The Touchstone Trilogy (87 page)

I've been reviewing the assignment list, checking out the names and talents.  First has gained a guy and a girl – Kian Farn and Az Norivan – who are strongest with Ice and Water respectively.  Basically rounding out primary talents they didn't already have.  Fourth gained two guys, Rada Dae and Sael Toren; Fire and Ice.  Morel, the only Kalrani name I recognised among the assignment list, is part of Third, which I suspect he'll be pleased about.

I hope they're people I'll like.

A store is selling copies of my coat, the one I drew the pattern from Kalasa's door on.  I'd have to save for weeks to buy one.  And beanies have become extremely fashionable.  The thing I resent most is that whoever did the coat they're selling is a far better artist, and the pattern doesn't look nearly so amateurish and uneven.

Monday, July 21

Pay day

That was the last major session of work on my legs for a while, which I'm glad of because they always leave me feeling a bit odd – they have a nanite which eats scar tissue and then a different nanite they've cultured from my skin which replaces the scars.  The medics tell me they couldn't just do that to start with because it's much slower, and the initial focus is on getting the patient to not die, not making sure the patient's legs are sexy.  [Well, they didn't say it in those words, exactly.]  Anyway, these cosmetic sessions involve lying there having bits of my legs eaten by nanites.  No wonder I feel blah afterwards.

Since it was the night before a rotation, I went and curled up in Kaoren's room, finishing off one of the books he recommended, then wondering whether I should buy more clothes and keep some in his rooms.  I was contemplating the small amount of money I had left from my allowance and feeling very grumpy about the number of people making big profits off of me without even saying thanks when – almost as if he were psychic! – Tsur Selkie sent me a channel request and said: "At what point were you going to mention that you continue to receive only the Displaced Aliens Stipend?"

He sounded genuinely curious, so instead of telling him 'next time I met an intrepid girl reporter', I said: "When I needed to buy something I couldn't afford."

"Is that cultural?" he asked, surprising me by not saying a few crisp words and breaking connection.  "Some kind of taboo regarding receiving payment?"

"In a way, a bit," I said, having not really thought about it.  "If passer-by see someone in trouble, and saves their life, very crass to ask for a fee.  I would be very strange person if turned around and say that because I unlock Muina, expect to be given lots of money.  But working with Setari – whose job it is to save people – different situation.  And helping fill in Rana Junction Gate, completely different situation.  Be embarrassing asking to be paid, but would have pointed out eventually that if going to treat me like an employee, very mean not to give me a wage.  Waiting to see if anyone notice."

"The administrative body of the Displaced Aliens Fund noticed, and have requested a refund of payments received since you were returned to KOTIS."

I had to laugh.  "Tarens very stingy people."

Selkie had reverted to being a bluesuit, though, and simply said: "You'll be classified as captain for salary purposes," and broke connection.

So I'm now an actual employee of KOTIS, more or less – and have an awful lot of money, since Setari captains seem to get paid plenty and I had more than a Taren year's worth built up (minus repaying my stipend, and a whole bunch of taxes).  Kaoren, when I told him about it, said that the things I find funny are liable to drive Selkie insane.

He also told me to check my schedule, which had been updated.  First and Fourth are going to take me into the Ena for my next few testing sessions, using the opportunity to break in their new members by clearing Ionoth in near-space.  This dual-purpose use of time was typically Kaoren and I laughed and told him that if I ever wanted to drive him insane I'd just force him to do something, anything, inefficiently.  He went unexpectedly intense in response, and kissed me really hard.  I guess I probably already drive him insane.

We haven't pushed each other yet, haven't had an argument or done anything guaranteed to irritate the other, but this – he and I – has been working better than I could have hoped given that he's a driven perfectionist and I'm, well, a stop and smell the roses type.  I'm finding myself unexpectedly settled rather than plagued with doubts.

We didn't make love last night, though; the first time in the eight whole days since we got together.  Kaoren could tell my legs had left me very queasy this time round, and I think his Sights mean that unless I'm truly into it, it's not going to happen.  No faking allowed.  Instead we watched one of Kaoren's favourite movies (this incredibly sad and smart and beautiful story about a woman outwitting a mad AI), and then I read more diary and we talked about the schoolies week and going to high school in Australia, and then experimentally eating things to see whether they kill you.

