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  “Thank you for the first aid.” Her words were quiet, and she was unaccountably shy with him towering over her.

  “It was my duty to have you arrive alive, as it is my duty to bring you to Piq so that you may use your talent for tectonic shift for the good of the Alliance.”

  “Piq?”

  “It is an unstable world that has strategic potential. It is your permanent assignment once we leave Teklan.”

  She brushed at her hair nervously. “You are stationed there as well?”

  “For now. I am engaged in a study of the local botanicals and the possibility for transplanted greenery.”

  Finding out that his assignment there was temporary was disappointing. “Oh.”

  He stared at her in surprise. “Yes, well. We are on approach. I will be right back, and we will land shortly.”

  Leaving Resicor was fuzzy. Her mind had rejected all of the newness and blunted her memory of the moment. Landing on Teklan was done while she was awake, alert and paying close attention to pushing her body back in the chair to avoid smacking into the ground.

  Travel was now off her list of things to try before she died. The mass of transport that she had experienced today was enough for a lifetime, and there was still more to come.

  Whatever species her companion was, there was another of his kind waiting for them on the tarmac.

  “That is Might. He is also a Dhemon.” Her companion offered that information without being asked.

  “You are a Dhemon?”

  He gave a look that indicated embarrassment. “I apologize. I have not introduced myself. Viiko Carolian, at your service.”

  She inclined her head. “Thank you, Mr. Carolian.”

  Titles were funny things. He looked as if she had just smacked him. “Please, call me Viiko.”

  “Viiko then. Thank you. I was wondering where you were from, but in light of your briefing, I did not know where to start.” She gave him an attempt at a bright smile, but she was still nervous about what was about to happen next.

  “We will enter the base, go to medical and meet with Reset. She will do what has to be done, and by the time you are ready to leave, our shuttle will be refuelled and outfitted for the journey.” He nodded and unbuckled her harness.

  Her knees wobbled as she got to her feet. With Viiko leading the way, she took a few tentative steps onto the world of Teklan.

  The energy patterns of the planet started to pull at her the moment she was free of the shuttle. It was a healthy world, growing, living and stable. A smile crossed her lips at the definite calm that came over her.

  Viiko met the other Dhemon, and they clasped forearms and slapped each other on the shoulder in a greeting that she had never seen before.

  “Naka Gwyn, this is Might. General and commander of Teklan Base.”

  “Pleased to meet you, sir.” She inclined her head formally.

  Might frowned in confusion. Based on what she read on his features, he had read the official file as well.

  “Might, I was wondering if you could arrange a mind scan for her while she is here. I need to know what I will be sharing space with.”

  Might nodded with a jerk, his horns flashing in the afternoon sun. “Past Tense is on base today, I will get her to swing by medical.”

  “Thank you. It is one thing to know they arrest talents, another entirely to know that they frame them for dastardly deeds.” Viiko smiled.

  With a few more polite words, they departed from Might, and soon, Naka was facing a woman with rippling blue hair.

  “Hello, Naka.”

  “Hello.”

  “My name is Reset. Viiko, you can wait elsewhere. This will not be completely simple.”

  Viiko nodded. “I understand, but I will wait. I cannot abandon her after I have delivered her into your custody. Tell me if you need help, and I will do what I can.”

  Naka looked from one to the other. “What is about to happen?”

  Reset smiled and gently steered her to a medical bed. “The restrictor suit that they put you in is not the standard suit. We have slipped a hybrid Masuo into their supply and when it bonds to you, it mimics a restrictor suit until we tell it otherwise. This decommissioning of the suit is done slowly with mild electricity as well as my talent for returning things to their natural settings.”

  “So, it will hurt, but I will be able to change clothing again?”

  “The Masuo will be able to mimic anything you want. It can be a bodysuit, trousers or an evening gown. It is your choice. Once you get into the rhythm of it, it will intuit your needs.” Reset was working with scanners and setting the machines. “Are you ready?”

  Naka boosted herself onto the medical bed and watched as Reset clipped wires to various points on her suit.

  Viiko stood nearby, calmly observing.

  Naka felt her power return to full. She knew where every fault line was as well as each pit and cranny on the nearest moon. The pain was a small price to pay to have her power back and the freedom to use it.

  The suit rippled and shifted to cover her legs modestly. She heaved a sigh of relief. The short suit didn’t suit her. Full coverage was much more her style.

  She was sitting up after another full round of scans when a new woman entered the room.

  “Naka, this is Past Tense. She will see your previous actions and determine whether you are unaware of your activity or if there is something else involved.”

  Reset was smiling, and her relaxed attitude helped Naka tremendously. If the doctor was calm, this was not going to hurt.

  “Hello, Naka. I simply need to touch your hand to determine your past. Relax and clear your mind.” The woman took her hand, and her eyes flicked rapidly.

  Naka waited calmly, Reset was curious and Viiko was at attention.

  “Nothing. You have never successfully used your talent aside from the jag that got you arrested. The peculiar thing is that you should not have used it that time. Something forced your hand, so to speak. A suggestion was planted to flush you out.”

