Eyes in the Sky Read online

  “Hello, Reset.” She smiled weakly. She recognized the species of the woman in front of her, and it boded ill for someone of Resicor.

  Reset checked the scans and grinned. “Excellent. You are clear.” Reset paused. “But your stress level just hit the roof. Oh, darn. It is the Kozue thing, right?”

  Riasa nodded. “That is it.”

  “I will explain it to you later, but both sides were deceived. The Kozue tribe hired for it thought they were killing warriors because of the interference of an illusion talent, and the quantity of people were exaggerated for the Resicor viewers. They thought it was an entire town, but there were considerably less people.”

  Oddly enough, it was fairly easy to believe that her government had something to do with it. They wanted to make it clear that there was no help out there for talents. It had to be driven home with a bludgeon to kill hope, so they had done it.

  “Come on inside for the final scans and you can meet Mist. He is a Nishan, but his form is that of a Kozue warrior. He is also my husband, so there is that level of comfort as well. You are not in danger here.”

  Riasa nodded and followed Reset down the transparent hall, watching the swing of her dark blue hair.

  In medical, there were more scans and some blood work. Reset commented, “You are in amazing shape.”

  “I work on a farm so there isn’t a muscle I don’t use in a day.”

  “That would explain it.” Reset smiled. “We work closely with the Citadel. They are still getting settled in.”

  She checked the readouts several times before letting Riasa out of the machine.

  “What was wrong?”

  “Nothing. Your people have a tendency to hand over minor talents to Raiders for experimentation and enhancement. I wanted to be sure that you hadn’t been tampered with.”

  “You are kidding. They wouldn’t do that.” Despite the horrors she knew about, that ratcheted it up above normal levels.

  “They could and did. Sector Guard Base Udell, is home to Quint, and he was born on Resicor as a single being. Now, he splits into five and the process was not painless.” Reset sighed. “I spent weeks reworking several Resicorians into the talents they had been born with after they had been transformed into weapons. What made it worse was that they were breeding another generation.”

  Riasa sat down. “I think I am going to be sick.”

  “The ones who were rescued are alive and well. They have all been reset to their original talents and are living at a variety of bases and Citadels. They have normal lives now, which is more than they could have had at home. It is just a shame that the agony had to come first.”

  A knock at the door brought Riasa’s dazed head up.

  A man stood in the doorway, and he smiled in a friendly manner that belied the scars that were carved into his cheeks and jawline. “Greetings. I am Clovid Aturn, manager of the Citadel Teklan, such as it is.”

  “Riasa Zorgard.”

  “If you would like to come with me, we can walk to the Citadel and I can get you settled.”

  Reset nodded her release. “Feel free to pop in for a chat.”

  Clovid offered her his arm and, bemused, she took it. He showed her the cafeteria and walked outside across the tarmac with her to the large, squat building she had seen from space.

  “I hear that you were collected by Stone.”

  “Um, I was?”

  “The grey Guardsman with the wings.”

  She blinked. “Right. Stone. Yes, he snagged me from my home.”

  “It must have been traumatic for you.”

  “Not particularly. It was a fairly easy snatch. I knew someone was coming; I just didn’t know how or who.”

  He patted her hand, and she carefully released his arm.

  He gave her an intense look. “I am a little fuzzy on the details of your talent.”

  “I see things. My vision is my talent and little escapes it.”

  “What do you see now?” He puffed out his chest.

  She looked up and around. “Three satellites, a white moon hiding in sunlight, nine base personnel working on shuttles, three flowers and the scar on your left cheek was done by a different hand than the right.”

  Her final observation shocked him. He backed up. “I see.”

  “No, I do, now can I please see where I can sleep? It has been a very long and disappointing trip.”

  He withdrew all flirtation and became businesslike as he led her into the building and the quarters that were hers. Citadel Teklan had been built into the planet and her space was on one of seventeen lower levels. It was fine with her. She just needed a place to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  Seeing was not a skill that she could teach, but she could teach interpretation of visual stimuli. Teaching was the only entertainment she got in the first few days.

  When her com unit pinged and told her that she was requested at the base, she nearly wept in relief. In seconds, her outer robes were on and she was headed to the base. The nice thing was that being a master of her talent let her wear the suitable robes for a mastered physical talent based on perception. She got to wear black.

  Might was the base commander, and he greeted her with a polite inclination of his horned head. “We have a request for your skills.”

  “Thank goodness. I was so bored.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t you want to know what the assignment is?”

  “Nope.”

  “You don’t want to know where you are going?”

  “Nope. I just want to go.”

  “Right. Well, here is the tablet; your flight is waiting. It is a shakedown for you, so you will be flying with Finder and Frost. They will monitor your skills and determine if you can go on solo missions in the future.”

  She clapped her hands in a gesture that alarmed Might.

  He waved her away. “Out to the tarmac with you. Look for the man with leathery wings and the woman kissing him.”