My first four days on Muina.  I was so alone.

I had a nightmare later: not one of the Sight ones, just dreaming of walking along that river and never being found.  I cried a little, when Kaoren woke me up, because I really don't care that much about not being allowed out into the city, or the size of my pay packet, or anything but not being so scared and isolated.  And this growing confidence I have about Kaoren just underlines to me that, despite how nice people were to me, I stayed being scared and isolated long after I was rescued.

Nearly time to go into the Ena.

Under Observation

Maze introduced me to the new squad members (both First's and Fourth's) before we went into the Ena.  They were all around my age and being extremely correct and proper, as you'd expect for Kalrani who'd suddenly found themselves joining senior squads.

Kian Farn, joining First, was too guarded for me to get any real impression of him.  He's around average height (given that most people here are tall), he said practically nothing, and he was very watchful and expressionless, measuring everything that was happening around him.  Az Norivan has a wonderful curling smile, and although not nearly at Eeli-level seems to be a fairly 'up' type of person.

Rada Dae, Fourth's new Fire (plus Telekinesis) talent, and Sael Toren with a primary of Ice, are absolute stereotypical fire and ice personalities, except Dae has dyed his hair dark blue with frosted white tips, which is a complete failure to conform to the 'Fire' colour scheme.  But Dae is all energetic and enthusiastic, outgoing and chatty, while Toren is coldly reserved and very down-to-business, so otherwise they slot right into their pigeonholes.  Toren will probably appreciate being in Fourth because Kaoren's so very focused and efficient.  Oddly, he doesn't remind me of Kaoren at all – Kaoren is more detached than cold, while Toren was definitely of the 'coolly superior and does not think much of you' cold.

Though none of the new squad members were being nasty or grouchy, I didn't get the impression any of them were at all pleased to be placed in First and Fourth, which confused the hell out of me for a while.  I don't usually ask Kaoren about 'staffing', since gossiping about the people he supervises isn't something he's likely to do, but interrupted his report writing just now to say: "New people all captain candidates?  Appointments to First and Fourth only temporary?"

"It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to reach the same conclusion," Kaoren said.  "We're not ready to form additional squads, let alone send them out raw to face the increasing numbers we're having to deal with.  After a year working actively in the Ena, most of the additional squad members will be considered for reformation into Fifteenth and Sixteenth.  Some will remain, and perhaps become part of Seventeenth and Eighteenth in turn.  Eight-strength squads give us an opportunity for advanced training."

"Why not tell them that beforehand?"

"Nothing has been firmly decided.  And all captains must learn to follow the lead of their seniors."  He shifted me a little closer to his side before going back to his report writing.  He isn't at all keen on me being out of reach just now, and that's the Nurans' fault.  If I end up having a permanent guard assigned to me even while I'm in KOTIS, I'm going to be severely annoyed.

The testing session itself was very interesting.  Maze brought a drone and a scan-chair along, and both squads went up to the roof to a spot where they'd apparently stuck a drone in real-space as well.  Zee, Alay and Halla stayed with me while First and Fourth separated and went hunting over the massive-pile-of-blocks expanse of Konna.  They rarely have to hunt out over the water, since the Ionoth tend to drown if they come through out there.  Even the flying Ionoth gravitate toward the land masses, which only makes sense because Tare's storms helpfully rip them apart if they don't find some level of shelter.

Zee had me start out making projections from memory.  And that was so much easier than it is in real-space I could scarcely believe it.  I did a few minutes of the first episode of a favourite of Mum's, a BBC documentary called
Planet Earth,
and then took a break, but was nowhere near to passing out as I would have been in real-space.  A quick sprint, stop for a rest, then fine to go on.

"Try an object now," Zee said, putting her breather down in front of me.

This was harder to achieve.  Projecting images takes a bit of mental effort to start off, but it does work a lot like pressing 'play'.  Making the breather is different in ways it's really hard to put into words – kind of like those magic eye puzzles where you have to sort of unfocus your eyes, but I needed to unfocus my mind.  I find it easier when I close my eyes and someone starts reading out a long description, guiding what I'll project.

