe, she could withstand almost anything.

Chapter Eight

Gwiette was never going to be a fan of the mechanism called jump, but once they had made it to their target, she felt her queasy stomach shift to excited butterflies.

Stop made the call, and to her surprise, he announced her as Shock.

“Shock?”

“It is traditional to not let the casual observer know your species or original name. It is a safety factor for the families that are left behind. In some situations, they could be used as leverage for behaviour or use of talent.”

“I understand that, but Shock?” She chuckled. “It is a little bald.”

“It will make an impression and it radiates competence. Now, shall we?”

The Raiders had not made the large hole in the ship. They had tried to harvest an asteroid and had gotten too close to the small riders in the gravitational wake. The ship had been crushed and the power systems crippled. They needed her to provide enough energy to limp them to a repair station.

She brushed at her suit and smoothed imaginary folds.

Stop reached out and clasped one hand. “Calm down and move slowly. I will be there to keep things under watch. You will be safe, just power the ship up and get it moving.”

She grinned. “If it was that simple, you could have done it.”

“Apologies. When we are locked in place, we will begin to drain their systems. They are waiting to take you to one of the internal relay stations. I will accompany you, and if anyone tries anything, they will be locked in place then wedged under a descending door.”

“Charming.”

Their ship snuggled up to the larger mining hulk and the hiss of the connection rang through their ship. In an instant, Stop had unbuckled his harness and hers, and hauled her to her feet. They went to the hatch, and the link between the ships flickered until it settled and strengthened.

As the light indicated a solid link, Stop opened the door and urged her through to the other side.

She opened the door when he closed the hatch to their ship.

The air inside was stale and very thin. She looked back at Stop, and he nodded for her to continue.

A grimy miner met her and smiled. “Are you Shock?”

“I am.”

“Thank the great ship. The relay is this way. If you can power us, we can limp home in a day.”

“I should be able to power you. I might need a break though.”

“That is fine. If you can get us moving, we can get into the right position. Momentum is an amazing thing.” He smiled. “I am Tovoricaniak.”

“Pleased to meet you. Lead on.” She didn’t attempt to pronounce his name.

Stop was behind her, and his clothing was swirling in that peculiar way again. She could see waves of it scooting up next to her before it drifted back. It was both creepy and comforting.

The relay was a gutted panel with large silver plates to press her hands on. Shock flexed her hands and smiled at her escort. “You might want to step back. Will you let them know when I have the power on?”

He nodded nervously while Stop took up a post where he was in her field of vision while watching the room.

She sucked in a deep breath and pressed her palms to the plate, sending a steady stream of power into the ship. It was the beginning of a very long assignment.

Thirty hours later, she was shaking with fatigue under Stop’s arm as he escorted her back to their little ship. Lights were on all over the mining craft and a gathering of inhabitants came to cheer her off.

She waved tiredly and headed into the shuttle as quickly as she could. With power a valuable commodity, none of the inhabitants had bathed in several days and Shock’s nose was about to cave in.

She staggered into the shuttle and strapped in. Nyral paused next to her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Well done, Gwiette.”

“Thanks. Can you aim us for Morganti again? I think I need to nap a little.”

She leaned back in the chair and everything went dark.

The blanket was soft and tucked in up to her face. Gwiette stirred and looked into Nyral’s slowly swirling eyes.

“Morning?”

“Evening, two days later. You were out for over forty hours.”

She looked around and jerked in surprise. “Why am I in your room?”

“Because you don’t need to be in medical, and I wanted to keep an eye on you without creeping everyone out.”

She twisted her lips. “It isn’t that bad.”

He laughed. “I know what I am.”

She reached out and stroked his cheek before pulling back with a squeak. “Where is my suit?”

“In the cleanser. It takes a lot to get them grubby, but you managed it.”

She shuddered. “It was all the hugging. I know they were in dire straits, but the smell was wearing on me.”

She tucked her naked shoulder under the covers and considered her options.

“Wait, you ran me through a solar shower as well.”

He chuckled. “I wanted to make sure you woke up comfortable.”

“Um, can I have my suit?”

He sighed and rolled out of bed. She watched as his Masuo went from being a band on his leg to slowly creeping up his body and transforming into his suit.

While the Masuo moved, she couldn’t help but admire the bands and bulges of muscle that it covered with glacial slowness.

“Why can’t I have Masuo again?”

“You would shock it into a puddle and leave yourself naked at the most inopportune time.” He grinned as the clothing covered his chest.

“Right. Why don’t you react to my electricity?”

He grinned. “I am very well grounded and my temporal nature isn’t as easily affected by your static.”

“Static? I managed to power an entire mining vessel for over a day with
static
.” She huffed and he snickered.