  Chortling, she headed out to the tarmac and did indeed find the couple making out next to a shuttle. She greeted them. “Please excuse me. I will just head on in.”

  They broke their liplock and the woman grinned. “I am Finder, this is Frost, and we will be your supervisors for this excursion.”

  “So, this is a test?”

  “Yes, indeed.” Finder waggled her eyebrows and gestured for her to enter the ship. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get home and you can consider your options.”

  “Options?” Riasa blinked in surprise.

  The man with the wings and the intense features said, “We can explain on the way. Let’s go.”

  Finder grinned. “Let’s go.”

  On the way, Riasa learned that she was a candidate for the Sector Guard. If this trip went well, she would be offered the position the moment that they landed. If it didn’t, she was stuck in the boring Citadel.

  When they landed on Truska, she knew what they needed, and she set out to find it. It was a simple assignment, to find a set of crown jewels that had been covered by a slick landslide.

  Finder and Frost stayed with the royals while Riasa grabbed a shovel and went skipping down the slippery muck that covered the hillside. She could already see the crown jewels, but they had moved dramatically from the point where the recovery efforts had been engaged.

  She continued on for three hundred meters and started digging while whistling a tuned that used to keep the goats quiet.

  Riasa dug for half an hour before she started to pull out the objects that had come loose, and from there, she uncovered the box that they had been in during the formal walk to the palace.

  Once it was all accounted for, she scanned the area and picked up one more ring to toss into the pile, and then, she hauled everything up the hill, dragging it behind her.

  The crowd at the top was silent. The hillside waterfall was nearby, so Riasa left the jewels at the feet of the royals, and she went to take a shower of sorts.

  She was wet but clean when s
he returned. “Apologies but that mud is sticky.”

  The grand duke asked, “How did you know where it was?”

  “I could see it. I can see metal under mud.” She inclined her head because the moment seemed to call for it.

  Finder nodded as well. “We have carried out the contract and wish you a good evening.”

  Frost shepherded Riasa back to the shuttle and into the lav. “Take a better scrub. Use solar and sonic.”

  She was in the shower when the shuttle took off. She reached out and gripped the walls as they lifted but finished her solar and sonic scrubs before she considered her options. She could step out and flatten herself against the wall or wait in the confined space and leave when they were out of the atmosphere.

  She chose to wait until she could open the door and haul herself over to the jump seat that was her designated spot. “So, we were in a bit of a hurry?”

  Finder nodded. “You could say that. While you were digging, the royals began to mutter how nice it would be to have someone like you at their beck and call to retrieve lost caches of jewels around the globe. Their culture likes to bury things. We didn’t want a fight, so we got you out of there before they could work their nerve up.”

  Frost snorted and aimed them back at Teklan. “They were getting themselves into a bit of a greed snit. Congratulations. You showed no hesitation in going after your goal and that is to your credit. I have never seen a woman slog through muck without whining about it before.”

  Finder smacked him.

  Riasa smiled, “I was raised on a farm. I have had to slog through way worse. It is all hands on deck during kidding season. Whining isn’t an option.”

  The flight back to Teklan was filled with easy chatter as Finder asked for details on what her sight could actually do.

  Riasa noted the open com, but she chose to ignore it. If Might wanted to know what she could do, he could listen in so she wouldn’t have to repeat herself.

  Finder and Frost kept her talking all the way back to the base. Apparently, they had only been one system away from home. Riasa had a little trouble with spatial orientation, but she was working on it.

  Finder landed the ship on Teklan, and Frost was tense throughout the whole process. Finder smacked him again when she unbuckled. “I could do without the tension, Esur.”

  He grinned and got to his feet. “Well, Roxanne, you have been doing this for years and still haven’t managed not to skid on landing.”

  Riasa unbuckled and skittered out ahead of them, not wanting to get stuck behind Frost’s wings.

  She opened the door, and when she stepped to the ground, she paused. “Should I have waited for decontamination?”

  “No. That is what the showers were about. Our ships are designed for that.” Finder patted her on the shoulder. “Come on in. Might has a proposal to make.”

  She went with her two companions to the commander’s office and took a seat.

  Might sealed the door with the press of a button on his desk. “What do you think of Clovid?”

  “I think he isn’t what he says he is. I looked up his species and the marks on his face. He did half of them himself and not that well. He’s not a Jurkad warrior. He is a student, not yet out of their higher education.”

  Might rubbed his temples. “I thought not. The Citadel sent him here and assured us that he had been thoroughly vetted.”

  “He’s a convincer. They are notoriously hard to pin down.” Riasa shrugged.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I could feel him pushing on my mind. He wanted to seduce me, but he got a little off-put when I refused him. At that point, he left me alone. Do you have a minder on hand?”

  He shook his head. “But we can get one here in a day. The question is do you wish to take over the management of the Citadel Teklan? Clovid was only inviting available females.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I had noticed a lack of variety in the type of persons who occupied the facility.”

