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  “All right, off to the warm room for you. I want you to keep those muscles relaxed for an hour.” Tanson smiled, her gaze warm and her four grey-green hands rubbing against each other as she cleaned up after the healing.

  Dot headed off to the hot room with the rear sheet tucked around her and she dropped the front sheet before entering the hot room.

  Two other humans were in the hot room after their workouts, and Dot sat nearby. “Afternoon, Anna, Willow.”

  Willow smiled. “Good afternoon, Dot. You are looking better every day.”

  Anna was leaning back with her eyes closed, and Dot became sure that she was actually sleeping. The snoring gave it away.

  “Thank you, Willow. You look like you took a bit of a beating.” There was no other way to say it. Willow looked exhausted and there were red marks on her cheeks.

  “I did. Combat training sucks, but it is necessary. We are heading out there and we won’t have police to call on when we get where we are going. If you can’t depend on your own skills, why would anyone want to take you on?” Willow sighed and leaned back.

  Dot nodded. “That is the same thing I keep telling myself. I wonder if that is why they picked us?”

  Willow chuckled. “It could be. Stranger things have happened.”

  Dot sighed and leaned back against the bench. “Tomorrow I start my conditioning in earnest. If your face is any indication, I am going to be in trouble.”

  “It is fine. I was in stick training today. Ikvaro is a good trainer. It is sad really.”

  Dot sat up. She was scheduled to train with Ikvaro in the morning. “What is sad?”

  “Well, the rumour is that he was in love with one of the trainees, but they never acted on it and then she went missing while on assignment. He hasn’t been the same from what my other instructors have said.” Willow sighed.

  Dot had seen Ikvaro and it was indeed sad. He was so very attractive that if he had found a woman he wanted to give his heart to, she had to be someone special. To have that person taken from him before they could start anything had to have left a hole in his soul.

  Dot had only had one person leave her life poorer for their disappearance. Her pop-pop died when she was seventeen, and he had bequeathed funds to pay for her stay at Farrow Home. It was only in the last week that she had learned that she was his sole heir and her family had pillaged the estate. They had wanted to keep her in the home so that she would never learn what they had done.

  Her Pop-pop had given her a legacy and they had pissed it away. It explained a lot of the hostility that she faced.

  Her grandfather had been her only visitor in her early days at Farrow Home until he couldn’t make the trip anymore. His death had followed swiftly.

  Dot sighed and cleared her mind. Being obsessed with death was not a good thing to be, it left her a little grim.

  After her hour, Dot woke Anna and followed Willow out by fifteen minutes. A quick solar shower and she was ready to put on her generic grey bodysuit and get to her language lessons.

  A schedule had to be maintained.

  Two months of training, language, driving and dance lessons changed Dot’s body from the feeble and awkward creature who had existed at Farrow Home. With the help of Minder Xaruck, Dot had learned to portion her mind and that had opened a whole new universe to her.

  By taking her daily reflexes, sensations and thoughts and separating them from the part of her mind open to the temporal warnings, she had been able to expand her scope to cover the entire moon. It was dizzying at times, living in two timelines at once, but she got used to it with the help of her instructors.

  Her mind heard one set of events while her ears heard what was going on around her. The sensory conflict would need to be addressed in the long term, but in the short term, they gave her a psychic muffle that numbed the volume of the voices in her mind.

  Clairaudient was her description, and as she worked to get a handle on everything she was, her trainers were thrashing around to find her a placement on a world that could use her talents. She could only hear the events even after training. It meant that she had a limited appeal to the Alliance, but apparently, the Nyal Imperium was not so fussy.

  Her posting on Nixos was in the works, but it was difficult to send an untrained psychic into a situation on one of the most violent worlds in the Imperium. Frankly, given what she had learned about it, Dot wasn’t convinced that her brain wasn’t going to explode.

  Nixos had a group of Guardians on it, a paranormally gifted gathering of men and women who worked to keep the chaos to a minimum. They were the folk that needed convincing. They would have to protect her and that made her a liability. If they weren’t willing to take that on, she wasn’t going to have much of a chance.

  Dot worked on the Nyal yoga that her instructor was teaching her. She stretched, pulled and felt her body hum with energy. She grimaced and switched positions. More energy was what she didn’t need. She was living on the edge of anticipation and she was about to fall off.

  A shadow cruised across her. “Hello, Trainer Ikvaro.”

  “Get to your feet, trainee. There is a high-protocol conference going on and you need to be part of it.”

  The manner that he had taken on gave her a clue as to how serious this was. She got to her feet, grabbed a towel and blotted off the sweat on her face before following him.

  He didn’t say a word, but they walked past the communications centre to the boardroom where all of her instructors were lined up on pedestals and facing a projection of four very alien creatures that Dot’s mind began to catalogue as she looked.

  Ikvaro took one of the spare pedestals and pointed at the remaining blank space for Dot.

  She stepped into place, and she was suddenly staring at the physical forms of the four members of the Nixos Guardian detachment. “Well, this is peculiar.”