  Naka was amazed. “You can see that?”

  “I read your file and looked for the days in your past. Those days are covered with innocuous activities and a quiet life. There was no reason for you to use your talent. You were not threatened, you were not particularly depressed, nor were you furious. Someone pushed you to those actions, and I believe that it was the same person who crafted such a colourful past for you.”

  “So, somewhere in the government is a corrupt psychic who falsified my records?”

  “That is my guess.”

  Naka looked at the other woman and said soberly, “If they did it to me, how many others have been arrested the same way. We also have a high suicide rate for talents in captivity. I am guessing now that those deaths are not unrelated to this incident.”

  She ran her hands through the columns of curls on her head. It wasn’t as surprising as it should be that her government was working against the active talents.

  Past Tense patted her shoulder. “I am sorry for this knowledge and how it is hurting you, but it does give you a clean record as far as the Alliance is concerned. Reset will register the scans as well as my testimony. From this moment on, you are starting with a clean slate.”

  Naka looked around her cautiously, but all expressions said the same thing. She could start new and be herself, not a hidden talent, not a freak, but simply Naka Gwyn.

  As she got to her feet, one question rang through her thoughts. It was a question that she had fought to ignore her whole life. Who and what was Naka Gwyn?

  Chapter Four

  Naka was silent on her trip to Piq. The women of the Sector Guard had caught her mood and helped her get a grip on her suit’s functions, including the wired communication devices in the collar. Everyone had been very serious, but it didn’t help Naka one bit.

  She still wasn’t sure what she was.

  The idea that another talent had warped her mind to force her into exposure of a talent she didn’t kn
ow she had was shocking. Naka had felt the aged, worn feeling of Resicor, but it was barely balanced. It was a world that was always tipped just to one side, never quite in harmony with the creatures that had evolved upon it.

  Running along the beach was her closest memory to harmony with the planet. The ocean was where her world had felt the most calm. Resicor knew its oceans, controlled them and rejoiced in them. The proof was in the balance and energy that poured from the coastline and disappeared over the watery horizon.

  Staring out the front screen, she saw stars and worlds that had their own balances. It was amazing to her that she was being assigned her own world to check on.

  After two hours of trying to figure out where to start, she blurted out, “How many moons?”

  Viiko jumped visibly. “Pardon?”

  “Piq. How many moons does it have?” She fidgeted in the large chair.

  “One large, two small and a few orbiting bodies. I will get you the file when we have come out of jump.”

  That one word had the effect of terrifying her. Chilled sweat poured out of her. “Another jump?”

  “Yes. But this time, you are going to be sedated.” His expression was kind. “I reread your file. Were you really a botanist?”

  “I graduated with a botany degree, but I never used it. I applied for several postings but eventually had to head home and simply live my life.” She shrugged. “How am I going to be sedated?”

  “You have a choice, gas or hypo.”

  “Gas.” She said it without hesitation. Inhaling anaesthetic was easier for her. It cleared out of her system faster.

  “Fine. We will be at the ship within the hour. I will get you the mask, it will fire automatically.” He nodded and got to his feet.

  She sat and breathed deeply to keep herself calm. This time, the ship that would take them wasn’t dark. It was a bright beacon of metal and light against the swirl of stars on deep blue.

  The shuttle they were in was approaching at a moderated glide. The eerie silence of the engines as well as lack of any external noise unsettled Naka.

  Viiko returned, handing her the kit. It was a small box that contained a mask, canister and a finger-clip monitor.

  She fastened the monitor clip on her middle finger, slipped the mask over her mouth and nose and waited.

  Viiko gave her the occasional worried look, but they docked with the huge glittering ship without any further issue.

  “They will sound an alarm before the jump engines trigger, and the unit will gas you when it senses the sound.”

  She nodded and sat with her hands tightly on the arms of the chair. Tension rippled through her, culminating with panic as lights and sound indicated the jump was imminent. She inhaled violently, and in three breaths, everything went a soft and gentle grey.

  Hands were touching her face, and as a stranger pulled open her lid, she yelped and slapped out.

  “Oh, thank the stars, Ms. Gwyn. You would not wake and Assessment Specialist Carolian was worried. I am Medic Laroik of the warship Neran Thak.”

  Naka croaked, “Pleased to meet you.”

  They were in the shuttle, but she was lying on a bunk instead of in the navigator seat.

  “You took in too much gas, and your heart stopped. By the time I got here, it had started again, but I am still wondering how.”

  Naka blinked at the other woman and her strange lavender skin. “It is just what happens when I pass out. It should be in my medical records. It can stop for up to twenty minutes, like it did when I was in an accident as a teen. I went under the water, but when they managed to lift me out, I started breathing again like nothing had happened.”

  The medic looked over her shoulder at Viiko. He frowned and shook his head.

  Naka sighed, “Apparently, it was another surprise that the Resicor did not want to share with the Alliance. Wonderful. If I didn’t think you knew, I would have warned you, but you have been telling me what is in my file this whole time, so I thought you had seen it.”

