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  It was easy to relax as the brainstorm enjoyed feeding itself with calculations as to the distance and composition of the stars while Yavil tried to keep her mind completely blank.

  Leaving home still hurt, the ache in her chest was going to be there for some time.

  Hosh spoke, and his voice made her jump. “We are almost there. One more jump and we will be in the Morganti system.”

  “How long after we enter the system?”

  “Six hours. Less time if Starbreaker is in the vicinity. She avoids housework by towing shuttles in for a landing.”

  Yavil was startled into laughing. “Housework?”

  “Not really. I just wanted to see if you were still in there. Your face was frighteningly blank.” He turned to face her, and a dark lock of hair slid in front of one of his eyes.

  He blew it upward and flicked his head, reminding her of her riding beast. A smile crossed her lips and stuck there.

  “May I ask what species you are, Hosh?”

  He chuckled. “Wyoran-Ebaer. We are a Wyoran colony and have shifted away from the standard skin colourations to transform into this lovely shade I am wearing now.”

  Her mind brought all the Wyoran facts up to her, including some intimate details that made her blush. “What are the differences between a colonist and someone born on Wyora?”

  He chuckled. “We have far better senses of humour, are more aggressive and more straightforward. I have done an unscientific study, but it seems that voluntary colonies have a very specific mindset.”

  “How so?”

  “It takes a bit of aggression and optimism to leave one’s home in search of a better world. That comes through in the subsequent generations, though sometimes, the origin of the reasoning is lost over time.”

  She nodded. “I have seen examples of that in my research.”

  “How do you learn everything that you lecture on?”

  They went through the final jump while he spoke.

  “I read about something and find all information relating to that something. When I have compiled enough information, I run an experiment and try to quantify the information. Once that is done and I feel I have a grip on the info, I file a lecture request with the education centre, and they book a date for me to speak.”

  “So, before you teach…”

  “I reach an understanding of the subject matter. I can only teach theoretical stuff though. I have tried practical applications, and I can’t keep my students focussed if I act it out.”

  “Interesting.”

  She shrugged. “Not really. I am sure that you have already figured out my talent based on your personal experience.”

  “I do seem to recall fading into a receptive state while you spoke. When you were done, I heard a sharp clap and I was filled with knowledge of the topic.” Hosh grinned. “Like that?”

  “Yes, it is my voice that makes folks receptive. It opens the learning centre of the brain, and I communicate directly into the waiting portion of the mind. A few minutes after I release you, it settles in your mind, transferring from Tebr to Alliance Common.”

  Hosh was piloting them toward an inviting planet with moderate cloud cover and a plethora of defensive weaponry aimed directly at them.

  “What are those guns for?”

  Hosh looked at them and smiled. “Morganti is home to some of the most privileged researchers and the newest technologies. It needs to be protected at all costs.”

  She nodded. “It makes sense. Do you have a code or a signal to keep us from being blasted?”

  “Our shuttle is registered as are our life signs. I mean mine is. Yours is going to be dependent on a visual confirmation, oh, here it is.” He flicked a flashing toggle, and the face of a woman with a metal band framing her face filled the view screen.

  “Hello, Instructor Ender. How was your trip?” The woman’s voice was polite, but her eyes spoke of something involved going on behind them.

  “It was fine, Relay. This is the newest member of Citadel Morganti, Instructor Yavil Rikhana.”

  Relay stared at the spot where Yavil was sitting.

  Yavil raised a hand and waved. “I am pleased to meet you, Relay.”

  Relay’s eyes focussed entirely on Yavil. “Amazing. I can’t see a thing, not even the bodysuit. Her body is actively repelling technological recording.”

  Hosh asked. “Did you hear her speak?”

  Relay shook her head. “No. Did she?”

  Yavil frowned and pulled a data sheet in front of her. She typed in a greeting and sent it along the com frequency.

  Relay blinked. “Oh, hello. So, you can use tech, but it can’t see you. This is an exciting development. I know you are contracted to the Citadel, but if you are willing to let us, we would love to have you at the base to test some of our detection technology.”

  Yavil typed in that she would be happy to. “This is going to get old really fast.”

  Hosh laughed. “Relay, we are on our way in. Do you want to run the medicals on us there, or shall we report to the infirmary at the Citadel?”

  “Come here, of course. Fixer will meet you on the tarmac. I look forward to greeting you in person, Instructor Rikhana.”

  The screen went dark, and Hosh looked over at her. “That went well. I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist direct contact. Your ability to deflect tech is one thing that has made a good portion of the folks on Morganti intensely curious about you.”

  She snorted. “I am used to being stared at. It is par for the course as an unseen.

  “What does that mean, exactly?”

  She laughed. “Once in every few generations, a baby is born alongside the twins, this child is invisible to technology and lives a life of solitude. Normally, we are considered oracles or wise women, but in our current age, I am considered a mutation. I don’t know what is better, ancient throwback or modern mutant.”

  “I don’t know how to answer that.” Hosh piloted them to Morganti without another word.

  “Welcome home, Yavil. It will be your base as long as you wish it to be. Your new life begins now.”

