Thunder Struck (4 page)

“I would like to hear them tell him that.” She chuckled. It was an interesting mental visual.

Their mission got off to a much better start than their first one and it continued that way until she brought up population records on Jul. “Oh, damn.”

They were in the galley on the long stretch between jump points and Ked was trying to remember if she had brought her full-cover robes.

“What is it?” He set her cup of tea in front of her.

“The city we are landing near is inhabited by Rexko. They don’t like my species very much. Our home worlds have been at war for hundreds of years.”

“That might be a problem.”

“I know. I am trying to remember if I brought my full-concealment robes, but I will have to check. I was distracted while packing.”

“Was Halwis-Iskan giving you a lecture?”

She laughed. “If that was the case, we would still be on Iskan. No, my family is visiting me and I had to go from hostess to work duty in a matter of minutes.”

“Sorry to have interrupted your visit. I am sure that they will still be there when we return.”

Ked shrugged and drank her tea. “I doubt it. This is not a short one. The altering of an existing pattern needs a lot more attention than simply starting something new. I will be there for a few days.”

“
We
will be there for a few days. Do you think that there will be an issue if they know what you are?”

“Any of the other cities and no, there wouldn’t be a problem. This city? If they can recognize me, they might think I am out to destroy them. They are a very paranoid people.”

She admired how he had changed the topic back to work, but her safety was his responsibility. He needed to know that her species was going to make her a target of hate if anyone discovered it.

Ked finished her tea and headed for the storage area. She grabbed her bag and returned to the tiny private quarters that were hers. With a cry of delight, she found the robes that she had been hoping for, and their internal nettings were intact.

She switched from her flaring everyday robe and slipped the concealing robe over her head. It concealed the species markings around her eyes and the deep purple lip colour that matched them.

Her black eyes were barely visible through the gauze and veils that lined the hood, and with her species obscured, she returned to the galley.

Haedock looked her over. “That will do the job.”

She laughed. “Just to make sure, announce me as Thunder Struck. My name would also be a giveaway.”

“Thunder Struck?”

“Ask your Great Gran. She laughed for weeks.” Kedna got another cup of tea before she settled down, prying the netting from her face carefully before taking a sip.

“Isn’t that going to be awkward?” He winced at her contortions.

“Oh, it is very awkward, but I just want to get in and out without too much trouble. If I have to drink through a straw and eat in the shadows, I will do it, and you will pretend it is normal.”

He nodded. “Yes, Thunder Struck.”

She wrinkled her nose at him but doubted he could see it. Six more hours until they touched down, so she needed to reacquaint herself with moving around in the heavy robes.

Sprinting through a storm in a tent required a very particular skill set and she was a little rusty.

Jul was messed up. Most of Kedna’s assignments were due to the populations fiddling with their weather systems, but this one was a little different. The damage to the weather was due to their removal of essential gasses from their upper atmosphere. Ked had come up with a plan to reset the protective layer, but it was going to require preparation and accuracy.

The canisters were going to be propelled into the air, and from there, they would be set to explode at precise times. Ked was ready to move the air to catch not only the heat but also the gasses and smear them into an even covering over the world.

She had worked out the theory of this manoeuvre years ago but had never been called on for this particular adjustment.

Tend would fly her around the globe in a Sector Guard skimmer and she would do her work while standing in a frame designed to grip around her hips.

Tend spoke to the mayor of the Rexko city where they were beginning their path. Kedna kept her mouth closed and only answered to
Thunder Struck
.

Tend came to her and whispered, “Are you ready?”

Four days of planning had finally culminated in this moment. She bowed.

The mayor had been staring at her with curiosity, and he rushed up to her, reaching for her hand. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to us.”

She kept her hands folded together in her sleeves and she bowed again. It was the safest means to communication.

The mayor looked disappointed but he gave her a beaming smile, his lime-green skin glowed in the interior lights. The sunlight outside now had enough energy to burn any of the inhabitants of Jul. The protective layer had been the only thing that made their world habitable.

Please remind him that the seasons might change, and global averages are a thing of the past. We can’t put it back to the way it was.

Tend nodded slightly. “Please remember that we cannot return the planet to the way it was. There will be changes of the global averages and the seasons may alter.”

The mayor nodded. “We will deal with all that; we just need to be able to go outside without our skin blistering.”

“As long as you understand. We are only here to restore the gas layer.”

“It is understood.” The mayor nodded eagerly.

It is time, Tend.

He nodded and told the mayor, “Make sure everything is ready. When we give the signal, we need everything to go smoothly. We need every canister to fire in order or this will not work.”

“All nations and city-states are ready. We wait for your word.”

Thunder Struck set herself in the skimmer and strapped the harness around her waist.
Ready when you are, Tend.

He stepped behind the controls and lifted off, heading high up into the atmosphere.

Lower us by two hundred metres.

He didn’t argue. Their skimmer dropped and waited.

He picked up the com and announced, “Ready. Launch now.”

Thunder Struck began to pull the wind and remaining gasses together in a roiling wave. Keeping a bubble of breathable air around them, she waited.

The missile streaked up toward them, and at the point where they had originally been waiting, it blew.

Thunder Struck kept the roiling storm between them and the explosion and Tend took off. It was the first of a repeated pattern that would last twenty-nine hours.

She was shaking when the rounds of storming the sky were complete. She hung limp, the strap around her waist the only support.

Dazed, she remained in place while Tend unbuckled her and she fell into his arms the moment she was loose.

“Sorry.” She muttered it as he held her against his chest. “Did it work?”