  Viiko scowled, “You should have mentioned it regardless.”

  “It isn’t something that one works into conversations like the ones we have had. It was a little out of bounds, and I was so panicked at the thought of the jump, a reminder slipped my mind.”

  He was going to speak but then he asked, “Did it happen the first time?”

  “No. I was awake for that. I am guessing that my heart only stops when my life is in danger. It hasn’t happened that often.” She sat up, and her suit sealed itself. Naka guessed that the medic had opened her suit to try to find the source of the difficulty.

  “Your breathing was too fast. You poisoned yourself.” The medic nodded as she checked the recordings from the finger clip and the small monitor device.

  “I didn’t intend to. What are the ramifications of this event?” She tried to put on her most adult mannerisms, but her embarrassment from being exposed while unconscious was very much with her.

  Medic Laroik shrugged, “Nothing. If this is not something new, then it is part of your biology, and we do not mess with natural biology.”

  Viiko smiled, “We are good to land then?”

  “Medically, she is now cleared. I will file the authorization, and you can be on your way. Happy journey and enjoy yourself.” Medic Laroik picked up her kit and nodded to them both before taking in a deep breath and entering the small airlock of the shuttle.

  The exterior door opened, and the medic disappeared.

  Curious, Naka got to her feet and ran to the lock, watching the exterior door close and the small figure of the medic disappear into a doorway far below.

  “Did she just jet out of here?”

  “Her kind can hold their breath for hours as well as maintain their body heat. They are recommended for treating folks when pressurizing the area or putting on an EVA suit would take too long.” Viiko was behind her, hovering with concern. “Are you sure you are all right?”

  “A little shaken but less disoriented than from the first jump. I will be fine when I get some ground under me. This flying in space feels weird.”

  “As you will. Please strap in, we will get clearance and resume our journey.”

  Not wanting to delay getting to a solid surface, she connected her harness and waited patiently while he called the traffic controller on the ship and got clearance for release.

  Viiko rapidly clicked his own harness, and seconds after the all clear, they were literally dropped from the ship, their release carrying them through the minimal artificial gravity and through the doorway beneath them. They dropped, she gasped, but the moment they were out of the warship, he turned them toward their destination and her breathing evened out.

  Home. She was looking at her home even though he hadn’t said a word. That world was calling to her, and she wanted desperately to answer.

  Chapter Five

  She sent her senses to the surface as they approached. There was definite imbalance in action on Piq, but it had nothing to do with the planet. Her senses turned to the orbital body and the power it was putting out. The large moon was only slightly smaller than the planet itself, but it was sending off twice the energy.

  “That is Piq, what do you think?”

  She didn’t look at him but kept her eyes on the approaching world. “I believe that I have my work cut out for me.”

  Naka saw him give her a look out of the corner of his eye, but she kept her attention fixed, looking without seeing and sensing with her mind instead of her body.

  Her mind analyzed the ripples of disorientation in the layers of the atmosphere.

  “What do you think?”

  She looked at his curious face, his horns tilted with his head and his dark eyes serious. “I think that it is time to walk on Piq and ask it what it needs.”

  “Good answer. Our base is on the other side of this river. The landing is tight, so keep your harness on.”

  “I wasn’t even reaching for it.” Naka felt stronger just getting close to a planet
again. She had kept herself apart from Teklan. It was not to be hers, after all. Piq was a different matter entirely. She could and would make it her home as quickly as she was able.

  He wasn’t kidding about the sudden stop. One moment they were skimming over dark blue water, the next the shuttle was almost standing on its nose as they came to a sudden stop.

  The harness bit into her shoulders and hips while the shuttle rocked to a stop. She gasped in pain but quickly silenced herself as he settled them on the landing pad.

  “Can I release myself now?” She smiled.

  “Yes. I will power the systems down and put them on standby.” He worked at the console, and she didn’t need to be told twice.

  The clicks of the belts were the sounds of freedom. She got to her feet, stretched and made a beeline for the exit.

  Watching Viiko at Teklan had given her the sequence of movements to get the door to open for her.

  As she stepped into the lock, she waited until the atmosphere cycled and the light turned green before tapping the release to the outer door.

  Her breath left her in a rush. Once, on Resicor, she had stood outside during a lightning storm and a strike had danced across the ocean just beyond her. The first few steps on Piq sent the same power surge through her, and she loved it.

  The base was larger than she thought it would be, but it wasn’t what she was interested in. She wanted to know more about this world and how its energies flowed, and when she looked into the sky, Naka gauged whether or not her mind would reach.

  The base was situated in a valley, but there was a rocky pillar jutting from the ground next to the entry doors. With a fixed destination in mind, Naka walked to the pillar and started to climb.

  * * * *

  Viiko grabbed the kit bags and rations, stepping out into the light of Piq. At first, he couldn’t see his companion, but to his astonishment, she was running for the outcropping and climbing like a small forest creature.

  Naka was a surprise. Her file said she was a self-centred monster, but the reality was that she was simply a woman with no purpose.