  Yavil looked around at the atmosphere so unlike Tebr’s, the lack of jungle and the open spaces. “Yay.”

  Chapter Four

  A woman with dark rainbow hair was waiting for them on the tarmac. “Hello, Instructor Rikhana. I am Mala or Fixer if you prefer.”

  Yavil walked forward and winced at the dry air burning her lungs. “Call me Yavil, please.”

  She extended her hand, and Fixer took it.

  “You must be parched. Instructor Ender told us that you came from a high-humidity environment. Come with me.”

  The woman walked into the shade of the open hangar. The moment that Yavil passed the threshold, she sighed in relief. “Oh, thank you.” Warmth and moisture wrapped around her.

  “You are welcome. I just attached a field generator to your suit. Your quarters at the Citadel have already been fitted with a larger version.”

  Yavil smiled weakly. “You did all that for me?”

  “It was the least I could do for what I will ask you to engage in.”

  Yavil looked at her wrist, and sure enough, at the edge of the cuff, a tiny device now blinked. “It’s so small.”

  “It is as big as it needs to be.” Mala grinned. “I got right back into development after my son was born.”

  “You have a child?”

  “Three. Two girls and a boy.” Pride of being a parent was evident on her face.

  Yavil chuckled. “Well, if you ever need some tutoring, I can get through to just about anything.”

  Mala nodded. “I might take you up on that. The girls can be a real handful.”

  Fixer was fiddling with some items on her workbench when Hosh came in with Yavil’s bags.

  Mala smiled. “Hello, Instructor Ender.”

  He inclined his head. “Fixer. How are you and the family?”

  “I am fine, the family is crazy and I think Isabi is hiding.” Mala looked at Yav
il. “My husband.”

  “Oh.” She blinked and looked around her, her mind cataloguing frantically. The problem was that she didn’t know what the objects were.

  Mala grinned. “I brought you here first before you hit medical so that I can try and capture you on vid with some new scanners I developed. In case you were wondering, I consider you the best challenge I have had in the last five months.”

  Yavil wasn’t convinced that Mala was serious until the woman rubbed her hands together and positioned Yavil in front of a neutrally coloured substance.

  Hosh took a seat next to the workbench and settled in with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Mala had a serious expression on her face, and she aimed one device after another at Yavil, muttering and cursing in between each attempt. “This is incredible. You actually reject the signal.”

  Yavil was tired and getting hungry. “I can give you a hint if you like.”

  Mala perked up. “What?”

  “You can’t see me, but you can see where I have been. I leave a heat signature that isn’t blocked by my personal aura.”

  Mala got excited. “Walk around please.”

  Yavil paced and came to a halt. “This is the last one today. I am rather tired after my trip, and I know Hosh is.”

  The male in question was snoozing lightly with his head propped on his fist.

  Mala blushed. “I am sorry. I get caught up in an experiment, and your particular secondary talent is far too tempting for me to play with.”

  Fixer aimed another scanner at her and nodded. “You are right. You leave a heat trail where you walk. I wonder if you leave anything else behind.”

  Yavil blinked, “Like what?”

  “Pheromones, skin cells, the normal bric-a-brac of life.” Mala grinned as she set down the scanner. “That is a question for another day. We will take you for a quick spin through medical, and then, I will personally escort you to my table in the commissary. I get the best service.”

  Yavil nodded. “Instructor Ender, we are moving on.”

  Hosh jerked upright and blinked rapidly. “I will meet with Relay and report on a matter of research.”

  Mala waved him off. “As you wish, Instructor. We will be in the commissary after you finish your meeting.”

  Mala linked arms with Yavil and hauled her into Morganti Base with a bright smile and a sense of anticipation vibrating through her.

  Yavil was surprised that her complex biology was a puzzle that Mala was eager to solve.

  Doctor Effin Nywyn was waiting in medical, and he gave her the same style of physical as the doctors back home. Skin and fluid samples, observation of her body and an assessment of her general muscle tone.

  “What spectrum of radiation do you absorb as sustenance?” Effin was making notes.

  “Any and all. It was a very energizing trip here. I hadn’t realized that even in the darkest night, the stars still burn with enough power to feed me.”

  Mala blinked. “You eat radiation?”

  “And food. I also eat food.” She chuckled and got back into her bodysuit. “Any idea how long it will take me to get used to this suit, Doc?”

  Mala frowned. “I thought it was comfortable.”

  Effin made some more notes and lifted his head. “The people of Tebr only wear clothing if they are going to be interacting with off-worlders. Their planet is covered with jungle and sunlight is precious. The more skin expose, the more light absorbed.”

  Mala blinked. “So you are naked most of the time when you have time off.”

  Yavil shrugged. “Yes. There was no shame in nudity until the first visitors from the stars arrived eight hundred years ago. Since then, we have developed a work-day and day-off clothing system.”

  Mala touched her arm where the suit covered her skin. The suit softened and tightened until it was as light as a layer of air. “How is that?”

  “Better. Much, much better. Thank you.” She frowned. “Does it still meet modesty requirements?”