  Might sighed. “How is it that you are resistant to his talent?”

  “Oh, most talents on Resicor are. Well, most of the physical talents. The psychic talents don’t need to be. They are in charge.” She shrugged.

  “I believe that you will be safer here at the base than over at the Citadel until we can get him captured.”

  Riasa blinked, “So, where will I stay?”

  “There are barracks in the facility. Roxy can show you where you can stay. I promise that I will get this sorted.” He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “Did you say, yes, you would take over the Citadel?”

  Riasa nodded. “I will, but only on an interim basis until someone appropriate can be found.”

  Might nodded. “I will take it. You look a little hungry; I should have an idea of what is going on by the time you finish a meal.”

  It wasn’t a graceful dismissal, but Riasa took the hint. She rose to her feet, and with Frost and Finder, she headed to the dining hall. “I have never been ordered to have a meal before.”

  Finder laughed. “It is a first for me as well, but I don’t mind. The cooks here are excellent.”

  Frost sighed. “The way she is talking, you would think she has never had a good meal at home.”

  “Where do you live?” Riasa asked it politely. She was guessing that it was one of the large structures she had seen on the way in.

  Finder smiled, “The crystal palace in the valley to the east. Esur made it himself.”

  Frost ducked his head. “It is more ice than crystal, but I thought it would impress her.”

  Riasa finally asked, “So, Frost is Esur and Finder is…Roxy?”

  Finder slapped herself in the forehead. “Of course. Sorry. Yes. We use our Guardian names once we get into the ship, but at home, we are known by our actual names. Might is always working, but if you see him with Alara, he is off duty and you can call him Brodin.”

  “Alara?”

  “His wife. Also known as Echo in Time. I think, yes, there she is.” Roxy raised her arm and another woman waved back.

  The woman waved them over to her table, her green hair making her an easy beacon.

  Frost headed for the food and Roxy led Riasa to the table.

  “Alara, this is Riasa. Riasa, this is Alara, General Brodin’s wife and Echo in Time, Master Seer.”

  Alara extended her hand, and when Riasa touched her, she jerked in place. Her breath rushed out and sucked back in in short gasps.

  Riasa tried to let go, but Alara held on. Their contact was starting to draw attention.

  When Alara let her go, Riasa took a seat across from her, afraid to touch her again. “Are you all right?”

  Alara smiled, “You have quite the future in store for you. I knew it was coming; I just didn’t expect it this soon.”

  “Expecting what?”

  “Resicor is getting to a critical point. They are the centre of all that will occur around the occupied worlds that we know the names of and several hundred worlds yet to be seen.”

  Riasa’s eyes went wide. “Do you know when?”

  “It is a matter of months. Spend as much time as you can in training and practicing your sight. It will be needed when the time comes. You can see through the most detailed of ruses and disguises. It is a valuable skill.”

  Roxy cleared her throat. “Perhaps you should get something to eat, Riasa.”

  Riasa caught the hint and headed for the buffet, selecting food with her colour code on their platters. When she returned to the table, she brought along an extra cup of tea with sweetener. She gave it to Alara. “You seem a little shaken.”

  Alara cupped her hands around the mug and smiled. “Thank you. I have been reaching further into some futures, and it always stuns me. There are options, each person has a chance to make their mind and change their direction. Yours is set until the event occurs, and then, it shatters into the normal options that I usually see.”

  “What do I do until then?”

  “You live and act
as your conscience dictates. You have been given a gift and you can see into anything you direct your gaze toward. Use that to prepare for your future. It isn’t going to be an easy one.”

  Riasa nodded. “Resicor was getting worse. Suspected talents are being snatched in plain sight. Even the untalented can see that something is going very, very wrong.”

  Their quartet was quiet as three of them ate and Alara drank her sweet tea. The day had taken a very strange turn and being given a bunk in the barracks came as a relief.

  Chapter Four

  Might and Stone came into the empty barracks, and they stood at the edge of her bunk.

  She gave them an arch look over the edge of her tablet. “Yes?”

  “The minder is arriving in seven hours. By dawn, Clovid should be gone.” Might smiled.

  “Good. I will go over and try to sort the remaining Citadel members after that. Some might need counselling. Will the minder return?” She sat up and looked at both of them.

  “They are sending an assessment team with the subduer.”

  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. “Are they sending a null? That would be most effective.”

  Stone smiled. “They are. You seem to have grasped the necessary details.”

  She shrugged. “I did some reading.”

  Might looked at Stone. “I see what you meant. She does have a facility for learning.”

  “It is alarming if she is able to access everything her eyes seek out. She can see the data streams.”

  Riasa held up a hand. “Only if there is visible data being transmitted. My mind needs to know it is an image to process it.”

  Might chuckled. “You might want to take a walk with Stone and see what you can see.”

  Natu held out his hand and raised his eyebrows. “Shall we?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What is going on?”

  “You and I are taking a walk in the moonlight.”