  The foremost member had huge dark wings and skin touched with dark plum. He was a crossbreed of at least two species, and her limited knowledge couldn’t pin down the second, though the Enjel was clear.

  “Trainee McKenna, your Representative Norz has been most insistent that we bring you onto Nixos, and your trainers believe the same. I want you to tell me why you think you need to be here.”

  He stood in his armoured suit with his mixed-blood group behind him, and he stared at her with scarlet eyes in pools of black.

  Dot stood calmly and said, “I have been painting the skies above Nixos since I was a child, since before my talent emerged into something noticeable. It is the only constant in my life and the only thing that I see that relates to my own existence and not someone else’s. When others feel pain and panic, I hear their screams, moans and cries for help and I hear it in enough time to do something about it, if there is someone there to listen.

  “I do not always know how to find them, but with the help of someone who can help decipher what I am hearing, I can be a tool for the safety and lives of the inhabitants of Nixos. All I know is that is the only image I have ever been given, so that is where I need to be.”

  She stood calmly and waited while their image disappeared. She had said what needed to be said.

  Chapter Three

  Dot looked around and felt her heart thump at the familiar faces of her doctor, therapist, healer, minder, trainer and etiquette instructor as all smiled back at her. They had all come to speak on her behalf, and she was touched beyond words.

  It felt so odd to make friends easily among people who actually knew what she was and how her mind differed from most.

  No one spoke. No one moved. Three minutes of silence passed before the display lit up once again and the four strangers were all staring at her with focus.

  The man with the wings inclined his head. “Specialist Dorothea McKenna of the Alliance Protectorate of Terra. We extend formal acceptance to you in your capacity as Oracle.”

  She swallowed and nodded. “Thank you.”

  “We will expect y
ou within ten days. Good evening.” He bowed shortly, and he and the other men disappeared.

  The room erupted into cheers and Dot was suddenly hugged and patted on all sides. This was what they had been working toward and it had just come to pass. She was going to Nixos.

  Shaking, she smiled as they bustled her down to the refectory for a celebratory snack. It still hadn’t sunk in, but their words reverberated through her mind. She was going to Nixos.

  Dot sent a final message to her parents and stepped into the cryo pod. She was being sent by courier, and since her sensitivity to a space jump was unknown, they had agreed that she would be put into cold sleep for transport.

  Her tutors and trainers were all there to see her off. She waved at them as Doc Algerat put the connections into her flesh. When she felt herself growing tired, she lay back and hoped for a swift transport. She wanted to be on the world of her dreams as soon as she could.

  Dot carried the work of seven other people within her, and she had promised to keep them apprised of how she was doing. She closed her eyes and dreamed of Nixos.

  Hands moved over her quickly, heat crept into her from the skin inward. Dot shivered and tried to open her eyes, but they were covered with something. Grimacing, she pawed at her eyes and heard a chuckle.

  “Easy, short stuff. This is for your own good. We don’t want you going into shock.”

  The things on her eyes were soft to the touch and the voice was deep but soothing. She settled. “Where am I?”

  “Guardian Base Nixos. We are waking you from cold sleep. You got here quickly.”

  She sighed and relaxed for a moment. It was quite peaceful with the warmth on her body and the soft something on her eyes. Out of reflex, she opened her mind.

  The screaming was immediate and she arched as the voices called out for help.

  “Specialist? What is going on?”

  She arched against the hands trying to hold her down as the sound of rushing water and low, distant thuds of wood striking stone joined in with the screams.

  The soft covering left her eyes, and she sat up, looking at the man who had done the speaking for the base. “I can hear something.”

  He nodded and stood in front of her. “Tell me.”

  She had to crane her head back to see his features. She described the situation, the words used in the cries for help and the strange noises of water and wood.

  His expression said that he was listening to everything she said, but the moment she finished, he turned and left the room, leaving her alone in a medical facility with no idea what was going to happen next.

  Four men returned while she was trying to get her legs to hold her upright. They were being difficult about the whole thing.

  “Oracle, please repeat what you just told me.”

  She nodded and leaned against the bed as casually as she could. “I relaxed and opened my mind and the screams began.”

  The rest of the story was as she had told the winged leader. The other three watched and nodded at appropriate intervals.

  When she was done, she tried to stand unaided, but she wobbled dramatically before she grabbed at the bed again.

  One of the men had skin like stone, and he nodded. “It is what I told the council. The Clearik Dam would never hold.”

  The man with brilliant sapphire skin inclined his head. “Are you sure it is that dam?”

  The stone man nodded. “I checked the logging records. There is a storage yard upstream from the grand opening ceremony. The dam will break and that yard’s contents will fill the river.”

  The winged man nodded. “I trust your judgement, Ralos. Clearik Dam will get our attention tomorrow.”

  She cleared her throat. “I know it is anticlimactic, but I would like some introductions.”

  The stone man smiled. “I am Ralos, this brilliant blue fellow is Yekesh, the wings over there is our esteemed leader, Loxin, and manning the com systems is the beige wonder, Jekross.”

  She smiled and nodded to each in turn. “I am Dot, or Oracle, I suppose.”