  Mala chuckled. “It does, but from now on, I will design you a two-layer suit. Both layers will be permeable to light, but they will also be armoured. It will be a challenge, but I do love a challenge.”

  Effin laughed and waved them off. “Yavil, I will process your medical report and forward it to the Citadel. They will have it within the hour.”

  “Thank you, Doctor Effin.” Yavil flicked her long ponytail and smiled at Mala. “Ready when you are.”

  Mala grabbed her hand and hauled her to the commissary.

  Tiny squeals broke out, and two small beings attached themselves to Mala at the waist. “Yavil, this is Isala and Mabi. My daughters. Their brother is over there with the nanny.”

  The nanny in question was a large male who looked like he would be more likely to eat children than raise them, but as she watched, he competently lifted the infant to his shoulder and burped the tiny baby.

  “Okay. Now, how do I pay?” She looked at the amazing spread of food, and her mouth watered.

  “It is paid for. As you are with the Citadel, you will be charged against your earnings, but as you have allowed me to experiment on you for several hours, you have more than enough to eat for three months in your account.”

  “I get paid for that?”

  “You get paid for every assignment you go on, even coming over here and letting me try to take your picture. As for your clothing, it is charged back against your earnings, a circle that goes around and around.”

  “The idea of being paid for my work is a novel thing. On Tebr, the money paid for my lectures goes into a family trust, and it is dispersed on a requirement of assistance. No one in my family has drawn on the trust in two generations.”

  Mala blinked. “Wow.”

  “We live in the nude. We don’t need more than food and comfortable furniture.” She laughed and went to get a tray for some food.

  The selection of vegetables was lovely, the tea smell bright and citrusy and the fish was white and flaky. There was not one item on her tray that didn’t appeal to her.

  She walked over to Mala’s table, and the little girls stared at her. One had dark skin, one light but both had their mother’s brilliant rainbow hair.

  The nanny was busy with the baby, but he smiled and inclined his head. “New to the Guard?”

  She shook her head. “No. I am with the Citadel, but it is my first day. Your charges look like a handful.”

  He nodded. “If it wasn’t for Mala’s tracking devices and my own talent, those little girls would run right over me.”

  “You have a talent?”

  “Super speed. One would think I would do best in battle, but by being able to keep Mala happy and productive, I do more than life in the front lines would ever accomplish.”

  “Where is her husband?” Yavil tried to make it casual.

  “He is consulting on basic training for a new species. His skills as a Companion are sometimes more in demand than his skills as Shade.”

  “Shade?”

  Mala came in with a large tray groaning with food. “Shade is my husband’s alter ego. He becomes shadow and can move around in definitely spooky ways.”

  “Interesting. Do you mind having a separate life?”

  Mala grinned. “Not since I armour plated him. Now that I know he will be safe, he can run around free and feel like a man and not my personal valet.”

  Yavil nodded. “Sensible.” She filed the armour plating away for questioning at a later time.

  They ate in silence with the girls occasionally commenting on her bright blue eyes and chalky skin. “The people of Tebr are normally pale blue. I am a funny birth. No one knew I was coming.”

  One of the girls perked up. “Like me!”

  Mala nodded. “She can turn invisible and was hiding during the entire pregnancy. It was a bit of a shock as no one knew if a Selna and a Moreski could breed at all, let alone twins.”

  “Twins are the norm on my world. A child born alone is not a good thing. We never
fit in.”

  Mala frowned. “But you were born with two siblings. You were triplets.”

  “I am a genetic throwback to our ancestors, they are the contemporary people of Tebr, and they have the mind link common among twins. They will meet and marry another pair of twins one day, changing the link to their sibling to a link with their mate. Once they separate from their twin, they do not go back. The male becomes a member of the female’s family, and the sibling is forgotten.”

  “You just do that? Discard a sister or brother?”

  Yavil finished her tea. “In coming here, I have done it already.”

  Mala was astonished, but Yavil went to get more tea and return her tray. It was a depressing thought, but everyone in her family knew that it would be the last time she would see them.

  Leaving Tebr was a one-way trip for her contact with her entire family.

  Chapter Five

  Relay was pleasant and very curious to meet her in person.

  “I swear, if you hadn’t typed to me, I would have thought that Hosh had gone around the bend.” Relay shook her hand and grinned.

  “I am sorry that I can’t speak to the cameras, but I have never been able to show up in images. It was what brought Hosh to Tebr. None of my lectures could be recorded.” She enjoyed the camaraderie of the table and kept her teacup in her hand.

  Yavil sat back and watched the connections between the women around her. The regular staff looked at their table with affection, and it occurred to her that the Sector Guard were more than warriors to these people, they were family. As a member of the Citadel, she was closer to being a visiting cousin once removed. Of course, she wasn’t quite in the Citadel yet, that would involve actually walking through their halls.

  Hosh entered the commissary in deep conversation with Effin. They continued speaking as they got trays of their own.

  Relay grinned. “They are related about four generations back.”

  “That explains their medical interests.” Yavil sipped quietly at her tea.