“You did very well. I filed the mission report when we arrived. You were out cold, but breathing evenly with normal vital signs. I thought a nap was definitely well earned.”

She shrugged. “You were correct. I don’t yet have the stamina for that sort of assignment.”

He brought out her suit with a flourish. “Here you are. We will work on your stamina. If you can hold a charge, you can transport a larger amount of energy with you instead of generating it all in a live setting.”

She pulled the suit to her and wrestled it under the covers. She had always hated changing in front of her sister, and they had shared a room when she was a teen. She had perfected dressing under the blankets.

Nyral looked disappointed when she squirmed out with only a few inches of the closures unfastened. She rectified the gap with a swipe of her hand. “There. Now, I am rather hungry. Lunch?”

“Dinner. Fixer has asked that you play for the children this evening if you woke. You have, so I am passing along the request.”

“I think I would enjoy it.”

“Good. Now, let’s get you some sustenance. You are paler than usual.”

She snorted and took the arm he offered to her. He was fully dressed and so was she. Her hair would have to take care of itself.

It was amazing what one successful assignment did for her ego. Her head was high, her shoulders were back and she had been able to use her talent in public without being arrested. It had been a good day on that mining ship, despite the smell.

Junior snuggled up next to her again when she sat down.

A woman who crackled with energy asked, “Since you have custody of my child, may I have a seat?”

Nyral laughed and the woman had a seat. “Gwiette, this is Carella, also known as Star Breaker.”

Carella extended her hand over the table. “Pleased to meet you.”

Gwiette shook it, and Carella stared at the glove.

“Do you have a contact talent?”

Gwiette shrugged. “Not really. Biological energy into electricity is my talent. I am still learning how to control it.”

Carella laughed. “That explains Junior’s fascination. My child is attuned to energy patterns.”

“And a telepath.”

“That too.”

Junior ignored them and took the food that its mother passed it.

They had a polite and cheerful conversation until the plates were empty and Fixer appeared in the doorway.

When Gwiette met the other woman’s gaze, Fixer’s filled with relief. She pressed her palms together and gave a beseeching glance.

Gwiette removed her arm from around Junior and got to her feet. “I believe we need to make our appearance. Fixer looks desperate.”

Carella clicked to her child and Junior came around and climbed into her arms. “We are invited to hear you as well. Call Fixer Mala when she is not working on your uniforms. She isn’t usually one to stand on ceremony.”

They gathered as a group and followed Fixer to the family quarters. Fixer handed her the harp and the children clumped together on the floor while the tired mothers sat on couches.

In a straight-backed chair with Nyral next to her, Gwiette began to play.

She focused on the sound of the songs, the cadence and the echoes from the chamber around her. By the time she finished a decent amount of soothing selections, everyone in the room was asleep.

She got to her feet and Nyral offered his hand. She took it and they slipped out without waking anyone.

Once in the hall, she looked at her harp and smiled. The wood was growing, twisting into vines around the frame, but it still resonated when she played. “I really like this harp.”

“I am glad. It was a thank you gift for rescuing the birthing pods of a plant-based species. I never imagined that a harp would be the end result of those samples of their eldest tree.”

Suddenly, her grip wasn’t as casual as it had been. “This was a piece of a living, thinking creature?”

“Offered freely in thanks for the efforts of the Sector Guard.” He smiled. “It does happen.”

The harp’s feeling in her hands made a little more sense now. It felt like it was playing with her, not being played by her.

“Let’s put it in your quarters and go for a walk.”

She grinned. “Let’s take it with us, and I will play something for you out in the silence of the night.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Not yet. Let’s see what kind of music I play.” She had always expressed herself best with an instrument, and now, she had one that would help her sort out what she felt for him.

“It is a date.” He lifted her gloved hand to his lips and kissed her.

She smiled and walked with him out into the night, away from the base.

Chapter Nine

She could not stop smiling as she paced with her body crackling with power. She thought about the night before and grinned again.

Last night, she had played the harp on a pile of rocks until Nyral had been moved to tears. She had played songs that reminded her of being alone then connecting with someone. Her repertoire worked through songs that made her feel, and she felt that they would speak to him as well.

Coaxing emotion was a skill that she had practiced her entire life. Finally being able to work on it for an appreciative audience was a relief and a pleasure. The harp seemed to enjoy it as well.

When she stilled the strings, Nyral had leaned forward and kissed her. Sparks literally flew between them as he deepened the kiss until she was holding his shoulders and he had his hands on her waist, pulling her tightly to him.

They had made out with the harp carefully set to one side, and after her mouth was bruised and his body was shaking, they watched the sunrise over the base.