Still, after a bit of frowning – and nearly making a mug of hot chocolate – I produced a breather which Zee could pick up, but which went away as soon as I stopped concentrating on it.  And yet my origami cranes are still going strong.  My talents seem to me very contradictory.

Since I was still feeling fine – no headache, just a bit of an elevated heartbeat which went away after a rest – Zee had me go on to visualising a room she described.  This was a restaurant, a fancy one which seemed to be at 'shift change' – closed for a half-kasse for a thorough clean and refresh.  Five people were moving about, whisking fresh cloths over tables, setting out table spices and long blue heated centrepieces where platters of food would be set to keep warm.  Two of them were chatting about whether one of the girls should go out with someone, briskly continuing their work all the time.  They didn't seem able to see us, but when Halla picked up a glass they noticed that immediately, and pointed, then asked each other which of them was the Telekinetic.  But they could more or less see Halla's shadow, now they were looking directly at her, and came and crowded around her, talking excitedly.

I let the projection lapse then (to Halla's relief, I suspect), and shrugged when Zee asked me how I was feeling.  "Could do with a bit of a rest," I said, then opened a private channel to her, and Maze and Kaoren, who were distant but within range thanks to the drone's relay.

"There's someone watching us," I said.  "On the roof just above.  They came during the last projection."

"The Nuran?" Maze asked, while Zee looked down to stop herself from looking up.

"Not Inisar," I said.  "It's no-one I know.  I looked right at where they're standing but I couldn't see them."

"Does not register with Combat Sight," Zee said, moving so she was standing within touching distance of me.  I took out my water flask, though I could tell by the way Alay was frowning at me that I wasn't acting particularly naturally.

"Warn Annan the moment you detect any movement," Maze said crisply.  "Ruuel, your squad is closer.  We'll hang back in case this is an opening of communication."  He brought us all into the one channel, saying: "There's an unknown at the test site.  We're returning, but do not attack unless signalled."

"Halla, enhance and scan the roof above with Place," Kaoren said, voice as calmly even as if we were all in one of the training rooms preparing for a test session.

Halla, with just the faintest hint of confusion, moved close enough to brush my arm with her fingertips, then stood gazing upward.  I was watching her face, and saw her lips part slightly, then she said, "Streaming," over the interface, and we all got to look at the barest blurry echo of a shape of a shape standing gazing down at us.

It was pretty hard to tell, but I thought it was a woman.  There was a bump by one leg which could have been the hilts of two swords worn in the same way as Inisar's.

"Is invisibility a talent all on its own?" I asked Zee, since everyone staring upward made pretending we didn't know the woman was there pretty pointless.

"It's Illusion-casting," Zee replied, not shifting her attention away from the place the watcher occupied.  "Very few Illusionists can manage it."

I was briefly distracted wondering if Nils could, and if he crept about being invisible, but found I was annoyed and said flatly: "Nurans don't have very good manners."

Zee put an admonitory hand on my shoulder, and I sighed, then tried to remember what it had felt like when Inisar had spoken in my head.  The figure above us shifted as Fourth Squad rose up through the gaps in the half-formed buildings below us, and I tried mentally saying: "Not allowed to talk?"

There was no reaction.  I decided not to push it, since for all I knew I could be revealing things which would endanger Inisar.  And then Fourth was there, spreading in a semi-circle behind me, Kaoren at my other shoulder.

Zee dropped her hand so Kaoren could enhance, and then she said: "Caszandra has a point.  To watch, hidden, is hardly courteous."

All this achieved, though, was to make the Nuran leave.

"Teleported," Kaoren said, and Halla and I both nodded.

That killed the testing session.  Maze took me back inside with First as an escort while Fourth tried to track the Nuran.  Zee and Alay stayed with me until Kaoren returned, and I suspect if I wasn't handily sleeping with Captain All-the-Sights, I'd have Halla on my couch.  According to Maze, it'll be a while before a decision is made about whether to go ahead with these sessions.  That the Nurans can shield themselves from Combat Sight is something none of the Setari like.