“All signs are hopeful. Let’s get you tucked into bed and resting. You need healing.”

He was already healing her, she could feel his mind skating along hers and pricking her into awareness. She healed best when she was awake and that bit of information was in her file. He had obviously done some research.

The shuttle felt like home after so much time in the air. She tried not to be greedy, allowing him to heal her depleted energy completely. He had been flying just as long as she had been controlling the clouds. He had to be exhausted.

“Tend. Knock it off. I am not going to die if you take a nap yourself.”

He grunted. “I want to get us off Jul. You have done all you can, but I am sure they would want more. More might kill you.”

He settled her on the medical bunk and strapped her in before she heard the door seal. The ship rumbled underneath her and they were up and away in moments.

She faded in and out while he got them clear of Jul, but when he came to the medical bed and dropped next to her with his arms around her, she paid attention. For a minute, she fought to position herself against him without the netting getting in her way, but eventually fatigue won and she passed out.

There was no way she could fight her way out of the robes, but she managed confined swirls of air under her suit and against her skin. If someone could see her bodysuit, it would look like something was trying to get out, but since it was just her under the layers, she found the moving air refreshing.

Haedock had his arms around her and his mind was settled comfortably against her own.

If she couldn’t feel his exhaustion, it would have been romantic. She had taken all he had to offer and he was sleeping it off.

She gave a slight sigh. She could do nothing else. She needed to pee. With a bit of squirming, she got one arm free and patted his arm. “Haedock, wake up.”

He grunted and held her tighter.

She grinned under her gauze and spread two fingers apart, creating a crackle of lightning between them. She reached down and zapped his butt, causing him to jerk and roll away from her. Ked squirmed down and shucked out of the robes, leaving him wrapped in them.

“What the hell was that?” Haedock growled.

She held up two fingers and arced more energy between them. “Personal defense device. I will explain more if you are still awake when I get back.”

Wearing only her shining black suit, she headed to the lav and took a sonic shower, refreshed her suit and used all facilities available.

Clean, relaxed and energized, she made some tea while Haedock continued his restorative sleep. She took a snack and her tea to the cockpit and had a seat. The ship was on route and everything was going well.

She watched the stars run by and had to admit it was a lovely sight. She just preferred the constellations on Iskan. They were named after Iskan’s greatest heroes and heroines. Thousands of years of history could be traced from the observatory, but the lens of the telescope would probably need cleaning by now. It was done every six months and today was that day.

Ked sat up at the thought of time. It was her birthday! She grimaced. She hadn’t been away from home on her birthday before and it felt weird.

She checked the estimated time of arrival and she bit her lip. If they managed the full trip on time, she would have time to engage in a flight with Halwis-Iskan and drink wine under the full moons.

It was a ritual that had started when she was legal age and was able to propel herself upward without causing a storm. She looked forward to it every year.

They were approaching the jump point and she settled into the pilot’s seat. If he couldn’t trigger the jump, she would have to.

Having only engaged a jump engine twice in her life, she was a little nervous as she set the halo around her head. The ready flash blinked twice and she activated the jump.

Her mind and body were in two places at the same time for a moment and then they were cruising on to the next point.

Ked sighed and took the halo off with shaking hands. Four more hours until the final jump that would take them into Iskan’s system.

She got up and headed to the galley for a more substantial meal. She checked on Haedock quickly, and he was cuddled around her robes and a light wheeze was coming from his throat. She investigated and removed the mesh that was pressing against his mouth. She turned it and tucked it so that it was safe for him before she went to retrieve her meal.

Eating alone in silence was something she was used to. She would see Halwis a few times a week and rarely did the visits coincide with mealtimes.

She spent her time on her studies and practicing with the holographic generator. The only interruptions were the flights to strange worlds and untangling foreign skies.

Silence was her constant companion and she actually enjoyed it.

Haedock kept sleeping for two hours and then he was awake and moving around the shuttle with energy. He charged to the front of the ship and then came stomping back. “You jumped us?”

She looked up from her data pad and smiled. “Of course. It was time for a jump.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Your file says you can’t fly.”

“No, it says I
shouldn’t
fly after a workout. You healed me and I was well enough to process the jump without any trouble. We are on time for our next jump and we might even make it to Iskan on my birthday.”

He stood and it was obvious that he was struggling to wake up.

“Go and take a shower, Haedock. I will make you a few litres of tea. We jump in two hours. You can take that one.”

He nodded and stumbled off to the lav for a shower and whatever else he could think of.

She prepared tea and a meal then sat reading a monograph on the feasibility of weather patterns within space stations until he returned.

Haedock sat down and sighed. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome. You have made tea for me so it was only fair. I can prep some caf if you would like. You are still a little sleepy.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can feel it. Your mind is still leaning on mine.” She smiled.

He winced. “I am sorry. It felt comfortable when I got up.”

“I don’t have a problem with it, but as a Minder, you may be uncomfortable when you leave and I am still on Iskan.”

He nodded as he ate. “Right.”

She felt him pull back, and it was like having a warm blanket removed. Her mental shielding felt cool but not uncomfortable.

“Do you like living with my ancestor?” Haedock asked, and for once, there was no challenge in his tone.

“I do. Halwis is kind and has a wicked sense of humour. Iskan is fun as well, but he tends to remain on the sober side. They have guided my education and taken care of my training. If not for the empty expanse and the contained valleys, I would never have gained mastery of my talent.”

She started her favourite passive game, a storm in a teacup. “This was something that Iskan taught me. Fine control had to be learned before I could manage to keep it within the cup.”

“When I insulted you on our first meeting, your cup had a storm in it.”