  Loxin rubbed the back of his neck. “You were given the code name Oracle to protect you from the population of Nixos and their surrounding worlds.”

  “Why would I be in danger?”

  Ralos patted her on the shoulder carefully. “Everyone wants to know the future, even if disaster looms.”

  She sighed. “That is all I see.”

  Yekesh smiled, “Then, we are happy to have you. Advanced warning is always better than searching for the dead.”

  Loxin exhaled and lifted her. “We are going to your quarters and you are going to change into your uniform. It will help with your balance and support.”

  His wings flexed a little, and when she raised her hand over his shoulder to touch one, she recognized the soft feel. “Why were your wings over my eyes?”

  “Because my hands were busy.” He smiled. “You have been awake less than ten minutes and you have already had a premonition. This might work out very well.”

  He was warm and she was still sleepy, but she wasn’t going to nap at this point in time. She had other things to do. “What time is it?”

  “We are in mid-afternoon. Why?”

  She sighed. “No reason.”

  The base was clean, neat and had the sparkle of a new structure. He walked down the hall and all the way to the end. “I have given you my old quarters because they are out of the way and we do not wish to disturb you when we leave and return from missions.”

  Dot sighed. “That is very thoughtful.”

  “I do try.”

  The door opened with a push of his hip and she noticed the distinct lack of closures. There was no way to lock the door.

  He set her down at the edge of her bed and opened the wardrobe. “The Alliance sent us your body scans, so a wardrobe has been prepared. This is your uniform.”

  He lifted out a bodysuit that was a full-skirted gown covered by a chest and back plate with sleeves. The entire thing was a robin’s egg blue with gold trim.

  “If I am at the base, why do I need a uniform?”

  “You are going to be recorded for the Nyal archives. This is a costume for posterity. There is even a hood that comes out of the back.”

  She looked at it and wrinkled her nose. “Where can I change?”

  He blinked. “Your kind have body shame?”

  She blushed. “Not all of us, but I do. I am unused to shedding my clothing in mixed company. I have lived alone for the majority of my life.”

  He nodded and walked toward the door. “I will return in five minutes to show you the rest of the base.”

  With hands clumsy with cold, she stripped out of her grey trainee uniform and tried to stuff herself into the long skirt and armour. To her shock, they were one piece. He wasn’t kidding, it was a uniform.

  The plates opened at the sides and that space let her drop the entire affair over her shoulders. Her hands wiggled through the sleeves, and with a final jerk, she settled the dress into place. The armour didn’t hesitate. It snapped together at the side, and to her astonishment, it flexed and hugged her tight, fitting to her precisely.

  She released the hood and pulled it up over her tightly confined blonde locks. With a little digging in the wardrobe, she found some boots and yanked them on.

  She was just finishing on her left leg when Loxin came back in. He paused. “You look good in blue.”

  Dot got to her feet. “This feels a little odd, but it is comfortable. You were right. It is warming.”

  He offered his hand and she took it. His wings shivered slightly but he smiled. “Come this way.”

  He showed her the com room, the common areas, the gym, the kitchen and the dining room. All were in a huge expanse and separated by a change in the floor colour. It was a combination of greenhouse and warehouse. The place was huge. It seemed the only solid walls were in the bedrooms and lavatories. Everything else was thick, clear plexi.


  She met the sand-coloured Jekross and he was indeed very beige compared to the others. When they entered, he set the com aside and got to his feet, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “Lovely to meet you, Oracle.”

  “Call me Dot.”

  “Oracle, when I am discussing you with news agencies.” He grinned. “You are entitled to your privacy.”

  “News?”

  “Indeed. If that tip pans out tomorrow, we will be at the right place at the right time. That is newsworthy. Also, we will need to explain why we are in the area without being called.”

  She nodded. “Right. That makes sense. If you don’t have an explanation, they would blame you.”

  “Indeed. Well, I am off com duty, so I am wondering if you are interested in sharing a meal.”

  She cocked her head. “I don’t know if I am hungry, but I am willing to keep you company.”

  Loxin sighed. “I am right here. Shouldn’t you ask me as well?”

  Jekross chuckled. “I have eaten with you plenty of times, Lox. First meals are important for my people.”

  Loxin sighed. “Fine, but you know the rules.”

  “Yes, Commander. No fraternization during work hours.” Jekross winked at her.

  Loxin tugged her hand, and they all walked to the kitchen where Jekross gave her an assessing look before he removed ingredients from the chiller and started chopping.

  Loxin chuckled. “He just guessed at your likely favourite meal, and now, he is trying to make it. This is usually entertaining. He hasn’t been right yet but he keeps trying.”

  Dot took a seat on one of the barstools near the kitchen island, and she watched as Jekross chopped, sautéed and boiled his way along.

  When he waved at her to take a seat at the table, she was exceptionally nervous. Loxin sat next to her and he had an amused expression on his face.

  To her surprise, his chair back narrowed to allow his wings to be comfortable.

  “Is everything here some kind of smart furniture?” She looked at the other chairs with curiosity.